CASE CX210E-S Delivers Strength With Ultimate Control For Griffiths

West Wales contractor Hywel Griffiths Plant Hire and Groundworks has added an upgraded CASE CX210E-S crawler excavator to its growing fleet, with a bespoke specification to meet the company’s exacting requirements. The machine has been equipped with wider tracks, a Steelwrist tilt-rotator, Topcon machine guidance, 360 cameras and an autolube system.

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The CX210E-S is a heavy-duty version of the company’s popular 20-tonne class crawler excavator. Built in India, with the same engine and hydraulic driveline as Japanese-assembled models, the E-S has been designed to meet the demands of operators seeking a more robust machine, with enhanced strength and durability.




A reinforced main boom, strengthened lower structure and a heavy-duty undercarriage add 500kg to the machine’s mass and customers can boost lifting stability further with an additional 500kg counterweight if desired. This takes the operating weight of the
CX210E-S to 22.5-tonnes.

Griffiths is no stranger to the CASE brand, operating a 3-tonne mini, a 9-tonne midi excavator, two 13-tonne CX130E machines, a CX145D SR and the CX210E-S. The company was also one of the first in the UK to add a CASE 1150M dozer to its fleet. All of the machines have been supplied and supported by local dealer Riverlea Industrial.




Dedicated Build
While the CX210E-S is built for ultimate reliability and durability in arduous operating conditions, the machine also benefits from a simplified, well-equipped specification. Hywel Griffiths has tailored the excavator further to suit its own use, increasing the track pad width to 800mm, higher than the standard 600 or 700mm pads, to cope with winter use on poor ground conditions. Indeed, all of the company’s crawler models are specified with wider low ground pressure tracks.

“We do a lot of wet weather work in the winter and the Environment Agency prefers wider tracks for minimal disturbance of the ground,” said Managing Director Hywel Griffiths.

The company is also committed to the benefits of a tilt-rotator, with the attachment mountings found on all of its larger machines. In some cases, it has been beneficial to order excavators with a short dipper arm, when equipping them with a heavy tilt-rotator.
However, the additional weight in the CX210E-S makes it possible to use the mounting with the standard 2.94m arm.




The Steelwrist X26 mounting, complete with dedicated levers in the cab, greatly increases the versatility of the CX210E-S, allowing operator Evan Griffiths to shape and grade a much wider area without having to reposition the machine. Griffiths has taken this a step further, by installing a Topcon GX90 machine guidance system.

Integrated Control
The two systems have been fully integrated, with all of the machine’s buckets pre-programmed into the Topcon unit. This means that the Topcon system not only knows where the tip of each bucket is in normal use, it can also detect the exact position while the tilt-rotator is in operation.




This allows the operator to grade and shape complex drainage runs and road contours without the need for extensive engineering mark-up on site. All drawings and dimensions are programmed into the Topcon unit allowing the operator to create a finished grade without an engineer having to set-out and constantly check the site.

Operator Evan Griffiths has been particularly impressed by the latest CASE addition to the Griffiths fleet. “It’s amazing, a real game-changer,” he said.

“The comfort in the cab is excellent and the cab is massive, even with the seat fully back. The controls are so smooth and responsive and, with the Topcon, it’s fabulous. The new E-Series machines are just a different level to the previous D-Series.”
Powered by the latest Stage V FPT 6.7-litre diesel engine, delivering 120.4kW (166hp) and 644Nm of torque, the machine has also impressed in terms of fuel consumption. Working on a Morganstone house building site near Haverfordwest, in South Wales, the machine has been returning much improved fuel use when compared with previous machines.




Future Growth
Griffiths Plant Hire and Groundworks was established almost 30 years ago, in Clunderwen, near Carmarthen. The company has built a strong relationship with dealer Riverlea and with plenty of work in the order book, Mr Griffiths is already considering additional machinery to meet customer demand.

“Riverlea are brilliant. The back-up is great,” said Mr Griffiths. “I used to service everything in-house, but now we get a service package with Case and all of our kit is looked after by Riverlea.”

The final upgrade to the CASE CX210E-S may not be immediately obvious. All of Griffiths’ machines and road transport have high quality graphics and branding and the CX210E-S is no exception. Even the CASE numbering, which is normally white, has been replaced by dedicated grey graphics, that match the company’s own livery.