Mini excavators manufactured in Shandong have been popular worldwide for a long time, and even “Shandong” is a key search term on Alibaba International. Industry insiders have a kind of “love-hate” feeling towards Shandong-made mini excavators.
The reason for love is simple: they are cheap and easy to use. The southern part of China is characterized by many mountains and bodies of water, which are not suitable for large excavators. Many indoor and narrow spaces are also unsuitable for large excavators to operate. These small, agile machines can indeed replace a lot of manual labor. Shandong-made mini skid steer loaders are also popular in the global market. The manufacturing technology of mini excavators has been continuously improving, with a wide variety of attachments such as sweepers, clamps, rotary drills, buckets, quick couplers, multi-functional shovels, trenchers, trenching chains, and more.
The reason for hate is also simple: there is indeed a lot of room for improvement in quality. Air-cooled diesel engines and gear hydraulic pumps challenge the quality and lifespan of excavators. Of course, not all mini excavators manufactured in Shandong are positioned as low-end. Some manufacturers pursue technological advancements, such as Xemach, which almost exclusively uses Japanese water-cooled engines, Japanese brand hydraulic systems, and American travel motors. They have always held themselves to strict quality standards, continuously improving themselves according to Kubota’s standards.
Many industry insiders believe that Shandong-made mini excavators represent the future of small excavator technology in China. This is mainly because Shandong manufacturing occupies the vast majority of the market share. As time goes on, customers’ demands for quality will only increase, prompting manufacturers to continuously improve their quality.