Delivered the First Bobcat L85 Compact Wheel Loader in Italy

The first new Bobcat L85 compact wheel loader (CWL) in Italy has been sold to Fiumeter, a leading supplier of gravel, sand, and crushed stone for construction sites, based in Cles in the Trentino region of the country. The L85 was supplied by Fides, the Bobcat Authorised Dealer for Trentino Alto Adige.

The new L85 is the ideal choice for carrying out a variety of tasks at the Fiumeter plant in Denno for processing and recycling demolition rubble for reselling. Construction and road contractors deliver the rubble from their sites to the Denno plant and buy it back from Fiumeter once it has been sorted and processed.

At the plant, the new L85 meets multiple needs, utilising its high-performance hydraulic system, a powerful Bobcat engine, and approved attachments that turn the machine into a multi-task machine. The loader also comes standard with Bobcat’s easy-to-use and powerful Quick-Tach attachment system, which allows the operator to quickly mount and remove attachments.

Equipped with a 190 cm bucket, combined with its high stability and excellent breakout force, the L85 works continuously at Denno, moving around the plant and handling inert materials (sand, aggregates and gravel). The L85 offers speed and high performance, taking the materials from their respective heaps and loading them on to trucks for transport to customers.

With the sweeper attachment mounted, the L85 is used to clean and maintain the access and internal roads at the plant, removing both small and large surface debris.

For work in the snow season, which is a constant in Trentino from October to May, Fiumeter has purchased a snow blade attachment, which transforms the L85 loader into a powerful snow plough thanks to the fact that it can be equipped with a high flow option, capable of providing a hydraulic flow of 100 l/min.

Finally, when equipped with pallet forks, the L85 can also handle bulky loads such as the bins for rubble and diesel tanks.

To take on all these tasks, the L85 incorporates Advanced Attachment Control. This revolutionary system enables the operator to switch to an alternative machine control pattern at the touch of a button. This offers independent control of the engine speed (and maximum auxiliary flow) and the machine travel speed. Thanks to the 7-pin connector, the operator can control even the most complicated attachments intuitively and effectively.

Attracted by the Compactness and Visibility

Stefano Borghesi, vehicle manager at Fiumeter, which was founded by his father Rinaldo Borghesi, says: “We chose and eagerly awaited the new L85 loader because of its many strengths, which convinced us right from the start. First of all, we were attracted by its compactness and design. As the only compact machine in the plant, the L85 is able to perform many functions thanks to its manoeuvrability, speed and agility, even when space is limited. It also doesn’t go unnoticed by our customers when they see it in action. They are so impressed with it that they ask us all the time about its performance.

“Equally important is its exceptional visibility. Thanks to the new cab with two all-glass doors, the L85 offers a much better front and side visibility than any competitor’s model, and it provides us with a full view of all the phases of pallet loading with the forks. This is a huge advantage for us in terms of ease of use and safety at work.”

In addition to the all-glass doors, the L85’s visibility is further optimised by the lowered windscreen angles, short and vertical rear bonnet design, the rear camera view and the reduced turning radius.

Luca Schullian, sales manager at Fides, adds: “It is very satisfying for Fides to have sold the first Bobcat L85 in Italy. I consider this machine to be the new benchmark in terms of performance in the CWL segment. My conviction is so deep that I have already concluded sales negotiations with two customers for the new L85 for immediate snow clearing needs, once again beating the competition in both cases.”

Matteo Fondriest, manager of the Denno recycling centre and the main user of the machine, continues: “Operating the L85 is both a comfortable and fully satisfying experience in terms of performance. In particular, an important added value that has been verified in the field is the possibility of using reduced gears and therefore working with the engine at high rpm, adjusting the desired speed with the joystick. This guarantees excellent machine performance, particularly when used as a sweeper and with the snow blade, two situations in which high performance is required. Last but not least, the comfortable seat, the position of the controls and the ample storage space make the L85 easy and pleasant to use, even during long working hours.”

Designed around the operator, the cab on the L85 provides comfort and easy operation, ensuring the operator can work for as long they want. Seat and hand controls can be easily adjusted to fit the operator’s needs. The joystick’s position is adjustable horizontally and integrated in the operator’s suspension seat to ensure the best operation experience and comfort. The steering column is also adjustable in two directions – horizontal and vertical – a feature unique in the CWL industry.

Soft switches to control the main functions of the L85 are conveniently located on the right-hand console. The direction-changing switch [Forward-Neutral-Reverse] is located on the front side of the joystick and is index-finger operated. Controls for differential lock, turtle/rabbit mode, boom float and auxiliary flow control are all at the operator’s fingertips on the top of the joystick.

The jog shuttle is used to reach, navigate and confirm the set-up of the L85 on the 5-inch LED display, and also to switch quickly to the view provided by the rear-view camera. A 12 V charger and several USB ports are also available.

The engine is generally started by the standard key, but for quick engine start and stop during the day, the operator can also use soft-touch buttons conveniently located on the right-hand console. The machine is also equipped with Automatic Parking Brake and Slope Assist features, ensuring the parking brake on the L85 is automatically engaged and disengaged as required. These automotive-style features are unique in the industry for this type of machine.