Takeuchi-US recently invited the LM team, along with several other industry publications and dealers, to its training center and company headquarters in Pendergrass, Ga.
The Takeuchi Media Days event, hosted July 21-22, celebrated the release of its newest product: the TL11R3 compact track loader.
“The main difference (from previous CTLs) would be cabin features,” says Lee Padgett, Takeuchi’s national product manager. “Better HVAC, radio, Bluetooth, all the creature comforts inside the cab, the electric over-hydraulic controls; obviously being able to be programmed to (operators’) specific needs. Whether it be faster tracks, faster loader arms, faster dumps or bucket speed, those sorts of things have all been taken into account.”
The machine officially launches Aug. 1, and Padgett says the best way to start testing and ordering the TL11R3 is through one of the 300-plus Takeuchi dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
Padgett says other key benefits of the TL11R3 include the 40 gallons per minute, 3,480 psi auxiliary hydraulics for high-flow attachments and 14-pin connector for better attachment versatility. The 107.3-horsepower machine is also designed to fit in tighter spaces on the jobsite.
Takeuchi stated the new CTL has been improved thanks to customer and industry feedback, something owner of Elite Earthworks Brandon Johnson says he’s been happy to take part in since becoming a brand ambassador for Takeuchi.
“(Takeuchi) actually sent me one of these 11s last year. I had it for about three months, so I kind of gave them some ideas or different things I may tweak or change,” Johnson says. “I will say, with the tweaks and stuff they’ve done on this one, this is probably the best electric over-hydraulic controls that I have ran, and I know that’s kind of how the industry and everything else is going.”
Padgett also revealed that besides the new CTL, the company is also looking to expand its attachment lineup, which is currently in the works. He says one that he expects to be big in the landscape industry soon is tilt rotators for excavators, an attachment Takeuchi currently offers. Tilt rotators can improve productivity and efficiency by reducing the need to reposition the machine, and that makes it possible to perform more tasks with greater accuracy for enhanced time and cost savings.
The Media Days event also featured a tour of the training facility and headquarters, with stops at the multiple classrooms and meeting areas designed to train service technicians, the demo yard where each attendee got the chance to test drive Takeuchi equipment, the storage facilities, office spaces and more.
Stephen Odum, national marketing manager, says the Media Days event was good to allow people to see their facilities, machines and to ask questions about their equipment. He says it was a great opportunity to communicate with the industry about company news and processes.
“It was a great event, great weather. It was a first for me, being here to host the event,” he says. “Had a great crowd, good representation from the industry media, and we’re just looking forward to a successful launch of the TL11R3.”
