JCB engines for Italian telehandlers

UK manufacturer JCB has signed a long-term agreement to supply engines for a new range of rotating telescopic handlers to be launched by Italian company Magni Telescopic Handlers.

Up to 1,000 machines a year will be produced by Magni TH, headed by Riccardo Magni, from a new 6,000m² production facility in Castelfranco Emilia, near Modena, in northern Italy.

The agreement to supply the Ecomax engine to Magni follows a recent £3 million a year deal for JCB to provide Johnston Sweepers, claiming to be the world’s leading manufacturer of street cleansing equipment, with the Ecomax.

The Magni Rotos will be powered by the JCB Ecomax Tier 4i engine. There will be seven models in the range offering payloads of between 4 and 6 tonnes, and with lift heights of between 18 and 30m. The first of the products will go into production in the spring and a number of the models will feature patented stabiliser technology which is exclusive to Magni TH.

Magni TH president Riccardo Magni said, “JCB’s innovative approach to Tier 4i engine development brings real fuel saving benefits to customers, and my 30 years’ experience in the design and production of rotos, together with JCB Ecomax engines, will be a great force to be reckoned with.”

JCB said that with the introduction of Tier 4 interim legislation, most engine manufacturers had set out to meet the massive reductions in particulate emissions by incorporating a diesel particulate filter. JCB claimed to have used the new laws as an opportunity to innovate and engineer a solution that would mean no after-treatment, and consequently lower running costs for the customer.

One of the major benefits, it said, was on fuel consumption. The Ecomax engine, which has no diesel particulate filter (DPF), is said to achieve savings of up to 10% over its Tier 3 counterpart.

JCB added that there was also maintenance and service benefit with the Ecomax as it ran on standard engine oils, with no additional service requirements.