United Tractors Still Trial Applying Electrification To Heavy Equipment

Illustration heavy equipment (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - PT United Tractors Tbk is still testing the application of electrification on heavy equipment. Until now, the heavy equipment distributor has no plans to market electrification products in the near future.

PT United Corporate Secretary Tractors Sara K. Loebis said that the company only introduced excavators last year and this year plans to test the heavy equipment.

"Electrification hasn't yet, because it's still a trial (trial). Last year at Mining Expo we induced electric excavators but we really just integrated (introduced). This year the plan is to be tried on customers," he said in Jakarta, Friday.

Sara said that the company could only market products widely after the electric excavator trial stages were completed.

According to him, currently United Tractors is focused on selling small and medium-sized excavators with hybrid technology.

Sara explained that the determining factor in the sale of electrical heavy equipment, including those with hybrid technology, is the level of consumer demand.

"Costumers are willing if you use a hybrid? Because it gives added value in terms of their predicate, yes, it's environmentally friendly. If so, we are ready for this, but if not we provide conventional ones," he said.

He called the nickel mining company one of the more environmentally friendly hybrid heavy equipment enthusiasts.

PT United Tractors Tbk introduced a New 20 Ton Class Electric Excavator product that utilizes power sources from electric batteries at the Mining Indonesia 2023 exhibition.

Resources in the electric excavator are stored in batteries that receive electricity supply from external sources such as power lines of the State Electricity Company (PLN) or generators.