Dan Ingman has been familiar with Lännen machines since the 90s, and although other alternative brands have been tried at times, he has always returned to the familiar domestic brand. Now the newest machine of Konepalvelu D. Ingman Oy from Sipoo has the Lännen 8700M.
In the morning we were in Espoo, and now we are already in Ruoholahti, Helsinki. Asphalt, or more precisely asphalt roadbed bases, take Dan Ingman and his Lännen 8700M from one place to another around the Uusimaa area in Finland making roadbed bases at PEAB sites has been Konepalvelu D. Ingman Oy's "summer job" for about three decades.
- I started these jobs in the 90’s at Tienrakennus Heikki Ojanen, and Lemminkäinen was building roadbed bases at that time, Dan Ingman recalls.
- And have been made every summer since then, he continues.
Lemminkäinen has since changed to PEAB, but the basic jobs remained unchanged. The work area is roughly defined as at Uusimaa and, more precisely, in addition to the capital region, for example, Sipoo, Porvoo, Tuusula, Järvenpää, Kerava and Hyvinkää and the corners bordering these regions.
These sites are run with a combination of truck, low-loader trailer, and the Lännen multipurpose machine and when winter cools the surface of the terrain, the type of a work changes to snow work in the city of Vantaa in the Tikkurila region.
When the season turns to springtime, the winter season is finished off by surface brushing, before starting the new asphalting season.
Asphalt pavements carry Dan Ingman and Lännen multipurpose machine through the Uusimaa region. Konepalvelu D. Ingman Oy has been working on PEAB sites in the summer for about three decades.
Back to the familiar and yet new
The first Lännen for Ingman came in 1994, when a Lännen C110 machine was purchased.
- That's what I started with, and then a few other machines came in between, until in 1999 Lännen product came again. It was a 740 model and since then it has been this brand almost all the time, says Dan.
However, the non-stop Lännen -product line started by green/yellow was temporary paused in 2021, when Ingman says he tried another brand in this machine segment.
- It was such an experiment, he sums up that period of a few years, which ended in the spring of 2023 with a return to a familiar brand in the form of the new Lännen 8700M multifunction machine.
- Yes, Lännen is always a Lännen, and it should have stayed that way, Ingman thinks.
- Once you get used to these.
Habit and experience are of course reflected in the handling of the machine, which over time grows as if it were a part of the nervous system - every movement and command comes from the spine without separate thinking.
Still, Ingman heaps praise on the machine's technology as well.
- The whole machine is good, but especially the front loader is really successful and the visibility is fine. There is a lot of front bucket work and it does work well. Likewise, there is sufficient lifting height and this can lift even heavy loads, says Ingman.
- I have a Hagqvist collecting brush and it is heavy. Still, it can be emptied onto the truck bed, and that's where you can really see its power.
"Yes, Lännen is always a Lännen, and it should have stayed that way. Once you get used to these."
According to Dan Ingman, the air conditioning in his new multifunctional Lännen 8700M backhoe loader is exceptional, and he is impressed with the clarity and quality of the redesigned computer and screen. Additionally, Ingman notes that despite the minimal increase in length, the longer machine remains incredibly robust.
Just one small wish for the factory
Making roadbed bases is often busy work, and the destinations often change. Therefore, the machine is moved mainly on a low-loader trailer. Of course, short distances are easily covered by driving, but since the truck is in any case needed to move and carry the soil and roadbed materials the Lännen machine travels at one go on the low-loader trailer.
Although Ingman doesn't really have development targets or corrective feedback about the new 8700M, there is one suggestion at the idea level.
- Perhaps even smaller machines should come as an alternative into production. Not always bigger, Dan throws a challenge in the direction of the factory.
On the other hand, the issue has already been considered in the order phase in cooperation with the factory. Therefore, smaller, 30-inch wheels have been chosen for this machine instead of the normal 34-inch ones, in order to drive under the bridges better with the low-loader trailer.
- And even though this is really agile on these narrow sites, a smaller machine would certainly be even more agile, adds Ingman.
With the latest M-model, Ingman has noted a few improvements that serve the driver.
- The air conditioning is even better and that computer and its renewed display screen are really clear and good. The new longer machine compared to the old one is also really sturdy, even though the length has not increased by much.
Dan Ingman and his team work area is roughly defined as at Uusimaa and, more precisely, in addition to the capital region, for example Sipoo, Porvoo, Tuusula, Järvenpää, Kerava and Hyvinkää and the corners bordering these regions. These sites are run with a combination of truck, low-loader trailer, and the Lännen multipurpose machine.
A big or small job case - always doing well
In asphalt works, efforts have also been made to specialise in the machine's attachments, and a Kemroc-milling cutter rear attachment has been in use for eight years. Ingman was among the first in Finland to use this solution.
The size of the foundation work sites varies from a few square meters to even more than 2,000 square meters. According to Ingman, they are mainly handled with this one and the same machine – the Lännen 8700M.
- Sometimes we take a road planer to help, but usually, this is enough for very large worksites.
What about machine control? Have you changed with the new machine?
- Well, sometimes at a construction site I've been asked what system I use when the result has been so smooth and in level. But there's no other control system here than your own head, it's been enough until now, Dan laughs at the end, and starts levelling the roadbed base with the front bucket.
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