BACKHOE LOADER GOING STRONG IN SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS AND STILL THE PRIMARY TOOL FOR MANY CONTRACTORS By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor
Left: 1957 Case 320 tractor loader backhoe.
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any of you have read countless articles about the advent of the amazing tractor loader backhoe (backhoe). Several companies contributed to the early development of the backhoe, including Wain-Roy, Case Construction Equipment, John Deere, Ford, New Holland and Cat, who sold their first branded machine in 1985. There are many accounts of who did what and when, but the important thing is that this wonderful Swiss Army Knife-like invention successfully changed how civil general engineering contractors did business. The versatility of having both digging and loading buckets
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Above: Case 580 EV, the industry’s first electric backhoe.
on one piece of equipment meant that contractors could do more with just one machine, one investment. As a result, backhoes are used in a variety of construction, industrial and agricultural applications. From heavy production trenching to material handling, demolition, road construction and general site preparation, the backhoe has long been a favorite of contractors, cities, municipalities and government agencies. The backhoe was also the bestselling piece of construction machinery for decades, but that would
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change right around 2015 when sales began to decline. Enter the compact excavator and skid steer loader. According to reports, equipment operators and construction firms began moving heavily to the combo package of compact excavators and skid steers in 2006. The use of these machines together goes much further back, but 2006 is when sales of these units began to overtake that of the backhoe loader. However, declining backhoe sales did not signal the need to write an epitaph honoring the once-dominant machine of C A LCO N T R AC TO R .CO M
