Caterpillar produces its 50,000th wheel excavator

Jun 12, 2023

This summer, Caterpillar announced it had completed production of its 50,000th wheel excavator.

The Cat M318 was sold to Wolff & Müller, a privately-owned construction company based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Representatives from Wolff & Müller received the commemorative Cat M318 wheel excavator at a ceremony held at Cat’s facility in Grenoble, France.

The wheel excavator line was created in 1984 by Caterpillar, Eder and Zeppelin Baumaschinen, the Cat dealer in Germany. Under the Cat Eder brand, the wheel excavator included four models.

By 1992, the line became a 100 per cent Cat product with a designated wheel excavator team.

“Offering quick movement on the jobsite and from site to site without damaging the ground, the wheel excavator proved to be a game changer for contractors working in congested areas and markets with mature infrastructure,” said Brian Abbott, Vice President of Product Management for the Excavation Division.

“The advanced hydraulic design, plumbed differently than conventional excavators, allows them to go beyond digging to operate a range of hydraulic work tools to increase application flexibility. We are pleased to present our 50,000th production wheel excavator to our longtime customer, Wolff & Müller.”

The flagship Cat M318 Wheel Excavator offers a balanced design of size and performance. It’s compact enough to work in tight spaces but delivers high performance for larger projects, making it an all-around performer.

Recent design advancements offer increased fuel economy, higher swing torque, improved visibility and maintenance as well as a suite of technology such as Cat Grade, Cat Payload and Cat E-Fence.

Wolff & Müllern now owns more than 100 Caterpillar machines for completing structural and industrial construction, civil engineering, steel construction, building renovation, road construction and foundation work.

“We are very pleased about our partnership with Zeppelin and Caterpillar, which has existed for almost 70 years and is constantly expanding. The reasons for the good cooperation are, in addition to the innovative machine technology, the excellent nationwide service and, above all, the appreciative, personal contact with each other,” said Torsten Schuckert, Wolff & Müllern’s Head of Logistics Service Unit.

Europe and South Korea were among the first adopters of Cat’s wheel excavators. However, the Cat wheel excavator line has grown in popularity in China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North America and other world markets.

Today’s expanded Cat wheel excavator line includes the Cat M314 to M322 for markets with higher emissions regulations; the M315 GC for China; three models (M315 to M320D2) for markets with lower emissions standards; the M323F railroad-specific model; and four materials handlers from the MH3022 to MH3040.