|
|
Link-Belt is an old and respected name for shovels and cranes in the US. I'm of the impression that Link-Belt still makes some hydra cranes, but what became known as the 'excavator' replaced the mechanical shovels, and in the market shake out of 1980, Asian manufacturers came to dominate the US excavator market. The Link Belt excavator is no exception. It is a Sumimoto excavator with a Link-belt paint job. The essentially identical machine is also marketed in the US under the Case label with different paint.
The product you see here is a mid 1980's version of the LS-4300. It's similarity to the Link-Belt 4300 log loaders featured on the log loader section of this web site is only superficial. They are of the C2 series which is a newer generation. Other than the tracks this machine and the newer C2 series have very little in common. Though both have Izuzu Diesel engines they are different models and even installed in the excavator other end to. The newer machines are heavier as well as being more powerful. This machine is thought to weigh just over 30 tons.