US debut for Caterpillar 352 Straight Boom

It has been designed for low-level demolition work up to five storeys, as well as bridges – of which almost 80,000 require repairs in North America alone – and industrial infrastructure.

The Caterpillar 352 Straight Boom excavator is put through its paces at the NDA Live Demo event. (Photo: D&Ri magazine)

Compared to the standard 352 Reach configuration, its stick/boom delivers 36% more stick pin height and a vertical reach of 12.85 m (42 ft).

Working with up to a 6,000 kg (13,228 lb) attachment weight, the new 352 Straight Boom features standard Cat technologies for both demolition and excavating applications.

A feature of the excavator is the optional 11.35 t (25,022 lb) removable counterweight design.

The mechanical variable gauge undercarriage has a 2,990 mm (9 ft 10 in) transportation width when needed and extends 500 mm (19.7”) in working mode.

Standard Falling Object Guards (FOGS) protect the roof and front reinforced P5A laminated windows from falling debris during demolition, while helping to maintain visibility of the jobsite.

It also offers remote diagnostics and updating capabilities.

Remote Troubleshoot allows the dealer to diagnose fault codes and machine issues remotely without interrupting the production cycle, while Remote Flash allows software updates to be pushed out to the machine and installed at a time convenient for the customer.

Caterpillar’s global product marketing consultant and application specialist Vincent Migeotte said the main markets for the new machine will be Europe and North America.