Machines & Tools

Rokla’s latest Webster units

(From left) Webster, Volkert and Piasecki

Rokla GmbH has announced it recently started production of the latest generation of Webster hydraulic cutting units with high-quality components from Germany.

Startup Rokla GmbH and British engineer Ian Webster have launched a campaign under the brand name Rockwheel. “The novel, extremely powerful transverse cutting units are robust, reliable and versatile, available in various sizes and will be launched on the world market at competitive prices. Rockwheel cutting units combine British inventive talent and decades of experience in cutting design with the ‘Made in Germany’ quality seal,” a Rokla statement said.

Components for the cutting units are sourced entirely from renowned German suppliers and assembled by skilled employees in Baden-Württemberg. “This guarantees that a Rockwheel cutting unit is a top-quality product,” states Robert Piasecki, one of two founders of Rokla, the other being Klaus Volkert. 

The company has its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Langenburg. Rokla produces a wide range of gearless cutting units as well as cutting units with gearboxes in the lower- to high-performance category.

Until recently the business partners held executive posts at the construction equipment manufacturer Terex. In the run-up to the current reorganisation of the business division Terex-Compact, they decided to leave the company and to start their own business based on the latest Webster cutting technology designs.

In the middle-sized and medium-performance class the Rockwheel cutting units ‘Made in Germany’ have only three main components: the housing, motor and cutting heads (with picks). Design engineer Webster deliberately dispenses with gearboxes on these four models. It is Webster’s point of view that on these cutting units, with outputs ranging from 29 to 110 kW and used on 10 to 40-tonne excavators, the gearboxes offer no advantage but cost money.

“Our three-part Rockwheel cutting units provide the required maximum performance at all times but are significantly lighter in weight than those of the direct competitors,”  Piasecki states. As a result it is possible to achieve a powerful performance with Rockwheel cutting units – even with smaller excavators.

A four-part Rockwheel model with gearbox for two- to 10-tonne excavators will also be available. This 22 kW cutting unit has a special feature: with a second motor the power output and performance of the (tool) attachment can easily be doubled. Currently the largest Rockwheel cutting unit is being produced – also a four-part unit, with gearbox. This powerhouse for excavators of 40 tonnes and over has a power of 140 kW to 220 kW.

All Rockwheel cutting units are equipped with high-torque hydraulic engines and are designed so that the picks, which are mounted on the drums at an optimal angle, can penetrate the material with maximum power. The cutting heads of the smoothly and quietly operating cutting units rotate at a speed that achieves outstanding excavation and ensures a clean profile.

Cutting units from Webster’s ‘inventor’s workshop’ have for decades proven their versatility, efficiency, economy, and reliability during use. In the UK and several Asian countries, Webster and Angela Naylor already hold a strong market position with their company Webster Equipment Ltd, Sheffield, UK.