The Cobra Chronicles Part One
We often get asked about how our highly coveted Cobra range came to be. From the initial thought processes and primary designs to the production of different model variants and where we are today, the evolutional anecdote of the Cobra has been relatively untold, until now.
It’s no secret that the piling industry is constantly evolving. From changing consumer demands and building restrictions, to navigating and overcoming everyday challenges, it’s important that we stay up to date with market trends and develop new piling solutions that service both client and industry needs. As a company, we continue to invest a great deal of time and energy into creating new concepts and producing state-of-the-art piling machinery and equipment. Our workshop team, and partners Adler Arbeitsmaschinen, have worked extremely hard to develop and manufacture a range of mini rigs that are suitable to work in even the trickiest of site conditions. By utilising our teams’ wealth of industry knowledge, expertise and experience, we’re creating rigs that are durable and powerful, yet compact and efficient. We’re proud to be able to provide our clients with an array of piling machinery and drilling equipment, including our much sought-after Cobra mini rigs.
So how did the first Cobra come to be? Let us divulge.
The first Cobra mini piling rig was designed, developed, and manufactured in our UK workshop. The Cobra 65 was our first rig to amalgamate a compact structure with a powerful performance output, a core concept which is still carried throughout all our Cobra machines. Our first design did have one limitation which was the fixed mast, however this restriction was addressed and later redesigned and redeveloped into a new design. After the successful launch of the Cobra 65 in the UK, our team started to generate a variety of new mini rig ideas. We knew the Cobra brand had the scope to be further developed and introduced internationally, however in order for our original concept to reach its full potential we needed to collaborate. When it comes to selecting external companies to cooperate with, it’s important for us to determine whether or not the core values of both companies are aligned. Adler Arbeitsmaschinen are globally renowned for utilising sophisticated and new technologies to create highly functional, high-quality equipment. We have always prided ourselves on providing top-notch service, in-depth industry knowledge and high-quality piling equipment, therefore Adler were a great choice of partner for us to collaborate with. In addition to their agricultural machinery, Adler manufacture a range of construction products too, these are infamously robust, durable and reliable; three things we consider as hugely important.
Working alongside Adler, we started brainstorming and briefing new ideas for our next mini rig. We wanted to further develop the Cobra concept and create rigs that were powerful, versatile and manoeuvrable whilst being compact and suitable for sites with restricted access or low headroom. Consequently, the Cobra 9000, Cobra 3000 and the Cobra D500 were created.
The Cobra 9000 was our first mini rig to be designed in conjunction with Adler. This compact rotary rig was built upon Adler’s infamous B50 base and capable of working with casings up to 340mm with a maximum diameter of 350mm. With a basic weight of 2800kg and a maximum height of 4380mm the Cobra 9000 is best suited to sites with low headroom and tricky access.
After the launch of our first Cobra mini rig, we released another new variant the Cobra 3000. The 3000 is a versatile and powerful mini rig, best suited to working on sites with restricted access, limited headroom or in confined spaces. Designed by our workshop engineers and fabricated by Adler, the Cobra 3000 is one of the most compact auger rigs with an onboard engine we have had on our fleet. The 3000 is capable of drilling down to 15m with a maximum diameter of 350mm. Suitable for sectional flight auger piling, the 3000 has onboard controls and a telescopic mast.
Following the successful launch of the Cobra rotary models, we wanted to expand the brand and incorporate a drop hammer variant into the fleet. The Cobra D500 was the first mini drop hammer created in collaboration with Adler and is one of our most popular mini rigs to date. We have sold D500’s all around the globe and continue to manufacture a high volume of rigs to order. The D500 is also one of our hire manager’s most requested rigs due to its flexibility, manoeuvrability and straightforward operation. The Cobra D500 is a compact mini drop hammer ideal for working on sites with restricted access or low headroom due to its maximum working height of 4256mm. The D500 has been meticulously engineered to be lightweight and manoeuvrable with a small working footprint meaning minimal ground churn-up. Plus, with expandable rubber tracks, this mini drop hammer can fit through doorways and gateways with ease, making it an ideal rig for working on sites with tricky access or challenging ground conditions. The D500 has all the attributes required for a top-quality drop hammer, it’s easy to use, fast and straight forward to set up, easy to manoeuvre and transport on and off site and has a superb price to performance ratio.
Over the last five years, our Cobra design has become iconic. All our Cobra machines, both drop hammer and rotary variants, have been purposefully developed to be lightweight, compact, and manoeuvrable, whilst providing an unrivalled power output. Our mini rigs benefit from a low power-to-weight ratio enabling large amounts of power and high levels of torque to be produced. The small, compact structure of the mini rigs coupled with big power and excellent efficiency, means the Cobra rigs continue to be firm favourites amongst our clients. Our Cobra rigs have worked on a variety of projects situated in the UK and abroad, including basement excavations, new housing developments and inside shopping malls. This versatility has proved invaluable within the piling community. As an industry leader, we aim to continue adapting and developing our mini rig designs to complement the current and future challenges faced by those in the construction industry. We aim to lead the industry with the evolution of mini piling rigs.
We currently have a variety of mini rigs available for nationwide hire and international sale. Further information, images and technical specifications can be found on the individual product pages. Alternatively, our current catalogue is now available to download. For additional details or to speak to a member of our team please contact us; 01985 219192 | sales/hire @piling-equipment-ltd.com
