The portfolio of Swedish company Volvo is both extensive and impressive, ranging from domestic cars and SUVs to commercial trucks and buses.
Volvo ‘Penta’ provides power units for marine and land applications, while Volvo Autonomous Solutions is at the forefront of material handing automation. Volvo is also the parent company to a host of companies, however Volvo, akin to many other large cooperations, has purchased, partnered with, and assimilated many companies into its portfolio which have added greatly to the success of the company. One of these in particular are the Clark Michigan loading shovels.
To provide some context, the Michigan Power Shovel Company, which could trace its roots right back to the early 1900’s, was purchased by Clark Equipment company in 1953. Clark were keen to break into the heavy materials handling market, and capitalised on the both the reputation and customer loyalty of the brand by retaining the ‘Michigan’ name for many of its markets, with many loaders being sold as Clark-Michigan.
While the company mainly produced large quarry scale loaders, it also enjoyed success with a number of smaller scale loaders. Fast forward to the early 80’s and the Clarke 35A was replaced by the 35B. The arrival of the 35B to the market was at a key time for many Irish contractors as the output of silage cutting machinery was increasing steadily, especially with the advancement of self-propelled silage harvesters. Looking beyond the tractor and buckrake, contractors investigated industrial loaders for pushing up silage such as the Cat IT as well as JCB FarmMaster ranges.
Finding favour with many contractors, the Clark Michigan 35B is powered by a spritely five-litre, six-cylinder naturally aspirated ISUZU engine producing 84hp with 264NM of torque at an economical 1600rpm. The Clark designed transmission provides 3F/3R complete with both front and rear differential lock. Despite its small in stature appearance, the loader weighs in at 6.7tons.
The front loader is powered by a 122/min hydraulic pump, which can complete the loader cycle time in 10.2 seconds. The cab provides an excellent view of the loader, and the 35B is renowned for being manoeuvrable and powerful. The 35B was a direct competitor for the JCB FarmMaster 410 and Caterpillar IT12, the 14 inch ground clearance of the Clark being a downside.
In 1985, Clark sold of their loader side of their business to the Volvo VME group who had launched their ‘L’ series of loaders. While the large Clark Michigan were rebranded as Michigan, the smaller loaders were phased out to make way for their Volvo counterparts.
An entry into the artic loader market, the Clarke Michigan 35B put down roots of confidence and paved the way for Volvo’s L series of articulated loaders with many opting for Volvo when replacing their 35B.
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