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Sink or swim.

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Sink or swim

by Michelle EauClaire

Amphibious excavators find themselves treading in pretty deep water, and it is up to design engineers to find solutions to keep the machines afloat.

At times, "off-highway" is so far off the beaten path, even the multitude of loader, dozer and excavator options in a contractor's arsenal aren't enough to deal with the terrain.

Tracked machines are often used when the earth is soft or easily displaced. But, when the ground beneath you isn't solid at all, another technique has to be implemented.

The amphibious excavator has been around for decades but is rarely seen, in part because many places have no need for an aquatic machine. However, in areas like Louisiana or The Netherlands where bayous and marsh lands are plentiful, the amphibious excavator is no stranger.

Jakob Knoop -- owner of Knoop Machinery B.V., Donderen, The Netherlands, and designer of the Waterking amphibious excavator -- supplies to countries all over the world. The company was founded in 1990 but didn't start manufacturing amphibious excavators until 2005. Initially the company worked with the government of Holland in its wetlands, but their machines proved to be inefficient because of the time needed to move through the wetland.

"I knew there were amphibious excavators in the world, especially in America....

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