The idea of developing an electric machine had already taken form in the mind of the VENIERI designers at the end of 1999; as the starting point they chose the excellent VF 1.33 mini backhoe loader with diesel traction.

The new machine, called ET 400, remained the same size as the corresponding traditional version (that is, width 135 cm, height 200 cm), thus being particularly suitable for working in limited spaces where it gives excellent performance.

Maintaining the characteristics and the performance levels of a traditional machine, the electric version is an environment-friendly vehicle and extremely valid in all situations which call for a total absence of environmental impact in terms of polluting emissions and noise; of course, that would have been impossible to achieve with any traditional machine.

From the technical viewpoint, it is to be noted that the ET 400 uses a battery of accumulators of the latest generation to supply the necessary energy to both the hydrostatic transmission and the hydraulic circuits, which, by means of electric motors, provide for the movement of the fore loader and of the backhoe in a way that is strictly similar to that of the modern elevator trucks.

Another very important functional aspect is the operating autonomy of the machine; the VENIERI designers also gave this feature very careful attention from a conceptual viewpoint and, after numerous tests, achieved cover for the whole working day.

The company is proud of this innovative project, which has been patented in both Europe and the United States, which is further confirmation of the uniqueness of this solution that makes the ET 400 an efficient earth-moving machine with a pollution level of “0”.