Four Yanmar CE EMEA mini-excavators are being used at the Saline Culcasi in Sicily, Italy, where they have effectively replaced the traditionally manual methods of extracting and handling of sea salt.

Salt is one of the oldest foods in history, discovered more than 10,000 years ago when, during the Neolithic period, people began to feel the need to preserve food (especially meat and fish) that they had procured. Trapani, in Sicily (Italy), has always been an area with a high density of salt pans (facilities for the extraction of salt from sea water), with over 1,500 hectares of these areas present in the southern part of the city. Historically, extraction within the salt pans has always been done manually, due to the delicacy of the product and the logistical difficulties of operating in these sites. In recent years there has been the involvement of mechanisation, initially for water extraction, then for energy production, and now also for the harvesting of the salt itself, particularly through the use of mini-excavators. 

The role of mechanisation in salt harvesting 

As told by Francesco Scibilia, Yanmar CE EMEA (Yanmar)'s dealer for the provinces of Trapani, Palermo and Catania, where he ensures a punctual and reliable sales and service of new and used machines, spare parts and rentals, “we have verified that the ground pressure of the machines does not compromise the bottom of the salt pans, which is basically made up of a mixture of clay and salt. Therefore, without compromising its integrity and impermeability, it is possible to harvest the product using mini-excavators. This is why we took advantage of this opportunity and started to supply compact machines to the owners of the salt pans”. 

Saline Culcasi’s approach aligns seamlessly with Yanmar’s Green Challenge 2050: a global long-term initiative to reduce environmental impact and safeguard ecosystems. Yanmar’s mini excavators are designed to deliver superior performance, while also protecting delicate landscapes like the salt pans. By ensuring minimal ground pressure, these machines maintain the structural integrity of the pans – a crucial factor for preserving the unique environment and impermeability of the salt basins – while enabling efficient salt harvesting. This embodies Yanmar’s commitment to promoting sustainable practices that safeguard both the jobsite and the surrounding natural habitats. 

In particular, four Yanmar mini-excavators (two ViO38-6, one SV19VT and one SV60-6B) were supplied to Saline Culcasi, a company named after the family that owns it and has been producing and marketing sea salt for four generations, respecting the classic customs and rituals of cultivation, by collecting this material within the Trapani Salt Pans Reserve, a WWF area, a FAI heartland, and one of the most beautiful places in Sicily, at times enchanted, the natural habitat of the striking pink flamingos and numerous other species of water birds.  

A unique collaboration at Saline Culcasi 

“As far as the machines in question are concerned,” explains Scibilia, “our decision to include the Yanmar brand to the other products destined for the construction site that we have been marketing for 10 years testifies to our desire for commercial development aimed at the highest quality, which is necessary for continuous growth and the satisfaction of new customer needs, and which has led us to place around 600 units in our areas of competence in recent years”.  

The four units sold at Saline Culcasi occupy a particularly evocative space. Here pools and small windmills alternate with the backdrop of the sea, which merges with the sky. “There is a touch of magic in this place and everything takes on picturesque contours,” says Scibilia. “This place is unique, made up of encroachments tending to blue, sometimes white but also red, separated by thin strips of land, with mounds of salt of dazzling whiteness. All these elements form the backdrop to a history of work and respect for customs handed down over time. Environment, life, hard work and commitment become one here, giving lustre to a city proud of its territory, history and salt culture”. 

A commitment to sustainability and innovation 

But how does salt harvesting work using mini-excavators? Scibilia further explains: "The machine does the same work as man. Previously, the salt was shoveled with shovels and rakes, without scraping the bottom of the basin so as not to pollute the product with mud and clay. In the same way, the mini-excavators collect the salt using very wide buckets, without teeth, in order to heap the salt, which is then loaded into the conveyor belts by other machines. This is, as you can imagine, a delicate operation. However, Yanmar machines are very 'sensitive' and ensure very delicate and precise movements and this has certainly contributed to the development of the use of these machines in this specific field of application.