Four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen is no stranger to challenging terrain. Now, the Finnish rally legend is taking on rock from a different perspective, using a Normet Xrock XB18 hydraulic breaker for a construction project on a rocky island in Finland.

"Rocks certainly became familiar during my rally career. Even with pace notes, we often made contact with rocks and even cliffs. More often than not, the result was damage to the car—sometimes even retirement from the rally," Tommi laughs.

This time, however, the rock is the obstacle being removed.

Mäkinen needed to prepare the site for a traditional smoke sauna in the Tahko area, including levelling rock and excavating trenches for electrical cables and water pipes. The island location added its own logistical challenge, with the excavator and attachments transported across the water on a pontoon barge.

The equipment selected for the project was a Normet Xrock XB18 hydraulic breaker mounted on Mäkinen’s Volvo EC180 excavator.

Breaks Bedrock with Normet Xrock XB18 hydraulic hammer

The right setup for demanding rock breaking

The XB18 is part of the Normet Xrock hydraulic breaker range, developed for demanding construction, quarrying and mining applications. Its robust design, practical serviceability and reliable breaking performance make it suitable for jobs where equipment needs to perform consistently in challenging conditions.

For Mäkinen’s project, the breaker was equipped with an automatic lubrication system, supporting regular lubrication during operation and reducing the need for manual intervention. The excavator’s quick coupler also enabled efficient changes between the breaker and bucket as the work progressed.

"So far everything has gone according to plan. The Xrock breaker has performed exactly as expected. I've already excavated a cable trench quite a long distance into the bedrock at a depth of more than half a metre."

For a first-time hydraulic breaker operator, the combination of a suitable carrier, a properly configured breaker and straightforward attachment changes helped turn a demanding island construction project into a manageable task.

From construction projects to rock-breaking applications in underground mining, Normet Xrock solutions are designed around the same priorities: reliable performance, practical usability and equipment that keeps the work moving.