The term long reach excavator was probably first coined by Richard Melhuish, the Chairman of Land & Water.
During the 1970s, Land & Water operated the UK's first hire fleet of these new and innovative long reach hydraulic excavators.
[1] These early machines from Hymac came to be widely preferred to the more traditional drag lines designs.
[1] Around the same time Priestman (and later Ruston Bucyrus) VC (Variable Counterweight) excavators started to become more popular.
The long reach excavator imported to New Zealand for demolitions of tall buildings following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes has been nicknamed Twinkle Toes.