Earthmoving & soil compaction

Caterpillar claims customers can cut costs on earthmoving contracts when employing the latest D6R bulldozer. The machine is said to offer low fuel consumption and reduced downtime due to ease of maintenance and is aimed at contractors operating in developing nations.

Portuguese contractor Mota-Engil Group has been awarded the construction of a 270km Douro Interior Highways project in the north-east of Portugal, one of the longest highway projects ever awarded in the country.

The forthcoming Tier 4 emissions legislation represents a great leap forward in technology, Mike Woof reports

Caterpillar Work Tools is introducing a new line of pin-on and coupler buckets for its 374D and 390D hydraulic excavators, featuring improved designs to take advantage of increased machine performance.

The excavator remains the key earthmoving tool, Mike Woof reports. The versatile hydraulic excavator has been at the heart of most earthmoving projects around the world for many years, a dominance that looks set to remain. Because of the importance to the construction sector of the excavator, manufacturers are keen to upgrade and improve their competing machines on an almost continuous basis. New technology proliferates in hydraulic excavators while firms are also focussing on increasing the range of tasks

Caterpillar's UK dealer Finning UK has completed the first Cat Certified Hydraulic Rebuild (CHR) in Europe. mWhile rebuild of a machine or a powertrain is an option that many Cat dealers worldwide have been offering for years under the Cat Certified Rebuild (CCR) and the Cat Certified Powertrain (CPT) programmes, following the same idea of rebuild, Finning carried out a hydraulic system overhaul for customer Westminster Dredging.

Hitachi's new wheeled excavator offers the latest engine and advanced hydraulics. The short-tail ZX145W-3 suits applications in confined urban areas as well as on highway projects. The machine has been developed especially for European customers and features an integrated transmission and a reinforced structure.

New Holland has launched the first two models in its new C Series range of crawler excavators.

A novel use of a scrap shear has helped safety upgrades for the A14 highway linking the Italian cities of Bari and Naples. A Promove SC2200 scrap shear has been used to cut and remove old steel guard-rail on the highway.

CNH Global NV, a global player in the agricultural and construction equipment business, has acquired full ownership of L&T-Case Equipment, an unconsolidated joint venture established in 1999 with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to manufacture and sell construction and building equipment in India.