Features

Utility machines are designed to be highly versatile and able to handle a wide range of duties but using attachments can further broaden the array of capabilities - Mike Woof writes The utility equipment market is a diverse sector of the construction machinery business. These versatile machines can be used in a vast array of duties and are very popular in the rental equipment market. Skid steer loaders, compact tracked loaders, compact wheeled loaders, mini excavators, zero tailswing excavators, wheeled

European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA), whose aim is to be the trusted voice of the European asphalt paving industry, organised its ninth Symposium in Turkey – Istanbul on 4 June 2015 with more than 110 participants from all Europe - Gülay Malkoc writes.

The demand for bitumen additives is set to increase. Kristina Smith reports on some of the companies who are preparing to meet that increased demand. The variation in quality and composition of bitumen around the world is something that has been well-documented in these pages. Processing technologies for crude oil are changing, the way bitumen is traded is changing, and the final result can be a product that may not be all it seems – or huge variations from one shipment to another. Help is at hand, however,

A quarry facility in Russia has increased working efficiency by using Sandvik machinery. Located in in the Kurgan Region (Urals) of Russia, the Sinarsky Quarry is benefiting from an increase in throughput and reduced downtime since its new Sandvik crushing and screening plant became fully operational. The company invested over €2 million on the new plant, and is aiming to use it in order to double its aggregates production. This increase in production is required in order to meet the doubling of demand for

Chinese manufacturer LiuGong has adjusted its strategy to meet the changes in the construction machinery industry Slow recovery from the global economic recession has impacted on the construction machinery industry. Intense regional, political and economic situations, low demand for resources, a decrease in emerging economies and conservative investment have led to a sharp decrease in demand for heavy machinery. LiuGong is tackling this using its refined initiative programme, however, and the firm sa

McCloskey is further developing its sales and support coverage with the addition of Ries Engineering to its global dealer network The Ethiopian dealer Ries Engineering S Co (RESCO) expands the McCloskey distributor coverage worldwide in a growing market. The dealer has already finalised deals with customers and intends to further increase the presence of the McCloskey brand across East Africa. “Having Ries on board will further strengthen our expanding distribution network in Africa. Ethiopia presents

Kids start to complain about the amount of time in a car after two 2 and 23 minutes of driving, according to research in the UK. Around that time, the driver will hear from the back seat the first of a long list of complaints: “Are we nearly there yet?” And by 2 hours and 37 minutes, angry rows have broken out. These squabbles are almost inevitable, noted the study from the UK’s Highways England. Nearly 80% of families say kids quarrel during long-distance summer trips. Many parents said this happens wi

New Concession Company to build northern relief road of Moscow Kutuzov Avenue – Eugene Gerden writes New Concession Company has won a tender for the building of the Northern relief road of Kutuzovsky Avenue, a major radial avenue in the Russian capital Moscow. The firm is part of Leader company (one of Russia's largest management companies), owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, a well-known Russian businessman, who is reportedly close to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. It is planned that the building of the n

A new road design can improve local water supplies. A new road design could help mitigate heavy flooding during rainy seasons and alleviate water shortages in dry periods. This innovative concept is a winner in the IRF’s Global Road Achievement Awards, in the Environmental Mitigation category. Road designs often exacerbate issues arising from heavy rainfall. However, a new initiative is making roads instruments for harvesting wate and for improving land productivity along the roads. The Roads for Water and

German manufacturer LINTEC has supplied three of its highly sophisticated, containerised asphalt mixing plants for use on the important BR-163 highway project in Brazil. This is one of several major plant orders for the firm for use in road projects in Latin America. According to LINTEC, its activity in this market is helping contribute to the construction of high quality roads that will last.

Benninghoven has built an asphalt plant specially to order for a customer in Norway. Contractor Veidekke had a tight timeframe in which the plant could be erected at the firm’s chosen site in Sörli, as well as specific requirements as to its configuration. Benninghoven was able to construct the special TBA 4000 UC asphalt mixing plant to the firm’s request. A notable feature of the plant is that its large capacity materials towers stand 33m high. The order was received in January 2014, with the plant the

US-based P&S Paving has boosted output from its asphalt facility in Daytona, Florida with the purchase of a new plant from Astec Industries. The firm supplies a wide range of customers ranging from small urban works up to large highway projects for the Florida Department of Transportation. As a result the company needed a modern, versatile and productive plant capable of delivering an array of mixes and quantities, including high quality materials. Tim Phillips, president of P&S Paving said, “We want

The first new airport constructed in Australia for 45 years is now open for business. The Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport in Queensland is located 17km to the west of Toowomba. The facility was completed at the end of last year by Wagners, an Australian family-owned construction company. Toowoomba lies in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, located 126km west of Queensland’s capital city, Brisbane. Toowoomba’s population of approximately 165,000 makes it Australia’s second-most populous inland city. T

Florida’s Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is now benefiting from an upgraded runway. A key portion of the work has been carried out using equipment from Minnich. The airport handles about 23 million passengers/year and with about 3 million of those from international flights, there was a need to develop the facility to cope with the larger aircraft used on international flights. The Broward County Aviation Department was responsible for the work and specified that the runway exp

An airport in Germany has seen the use of very innovative asphalt paving techniques, with the use of dual-layer, hot-to-hot working. The method was used to meet a very tight schedule for the runway rebuilding work, while also delivering the high quality required. Two InLine Pave trains from Vögele were used at Rostock-Laage Airport to lay a new surface and binder course. The operation was innovative as the process used both hot-to-hot, echelon paving as well as dual layer, hot-on-hot working. Using this