ISSUE 4 2012 FEBRUARY
TOWERING AMBITION Work starts on
COMMERCIAL MENTALITY Bringing boats and trucks to the GCC
Kingdom Tower
MINING BOOMING Digging up prospects
JAPAN: A YEAR ON An industry recovers
PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ
Plus: ACROss THE INDusTRY
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NEWs & VIEWs
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AuCTION TRENDs
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IN THE lABs
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AND MORE
Contents
IS S U E 4 2012 F E B R U A RY
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Editorial Getting into the swing of things.
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NEws What’s happening across the region in the world of construction machinery.
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NEws aNalysis Sany shocks the industry buying planning an audacious swoop for great rival Putzmeister.
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KiNgdom towEr bEgiNs CMME talks to Bauer about progress onsite at the Kingdom Tower development in Jeddah.
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QuarryiNg aNd miNiNg Scratching below the surface of the quarrying and mining sector.
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JordaN miNiNg rEport How does COMEDAT in Jordan keeps its machines going for decades?
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hEavy hittEr Anders Osberg, CFO, Volvo reveals why the company was right
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to ditch its car business.
poiNt of viEw Do you require access? CMME finds out what JLG are up to and gives a quick guide to powered access equipment.
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thE big topic How Japan learned its lessons from last year’s tsunami disaster.
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futurE tEchNology A future where flying robots build tall towers? Sounds dangerous. CMME takes a look at a landmark for robotics and a possible future for construction.
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ExamiNiNg Excavators Bobcat celebrates 25 years of its mini-excavators this year. CMME looks back at its history and talks to the team behind the mahine for a glimpse at its future.
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NEw products Machines keep on getting bigger and more powerful, CMME rounds up the months newest and greatest machines coming to a distributor near you.
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sEctor focus We look at the demand for attachments.
thE last word IBISWorld industry research analyst Josh McBee predicts big things for truck-mounted cranes.
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Editor’s Letter
Publisher Dominic De SouSa GrOuP COO naDeem HooD ManaGinG DireCtOr RicHaRD JuDD eDiToRiaL eDitOr STepHen WHiTe stephen@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9110 CreatiVe DireCtOr RuTH SHeeHY info@ruthsheehy.com GraPhiC DesiGner GLenn RoXaS glenn@cpidubai.com COntributOrs conRaD eGbeRT, DaVe ReeDeR, KaRen YounG
Working it out
W
elcome to this month’s issue of CMME. We’re fully into 2012 mode now and already it is gearing up to be a hectic year.
Even as we put the finishing touches to the magazine, news was hitting about Sany’s acquisition of Putzmeister and XCMG’s – unconfirmed, I stress – move for a stake in SchwingStetter. Suddenly the landscape of the industry is taking on a very different shape. The questions is: how do either of these deals affect us in the region? Well, in the short term, the simple answer is probably not very much, there are corporate cultures to be integrated; objectives to be set out first. But further ahead, the mixture of European know-how and Chinese ambition means we can expect some new and unseen machines delivered in entirely new ways. Make no mistake, tackling the Middle East market is one of the reasons these deals have happened. Chinese companies have told me on many occasions that they struggle here and now they can set to work on not only capitalising on their new acquisitions’ strength here but also use existing networks to push their own ranges. The Middle East is likely to remain a compelling argument for other Chinese companies to follow suit and hit the acquisition trial too for as long as the mature markets struggle. After a couple of years of stagnation, the early signs are that the market could experience a huge amount of change in the next 12 months, so we’re not resting on our laurels and working hard to make CMME even better positioned to cover it. Much of our time in January was spent planning the next stage for the magazine and a whole raft of exciting new features not just for CMME itself but also broadening our scope online and other initiatives that will not only build on what we’ve done so far but really bring the work of construction machinery in the Middle East to life.
aDVeRTiSinG COMMerCial DireCtOr RaZ iSLam raz@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9129 business DeVelOPMent DireCtOr micHaeL STanSFieLD michael@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9128 ciRcuLaTion Database anD CirCulatiOn ManaGer RaJeeSH m rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 pRoDucTion OPeratiOns DireCtOr JameS RaWLinS jamesr@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9108 PrODuCtiOn ManaGer JameS p THaRian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 DiGiTaL www.constructionmachineryme.com DiGital serViCes ManaGer TRiSTan TRoY maaGma Web DeVelOPers JeRuS KinG baTion eRiK bRioneS JeFFeRSon De JoYa Louie aLma online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100 pubLiSHeD bY
1013 centre Road, new castle county, Wilmington, Delaware, uSa branch office po box 13700 Dubai, uae Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 pRinTeD bY printwell printing press LLc
Speaking to many of you over the last few weeks has convinced me that we are on the right track, but there is much more to do. Time to get busy.
stephen White, Editor, CMME
© copyright 2012 cpi all rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.
Construction Machinery Middle east is brought to you by the team behind the Kingdom of saudi arabia’s largest construction machinery event, the Construction Machinery show. the next show takes place in Jeddah, 22-25 april 2012.
www.constructionmachineryshow.com
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News Round-Up
neWS New machines, new offices, new projects, new initiatives - we look around the region at what’s new this month.
Shard on the riSe UniC cranes brought traffic to a standstill on the South Bank in London last month. it lifted one of its 6-tonne capacity Unic UrW-706 mini spider cranes by a tower crane onto the 87th floor of the building which is due to be completed later this year. Before being taken up to the top the crane was dismantled into two. it will complete cladding work.
HUGe KSA AUction lAUncHed Al-fawzaan, one of Saudi Arabia’s major auction houses says it is preparing to hold one of the largest equipment sales seen in the Middle East. Taking place in the Riyadh-Alasali district, the sale of heavy equipment brands features payloads from 20-400 tons. The largest machine will be a 400
tons Demag crane. Model years range from1982 to 2008. Sheikh Ali bin Saalih Al-fawzaan, deputy chairman, said that preparations for the event on 15-18 February are underway: “The most notable exhibits include a large amount of Kato, Tadano, Shang Gong, and Demag.”
FAMCO named Volvo’s international dealer of the year Multibrand supplier Famco has ended a ten-year wait to be recognised with the prestigious Volvo Construction Equipment International Dealer of the Year award. Two-time winner Famco last won the award in 2002 and said the award caps a successful 2011 which also saw the Al-Futtaim group company acquire the exclusive dealership for Volvo Construction Equipment in Saudi Arabia following the acquisition of Al-Rehab. A leading Middle East player in construction, transport and industrial equipment, Famco had most recently won two international Operational Excellence awards and the rarely given silver certificate in the Volvo Partnership Monitor programme. The Dealer of the Year award was presented to Famco’s Managing Director Paul Floyd at the recent Volvo Construction Equipment International Dealer Conferencein Abu Dhabi, timed to coincide with the
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Volvo Ocean Race stopover. “2011 was a year of many milestones in our history with Volvo Construction Equipment, and we are thrilled to begin 2012 with this great recognition from Volvo,” said Floyd. “It’s a great honour to be globally recognised by one of our most important principals and partners. “Our high performance is the result of a concerted effort by all our team members in what was a challenging yet rewarding year. I would like to thank the entire Famco team for their outstanding efforts and to also thank our customers for their continuing support.” The Dealer of the Year 2011 award is won by a dealer partner that is very well organised with excellent processes and systems combined with a very aggressive market approach. Our business relation is fully transparent and the customer support is outstanding. Furthermore they are expanding the
territory to cover Saudi Arabia, and last but not least they have during the last quarter secured several major contracts for construction equipment. It’s a very intensive process because we are being judged against every other Volvo dealership across the International Region, Floyd explained. “Customer support is a key focus for us at FAMCO. Understanding our customer needs and delivering on promises has been essential to our success. We take great pride in knowing that we are providing our customers with global best practice and it’s a great honour to be recognised as doing so.” Mr Floyd also said the full market introduction of all Volvo CE’s soft products such as the ‘CareTrack’ remote monitoring system and machine inspection programmes among others has further established FAMCO as providers of benchmarking service and product support.
UN waNts Iraq reNtal partNer The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is seeking to establish a contract for the rental of forklifts, cranes and dump trucks for use inside UNAMI-Basrah Compound, located within COB Military Base in the vicinity of Basrah International Airport, at the US Consulate General Compound (PRT), Iraq The UN said the supply of the machines wwill be on “as-and-when “required basis. They will be used on the compound for general engineering works and to relocate and re-arrange T-walls and containerised housing
units from one location to another. UNAMI added that it intends to award the result contract for one year, with the option of extension for additional one year. UNAMI is undertaking a competitive bidding exercise shortly, and accordingly would issue Invitation to Bid (ITB) to those companies who would express their interest. Equipment required includes:15-20t forklifts, 20t and 30t cranes, flat bed, dump Truck, front end loader (shovel) and roller compactor. Companies will be expected to provide qualified operators.
Linden gets Modern Emirates for Middle East Dubai distributor Modern Emirates Heavy Equipment has scored a coup and been awarded the right to sell Spanish tower crane manufacturer’s Linden Comansa cranes in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. The exclusive deal will see Modern Emirates use its network of offices in Dubai, Oman, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Kuwait to push Linden, which had previously sold direct into the markets. Modern Emirates has grown to becoming one of the biggest tower crane rental companies in the Middle East, and owns a large fleet with more than 500 units. Modern Emirates is run by veteran Thomas O’Connor, who said: “This agreement is a great opportunity for both companies to introduce high quality tower cranes in such demanding markets. We are convinced that working together and have a long-term business relationship.”
HitacHi and tata dump production Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. has begun Indian production of huge dump trucks used in large-scale mine development projects. Telco Construction Equipment, a JV with Tata Motors is manufacturing the trucks. Hitachi put US$283 million in the venture in 2010 to increase its equity stake. Until now, Telcon has made 35-ton dump trucks at a plant in the state of West Bengal, and will now add 100-ton mining trucks to its product mix. Hitachi Construction supplies
saNdvIk laNdmark machine tool and equipment manufacturer Sandvik celebrated its 150th anniversary on 31 January 2012. in connection with the anniversary, the company celebrated by making a
component parts from its plant in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture. This is only its second overseas production site for the superlarge trucks, joining one in Canada. Selling more of the big dump trucks is a key part of the company’s drive to achieve an operating profit margin of 30% in the mining machinery business over the long term, up from under 10% at present. In other news Tata Motors revealed it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ballard Power
$4 million contribution to a form the “Foundation for the promotion of business development in Sandviken” which makes venture capital available to developing companies in its home district. “For Sandvik, it is important that the district of Sandviken develops favorably and has a varied business community. We want to help make this happen and this is one way to do it,” said president olof Faxander.
Systems for the development of 12 FCvelocityTM-1100 fuel cell stacks. These stacks are expected to power zeroemission buses planned for demonstration in various Indian cities. Delivery to Tata Motors is planned for 2012 and 2013, in-line with that Company’s plans. P M Telang, managing director in India said: “Working with technology companies such as Ballard strengthens our ability to design and market the wheels of a greener world here in India.”
nitaqat preSSure
The Nitaqat Saudisation programme is putting pressure on contracting firms Saudi contracting firms, the Saudi Gazette reported earlier this month.
Firms in Eastern Province have been forced to turn down public and private sector projects. “Contracting companies are facing problems because their workers run away in search of higher pay. The complicated procedures have made it impossible to find alternative sources of labour,” a spokesman for a local contractor told the newspaper.
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News Round-Up
New Holland’s C Series wheel loader range is growing, with the introduction of two models for the low end.
Scania inveSting big in bangalore Scania is planning to invest about $30 million in an industrial facility in Bangalore during the coming year. The Scania Regional Product Centre, India will also be the centre of the company’s commercial operations in the country. Scania’s ambition is to sell about 2,000 trucks, 1,000 buses and 1,500 engines per year in the Indian market within the next five years. The facility is being constructed in an industrial area 40 km east of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state in southern India. Production is expected to start in early 2013. It is estimated that almost 800 people will be employed at the facility in the longer term. The industrial operations will consist of final assembly of truck and bus chassis and bodywork and fitting out of complete vehicles. The head office of Scania’s Indian company, complete with a service workshop and a central parts warehouse, is also being built at the same site. “The manufacturing of complete trucks locally in the country means that we can cut lead times further and broaden our product offering. Our service to customers will also be improved by having a parts depot in the country,” said Henrik
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Fagrenius, managing director of Scania Commercial Vehicles India. The facility in Bangalore is Scania’s seventh Regional Product Centre. The others are in Russia, Dubai, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan. Scania has been represented in the Indian market since 2007, when a partnership was initiated with Larsen & Toubro (L&T). In 2011, Scania established the company Scania Commercial Vehicles India in order to boost its presence through sales to additional segments of the Indian commercial vehicle market. “There is increasing demand for vehicles and engines of the quality and performance delivered by Scania, together with services that guarantee customers high uptime and low operating cost,” said Fagrenius. He added: @We will concentrate on broadening our existing offering of trucks to the mining industry but also in other areas of the construction segment, as well as trucks for heavy specialpurpose road transport. In the bus segment we see potential for sales of buses and coaches, both for city traffic and long-distance intercity services.”
A LAmBo SUV? Rumour has it that Lambourghini is going to unveil a luxury SUV. Looking to trump Bentley’s super SUV it is expected to show it at the Beijing Motor show.
New for Intermat 2012 Sandvik Construction will be exhibiting some of the very latest developments in construction equipment at Intermat in Paris. Additionally, Sandvik Construction will be will be emphasising their commitment to the construction industry, and the unique requirements of their customers. Sandvik Construction have decided to introduce not only the very latest developments from their product ranges, but also emphasizse the commitment to their customers and their specific business requirements.
CASE dEmoS nEw ExES Case will demonstrate two new short radius excavators at Intermat in April. The CX235C SR and a prototype CX145C SR use low emission Isuzu engines.
Satu Ramo, the marketing communications manager at Sandvik Construction said: “The Sandvik Construction range of equipment enables our customers to process materials from virgin rock right through to demolition materials that can then be recycled for continued use. This customer focused approach will see us (Sandvik Construction) unveil some new, and exciting, products and services for the quarrying, demolition, road building, aggregates and tunneling industries.”
GOT A JOB TO DO? WE’RE HERE TO HELP Terex Construction in the Middle East
At Terex, ‘Works For You’ is more than a slogan – it’s a promise. It’s what you can count on from our equipment and the Terex team in the Middle East, who is here to support you. From site dumpers to off-highway rigid trucks, compact excavators to backhoe loaders – we’ve got the right machine to do the work for you.
Terex offers the complete solutions: Tough, Quality Range of Construction Equipment for all Applications Network of Dealers Throughout the Middle East World Wide Parts Distribution Aftermarket Support Minimising Downtime
From choosing the right equipment, to providing the parts and service to keep it producing for years to come, the responsive Terex team is dedicated to your success.
Terex Middle East LLC Pinnacle Building, Sheikh Zayed Road P.O. Box No 282325 Al Barsha, Dubai, UAE Tel: + 971 4 3990381 Visit our new website: www.terexconstruction.com I’m a QR code. Scan me!
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News Round-Up
The system will incorporate wifi and BIM data to provide crane operators with incab data.
Manitowoc wants greater wiFi precision Trimble and Manitowoc Cranes have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of solutions that can harness precise positioning technology, wireless communications and comprehensive software capabilities to enhance the way in which crane operations and information are managed on a construction site. Trimble and Manitowoc Cranes announced today that they have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of solutions that can harness precise positioning technology, wireless communications and comprehensive software capabilities to enhance the way in which crane operations and information are managed on a construction site.
To ensure greater awareness wifi connectivity will share position data across the site.
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The companies intend to develop a solution tailored for the lifting industry that provides real time, centimeter-level positioning data for multiple cranes working on a construction site. The solution would be able to measure crane position in absolute coordinates using easy to install, non-contact sensors that can be installed on both fixed and mobile cranes. It is planned that the in-cab displays of cranes that are fitted with the developed solution will permit operators to view the site, multiple working crane zones, forbidden zones, target locations and other site information. The companies also expect to develop an “Intelligent Environment” database for their solutions capable of receiving constant updates of data from Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools and other site sensors working in tandem. In addition, an anticipated feature of the solution would enable a user to program an alarm or even halt crane operation upon detection of unplanned work activity on the construction site. To enhance jobsite awareness and management, a wireless local area network (WLAN) will share the crane position information across the construction site, providing each crane operator, the lift scheduler, and even the back office (if the Internet connectivity option is enabled) instant status against the BIM plan, enabling informed, exception-based decisions to be made in real time. This information will be able to be viewed in 3D and can run either as a fat or thin client accessing software tools and capabilities that are expected to be available as part of the Trimble Connected Community solution. The Connected Community is a Web-based and allow contractors to build information portals.
Yemen port in limbo Trade magazine Port Strategy has reported that the Yemeni government may be set to renegotiate the concession agreement signed by DP World and Aden Port Authority, throwing the project into doubt. Port Strategy’s source claimed that DP World has not yet invested the agreed US$220 million in the port and also missed throughput targets last year of 900,000 teu – as stipulated by the original agreement. The status of a series of upgrades to equipment is now unclear. In accordance with the original agreement, new infrastructure was
promised by DP World. It is claimed that this has not yet come to happened. The building of a new 400 key berth extension to Aden Container Terminal was due to have started. DP World and the Yemen Gulf of Aden Port Corp formed a partnership back in 2008 to operate and develop the container facilities at the Port of Aden within five years. The Yemeni transport minister, Waaed Bazeeb, told Reuters that DP World has far fallen short of raising capacity at the container port to the target of 900,000 last year (currently it is 140,000 containers).
Louvre back to tender the vaunted Louvre Museum project in abu Dhabi looks like it is back on the cards as abu Dhabi’s tourism Development & investment company (tDic) has launched the main tender competition for the building on saadiyat island. Foundations for the museum were laid in 2010 in expectation of construction starting last year. the news that it is now out to tender is good news especially as a decision is expected to be made in June. “the main contract
works, the dome, mechanical, electrical, is tendered today,” Felix reinberg, director of projects delivery at tDic’s museum division, told reporters. reinberg added that the tendering process would close in June. Located off the coast of abu Dhabi, saadiyat island – which means “the island of happiness” – is a $27 billion art and culture project that is planned to house spinoffs of the Louvre museum in paris and new York’s guggenheim. French architect Jean nouvel designed the building.
Tenders: DEWA picking up DEWA, the Dubai Electric and Water Authority, has issued a tender in the category of infrastructure and site for a single cabin 4-wheel drive and we quote “higher version” pickup. No specifics on the tender other than the fee is 200 AED and the tender number is CG/0557/2011 (you can visit the DEWA website for more details.) More substantially DEWA has also issued a tender for the construction of internal roads in DEWA Plot No. 622-149 & 622-159 from Branch Road at Warsan - 2. Close date is 15 February with the fee set at 500 AED, tender number: TC/NB/PT3054/01/12.
UNIC CRANE SCALES THE SHARD The installation of glass on London’s The Shard, a 310m-high skyscraper, has reached a new phase this week with the installation of a mini crane on the roof to take over glazing duties from tower cranes. A 6-tonne capacity Unic URW-706 mini spider crane was dismantled into two and lifted by a tower crane onto the 87th floor of the building which is due to be completed later this year. The crane is on hire from glazing equipment specialists GGR, which is also the European distributor for Unic cranes. The crane and specialist operators will be working from the rooftop for the next few
Al Darwish on the road in Al Waab
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months to lift glass panels from a storage unit on the 62nd floor onto the levels above on the north and west sides of the building. A total of 11,000 angled glass panels will eventually cover The Shard’s façade which has been specially designed to reflect the London skyline. The Unic URW-706 compact crane is 1.67m wide and weighs 7.9t, providing a flexible alternative to traditional tower cranes. With variable outrigger configurations, it can be set up in confined spaces. Standing at 310m high, the Shard will own the title of the EU’s tallest building when completed in 2012 (to put that in perspective in 1098 the
Qatar’s Al Darwish Engineering WWL has invested in three new Dynapac compaction units to complete a contract for the laying and upgrading of roads in the Al Waab district of Doha, an area that is seeing extensive building of luxurious new residence. The contractor is carrying out the work for Ashgal, Qatar’s public works authority, under a $37 million contract that was awarded in March 2010 and which is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2012. The latest order comprises
White Tower was named Britain’s tallest building standing at a mere 27m tall). The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo Piano, an Italian architect best known for creating Paris’ Pompidou Centre in collaboration with Britain’s Richard Rogers. That year, the London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar decided to redevelop Southwark Towers, a 1970s-era office block located next to London Bridge station, and flew to Berlin in March 2000 to meet Piano for lunch. According to Sellar, the architect spoke of his contempt for tall buildings during the meal, before f lipping over the restaurant’s menu and sketching an iceberg-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames. He was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires depicted by the Venetian painter Canaletto, and the masts of bygone sailing ships. The first mobile crane and small piling rig first appeared on site in February 2009. By early March 2009, the crane had begun putting steel beams into the ground, as part of preparations for the core of the building. Five cranes were used to build the Shard, with four of them ‘jumping’ with the tower as it rose. Crane 1 was erected on 20 September 2009 and Crane 2 was erected at the beginning of October. By 20 October 2009, steel beams began appearing on site, with concrete being poured at the northern part of the site, ready for Crane 3. By March 2010, the concrete core was rising steadily at approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) per day. After a pause in March–April 2010, it continued rising, reaching the 33rd floor in midJune, almost level with the top of Guy’s Hospital, which stands at 143 metres (469 ft). The first glass panel was installed on 25 May 2010. On 27 July 2010, the core stopped rising, having reached the 38th floor, and was reconfigured for further construction. By mid-November 2010, the third core had reached the 68th floor (rising approximately 235 metres), with the tower’s steel reaching the 40th floor and cladding enveloping a third of the building. By 2011, a new floor was being poured on average every week.
a Dynapac CC624HF doubledrum vibratory compaction roller and two pneumatic-tyred rollers; all delivered at the beginning of the year by Dynapac’s local distributor, Oriental Trading Co, a division of the Petroserv Group. The compaction machines join Al Darwish’s existing fleet of Dynapac rollers and compactors. “Our entire road-surfacing fleet is Dynapac” said R S Boyle, Plant Manager for Al Darwish. “At Al Waab, which is a very upmarket residential area that is growing quickly, our work has to be of the
highest standard, because we are putting in infrastructure that has to serve long-term what will become an even more busy area than now.” The work is being carried out in three packages and includes new and upgraded roads, junctions, peripheral roads, service roads and footpaths. “We are compacting and rolling the road surface to a specification of 98%, ” said Boyle. “As we are working in small areas, rather than on extensive stretches, Dynapac gives us flexibility.”
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News Analysis
trading on the crossroads
The organisers of Hardware+Tools grabbed headlines last month by saying that the region will benefit from a resurgent global construction industry. At a time when the Middle East is one of the places of genuine growth, should we be prepared to take them on face value?
n
ot a day goes by in the CMME offices where an upcoming show will bounce us some statitics suggesting that the UAE market is experiencing growth. For the last couple of years ithas been difficult in some instances to reconcile what the press releases were saying with the cold facts from those on the ground. Even last year when you struggled to find a crane moving in the some parts of the UAE, people were pumping out pipeline figures saying
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that there were trillions of projects underway. The best way to treat these figures you learn is to treat them with cynicism and scepticism. With one exception – reexport and trade figures. Dubai is unquestionably a major trading hub, that’s why Jebel Ali is full of global companies that run their regional operations from their. That’s why it can hold big regional trade shows that display what’s in the market. However strong it is becoming as a trading hub, it is still highly
dependent on growth elsewhere. And so it was this month that CMME received a press release promoting the upcoming Hardware+Tools Middle East event in May. Using market research, including numbers cadged from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, the show organisers Messe Frankfurt said that the data suggested that Dubai is benefitting from the flow of equipment being used in construction projects across the region. The press release went on to state that: “According to figures released by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce,Dubai’s exports and re-exports were worth AED 120 billion in H1 2011, with hardware, tools and machinery forming a significant part of the overall trade mix, as local and regional manufacturing is marginal.” Some people may choose to note how non-specific and dated those figures are. Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of EPOC Messe Frankfurt, had more to say on where this growth is coming from. “Despite the slowdown in the construction industry, growth continues to be strong, thanks to a thriving import and re-export market. Countries like the UAE function as re-export hubs serving otherwise hard to reach onward destinations including Iran, Iraq, Central Asia, East and North Africa,” he said. Messe Frankfurt grew out of the European market where people and goods travel easily – and they grew fast. It is no surprise then that since formally setting up in Dubai
a decade ago Messe Frankfurt has been re-shaping its many events like Automechanika and Intersec as regional trading shows – although they remain places where people visit, make some contacts, enjoy some good food and get on the plane without ever making an order. Do they represent good value for exhibitors? That is unclear in these tough times, and some large companies are considering whether small niche shows or event their own targeted shows would be better. Virtually every news service in the UAE ran the release in one form or another, despite them being out of date and not reflecting a troubled end to the 2011.Unfortunately for Messe Frankfurt some of them chose to tack on statistics from elsewhere to embellish the story. One respected outlet called the global construction market as bouyant, quoting more dated figures to enforce the point. It may have been a case of irresponsible journalism but re-reading the upbeat press release it’s easy to see how hacks got carried away. It is more important then ever that exhibition organisers get their facts right and set realistic expectations. Perhaps tradeshows should stick to what they do best and handle so-called facts with much more care. Pictured: Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of EPOC Messe Frankfurt Hardware+Tools Middle East 2012 takes place on 8-10 May. www.hardwaretoolsme.com
News Round-Up
Sany SnapS up putzmeiSter
Sany has shocked the industry by announcing that it is to buy its great rival in a deal thought to be worth $660 million.
W
ithin hours of the world finding out about the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, two phone calls came into the office. The first was from a colleague who had just seen the news that Sany was offloading one of its great concrete pumps at a dock in Japan. The second came from a Putzmeister executive keen to reveal that the company had heard of the trouble in Japan and was donating one of its own pump to the country so it could be used to cool the reactor. Both companies wanted the same thing. Firstly to help Japan in its hour of need. The other was to
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make sure the world knew of it. In hindsight, like this tiny vignette demonstrates, Putzmeister was fighting a losing battle. Sany not only won the (CMME stresses friendly) PR battle but now its seems it can claim victory in war for supremacy of the concrete pump market. The Chinese company and its private equity partner are, legal details notwithstanding, on the brink of securing Putzmeister for what is widely believed to be in the region of $660 million. CMME was unable to get hold of many of the details before going to press, but it
understands that Sany Heavy Industry Co joined forces with Hong-Kong-based private equity firm CITIC PE Advisors (Hong Kong) Ltd. to jointly acquire Putzmeister Holding. The family-owned German manufacturer of high-tech concrete pumps has long been considered the benchmark in techological excellence in the field. When they needed to blast 606m to the peak of Burj Khalifa, it was a Putzmseister machine that did it. The bold deal will create the largest – by some distance – manufacturer of concrete
news round-Up
XCMG GOES FOR A SCHWING Industry analysts speaking to Engineering News-Record at the World Of Concrete event held in Las Vegas in January revealed that Chinese manufacturer XCMG has taken a stake in Schwing-Stetter. With Sany and Putzmeister destined to merge and the CIFA and Zoomlion already united, the move makes sense in a highly competitive global market Chinese companies have traditionally struggled in some markets where price is only one factor considered by buyers. Riding on the back of several years of exponential growth in China, many companies are now able afford to acquire established European and North American companies. While these companies may have struggled during the downturn, they still maintain the strong DC and service networks, that Chinese companies have longed for. According to the ENR, the analysts said: “Schwing may have become an investment target in part due to recent financial troubles, experts say. In 2010, Schwing America emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a period of deep cutbacks in concrete construction spending.” “The concrete pumping business is really a huge business in China,” Frank Manfredi, Manfredi & Associates, a market research firm for heavy equipmen, told the magazine. “They have a need for pumping massive volumes of concrete very high in the air. The Chinese have done a very good job of developing products that do that.”
“SAny WILL GAIn PUTZMEISTEr’S EXTEnSIvE PArTS And
SErvICE nETWOrK. THIS IS PArTICULArLy PErTInEnT In THE MIddLE EAST WHErE SAny HAS STrUGGLEd TO COMPETE WITH THE THE EUrOPEAn COMPETITIOn. SUddEnLy THE WAy IS CLEAr.” pump equipment and firmly places Sany in the upper echelons of the construction machinery industry. The Sino-German transaction, which Putzmeister has described as the largest of its kind to date, also signals the growing appetite among cash rich and ambitious Chinese firms in investing in a financially troubled continent where assets are looking increasingly like good bargains. In 2008 Zoomlion took on Italian concrete technology firm CIFA and hot on the heels of the Sany/Putzmeister deal, XCMG could soon have control over Schwing (see sidebar). In a statement, Putzmeister, revealed that after its merger with Sany, CITIC PE Advisors will be a minority shareholder of the company. It added that both Sany and Putzmeister have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction. Like with Zoomlion and CIFA, Sany is understood to want to capitalise on Putzmeister’s reputation and knowhow, rather than stripping it bare.
While the headquarters will now be in China the heart of Putzmeister should stay with its technological wizards in Germany. Liang Wengen, one of China’s richest men, is the chairman and founder of Sany and he has already moved to confirm Putzmeister will retain its identity and management – within the Sany Group. Likewise Sany will gain Putzmeister’s extensive parts and service network. This is particularly pertinent in the Middle East where Sany has struggled to compete with the the European competition. Suddenly the way is clear for it to allow Putzmeister to be strong here and yet still gain from it. “With this merger Putzmeister and Sany (it) will create a new and global market leader for concrete pumps,” Liang said in the statement. Last year the heavy-equipment maker said it was considering acquisitions in Europe, the US, India and Brazil. Well now it has its European prize, it will be fascinating to see where it goes next, especially with it yet to complete a multi-billion IPO in Hong Kong.
ZOOMLION buys scaNIa....trucks Zoomlion has ordered 375 trucks from Scania which will be used as a platform for mobile concrete pumps. “The order represents a success for our strategy of supplying
high quality products and services that contribute to increased efficiency and higher profitability,” says Peter Sjoblom, Managing Director of Scania’s Chinese sales company.
Scania has delivered trucks to Zoomlion since 2008. Zoomlion’s largest mobile concrete pumps, which have a span up to 80 metres, are mounted on Scania’s 4- and 5-axle truck chassis.
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Big Interview
Kingdom Tower is go In an exclusive report, CMME can reveal that work on the Kingdom Tower has begun. Bauer’s Jadallah Jareer reveals how it feels to be there at the beginning.
I
f you didn’t know already Saudi Arabia is to build the tallest tower ever built in Jeddah. Once completed the mighty building will stand over 1 km high, overtaking the Burj Khalifa which stands at a mere 828m high. Building big means big news and the announcement in September threw the world’s news services into overdrive as journalists and interested observers the world over scoured over the blast of information and pictures that were released with the announcement. First port of call for most was the architect firm AS+GG (a name that incorporates the lead brains of the outfit Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill). If you are not familiar with the name you will almost certainly be familiar with the previous work of its Chicago-based architects. Gill worked on the striking Pearl River Tower in China and his partner Smith’s resume is arguably even more impressive; including Chicago’s Trump Tower, Masdar City and crucially, for the prospects of a successful completion of Kingdom Tower, Burj Khalifa. These are superstar architects creating super structures. Dream spires designed to created awe and inspire imaginations. When Burj Khalifa was first announced in 2004 the huge step up from the previous landmark tower, Taipai 101 which stands at 509m, was so massive that people questioned if it was at all possible for man to build safely at such a height. Fast-forward six years and people were left wondering how it would be at all possible to not only exceed Burj Khalifa’s record put to smash it out of the park. There are number of challenges to overcome when building these super-scrapers. Some are obvious some are not. Perhaps the most glaring from a construction point of view is how you defy gravity, physics and chemistry to jet concrete up to the rarified altitudes required. As is well documented, Burj Khalifa’s
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606m Burj Khalifa exceeded this height on 19 August 2007, and as of May 2008 concrete was pumped to a delivery height of 606 m (1,988 ft), the 156th floor. The remaining structure above was built of lighter steel. 1000m
804m
construction required breaking through a whole set of pre-conceptions about what was possible but Putzmeister’s concrete pumps in combination with BASF’s Glenium SKY concrete mixture took pouring literally new heights. Some had argued that the only way to get up beyond 400m was to create a dedicated platform from which to do the pouring. However the two companies showed you could do it all from the ground and launched/pumped the mixture up to a world record 606m. This figure will surely need to be surpassed for the Kingdom Tower but Putzmeister certainly, Schwing probably and Sany’s latest generation 72m pump (the snappily titled SY51100THB 86) is highly likely to be able to make sure that Jeddah does not become the location of the world’s highest solid concrete sock. The less obvious restraint is the time. Building high is a highly expensive exercise. The taller your building, the longer it takes and the more exponential rise you will see in your costs. This is why buildings like Burj Khalifa and now Kingdom Tower are multiuse complexes of residential, office and mall units. Could a tower be built higher? Well yes but it will take time. Could it be done and ever payback it’s investment. That is highly questionable. Certainly Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is happy to dedicate 4.6 billion Saudi Riyals to the project as long as the 3,500,000 sqm area it will inhabit makes a return in investment. So the world’s new record holder of tallest tower needs to be built in time and on budget, and ensuring that happens will be Saudi Bin Laden Group. The multifaceted construction giant officially took on Kingdom Tower on 1 January 2012 and, thanks to Bauer Equipment Gulf’s managing director Jareer Jadallah, we can also reveal that work is already underway on
the building. He tells CMME that Zahid Tractor, Saudi Arabia’s biggest equipment dealer supplied the Bauer piling machinery to sub-contractor and SBG subisdary HUTA to start test piling. Around 45,000m³ of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes, were poured for the foundations of Burj Khalifa with 192 piles running to a depth of over 50m. Whatever the conclusion of the test piling reveals all of those the figures will seem like a drop in the Red Sea. Although, frustratingly, for now, many of those details are carefully under wraps. It is still early days in the testing on Kingdom Tower and some questions are yet to be answered that will be critical to those desperate to know more about the construction and the exact final height of the Tower. However, considering that we will have six years to follow the story, we will have more than enough to chew over the coming months as it begins to take shape. And Jadellah’s in the mood to get us to speed. Bauer’s own participation was rumoured for months, particularly because it worked on Burj Khalifa (if you’re going to build a project as costly and risky as this, it makes sense that you turn to those that know how to do it and have the proven technology to do it), but Jadellah’s relieved to able to reveal its involvement thus far. “Up until now it was not officially commissioned, but I have good news for you, and I know we teased you a lot, but I can officially say that we are now officially started on the Kingdom Tower,” he states. In hindsight, Bauer is the obvious choice not only because of Burj Khalifa but also for its other work in the Kingdom. While he is not Bauer’s man on the ground, Jadellah knows the giant from a previous role: “I know SBG well from when I used to work at Wolffkran and they are very good customers of mine. I have an excellent relationship with them.”
612m
528m
460m
400m
244m
160m
56m
© Richard Braddish
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Big Interview
According to Jadellah, HUTA bought a BG40 machine from Bauer to do the test piling a number of weeks ago although he reveals that any official announcement could not be made until given approval from SBG. “Officially SBG are of course the main contractor, and while it is a subsidiary of SBG, HUTA had to go through the tendering process like everyone else. Just because it is a subsidiary it doesn’t mean that it got the job. There were other factors like pricing, etc, to be done.” He explains that with the Kingdom Tower being such a prestigious project it is being carefully handled to ensure that even the smallest detail is treated properly. “Kingdom Tower is not a villa,” he jokes, then adds more seriously. “The king is involved and the government is involved.” When we meet, Bauer’s men were assisting on site, he explains: “A team from Germany is now there; three or four guys.” He continues: “I have worked with a lot of different companies, but I have to admit that with Bauer it is easier to get some kinds of jobs. Behind the name you have the reputation and the quality. “Price-wise customers may go somewhere else, but quality is differnent and sometimes they don’t have a choice, especially with big and prestigious projects like these. “Look around, you have Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa, etc, they all had Bauer machinery. If a customer does not want to fail with such big projects they come to us. They are coming to a supplier that they know 100% that he is getting the machine and the know-how.” According to Jadellah, Bauer Equipment Gulf’s sister company Bauer International, the group’s contracting company that has worked on projects
such as the recent enabling work on Deyar Al Mafraq and tunnelling work on Nation Towers in Abu Dhabi provides vital information into the development of the machinery company’s equipment. “They came to Abu Dhabi 26 years ago and through them we are collecting the knowledge and knowhow. Effectively we are doing both sides and ‘experiencing our machines’ ourselves. They give us feedback on the machines and you don’t get that type of knowledge elsewhere.” While it is too early to give specifics on the technology deployed on Kingdom Tower, Jadellah is happy to share his opinion that should the testing be fruitful and that piling is used [some have conjectured that the foundation could be dug using cutters] the machines wouldn’t be that different from those used on Burj Khalifa.
Kingdom Tower Jeddah 200st/1007m Burj Khalifa 162st+/828m
Lotte Super Tower Seoul 123st/556m 2015Uc
Greenland Centre Dalian 108st/518m 2015Uc
Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, Mecca 95st/601m 2011
Greenland Centre Wuhan 119st/606m 2015Uc
GIFC Guangzhou 103st/437m 2010
India Tower Mumbai 127st/714m On Hold
SWFC Shanghai 101st/492m 2008
Sears Tower 110st/443m /527m 1974
One World Trade Centre, New York City 108st/541m 2012uc
Pentominium, Dubai 122st/516m 2013uc
ICC Hong Kong 118st/484m 2010
Kingkey100 Shenzhen 100st/442m 2011
World One Mumbai 117st/442m 2014
Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai 100st/421m 1996
The Burj Foundation
The tower was constructed by a South Korean company, Samsung Engineering & Construction, which also did work on the Petronas Twin Towers and Taipei 101. Samsung Engineering & Construction built the tower in a joint venture with Besix from Belgium and Arabtec from UAE. Turner was the Project Manager on the main
construction contract. Excavation work started in January 2004 and was quickly followed by the starting of piling a month later. The primary structural system of Burj Khalifa is reinforced concrete. Over 45,000 m3 (58,900 cu yd) of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes (120,000 ST; 110,000 LT) were used to construct
the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles, with each pile is 1.5 metre diameter x 43 metre long buried more than 50 m (164 ft) deep. Burj Khalifa’s construction used 330,000 m3 (431,600 cu yd) of concrete and 55,000 tonnes of steel rebar, and construction took 22 million man-hours. A high density, low permeability concrete was used in the foundations of Burj Khalifa. A cathodic protection system under the mat is used to minimise any detrimental effects from corrosive chemicals in local ground water. Exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa began in May 2007 and was completed in September 2009. The vast project involved more than 380 skilled engineers and on-site technicians. At the initial stage of installation, the team progressed at the rate of about 20 to 30 panels per day and eventually achieved as many
as 175 panels per day. The tower accomplished a world record for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at a height of 512 metres. The total weight of aluminium used on Burj Khalifa is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height of Eiffel Tower in Paris. In November, 2007, the highest reinforced concrete corewalls were pumped using 80 MPa concrete from ground level; a vertical height of 601 metres. Smashing the previous pumping record on a building of 470m on the Taipei 101; the world’s second tallest tower and the previous world record for vertical pumping of 532 metres for an extension to the Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant in 1994. The concrete pressure during pumping to this level was nearly 200 bars.
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Big Interview
“Let’s say machine-wise it could be the same,” he says, “but obviously we would modify the machines as the foundation would have to be deeper than Burj Khalifa [a figure of 80m is the speculated estimate].” Any alterations to the machines will be done in Germany, and the former crane-man says that like company’s such as Wolffkran, Bauer is lucky to be able to utilise the brain-fund back in Europe. “I was the one that closed the deal for the 45 cranes in Mekkah Clock Tower (project) and the customer came to Wolff because he wanted the Rolls-Royce of cranes, the very best and we could get engineers there on site from Germany. And likewise with Bauer, you can say that Germany has the best industrial solutions worldwide. “I am a Palestinian but I lived in Germany for 25 years and I tell my customers that you will pay more, but they will never let you down. You can rely on them. I always tell my sales people we are working for the premium suppliers. Service is from day one to the last day, when you talk to the customer with the technical knowledge we have we are able to educate and explain to them why we are the premium company.” He then reflects: “But sometimes the customer is more price conscious and we have to convince them. My own technical knowledge may be relatively small but I can take a team from Bauer who work 24 hours to find the right solution. They call it the foundation technology department and they talk directly.” While it works with Zahid Tractor in Saudi, elsewhere the company is selling direct to customers. He explains that Bauer International’s almost threedecade presence in the region means that in the UAE, Qatar and others, it will not be moving to a dealer/ distributor arrangement any time soon. “Bauer International has a long list of customers now and many of them have ten Bauer machines. It helps that Bauer International got here first and people wanted to copy their success. We have a strong market share of 55% in the UAE. It used to be higher but through globalisation and the downturn a lot of customers and machines have left the market.”
While its machines remain in widespread use and, through Bauer International, have seen decades of service in the market, a physical office arrived relatively late in 2005. However in terms of what was happening in the UAE at the time, the timing proved to be ideal. “If you look at the Wolfkrann’s, Liebherr’s and Potain (with NFT), they came at the right time. At the beginning of the boom. And so it was with us, the brand was already relied upon.” The subsequent slump in the UAE has left an effect on many companies in the sector and Bauer is no exception but Jadellah reveals that the company is determined to grow, and is moving to bigger premises and yard and adding to its workforce. “Theoretically we should be losing people but we are doing the opposite to stay ahead. But to you have to be flexible and you have to be creative. If you want to be number one in the market you have to be clever.” While he won’t go as far as saying that Bauer will follow others down the rental route, he won’t rule it out, “we are studying the model, and we are considering investing in second-hand and trade-in machines. “You have to realise that the market is quite saturated, there are 400 machines in the market. Prices are coming down, so of course fewer customers are willing to spend on a $1 million machine. Our customers are spreading the businesses, they are going to Iraq [Bauer Group won the $1.9 billion contract to build the Mosul Dam in November], they are going to Jordan, so we also need a very good aftersales service. We are working to be in every corner.” One market that is certainly on the radar is Qatar. He argues that soil conditions there are so tough that he sees few other companies capable of delivering what will be required other than Bauer. “We are already established in the market and running. We are keeping an eye on what’s going on, but of course we cannot wait for the market to get running too. It’s a risky business being the biggest market leader. Going up is always easy but staying up is the challenge.”
$1.2 billion Kingdom Tower will cost approximately $1.2 billion to construct, while the cost of the entire Kingdom City project is anticipated to be $20 billion.
Building an Empire
The Empire State Building was the highest building in the world for forty Years. It was constructed in New York (USA) an era when American cities such as Chicago and New York competed to have the highest skyscrapers. With a 102 stories it was the tallest building in the world for
forty years. Only when the first tower of the World Trade Centre was completed in 1972 was it deposed as the highest building. The architects, Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates, were given the brief of creating the tallest building in the world. To achieve this they decided to use a steel frame as the basic construction technique. The builders, Starrett Brothers and Eken Incorporated were skilled in using this construction method. Due to its size it originally had 64 elevators to aid the distribution of people up and down the building. When completed, the buildings overall height was 1472 feet (448 metres). This included the antenna at
the top of the building. The original idea was that the antenna would be used to dock airships. However, this was dropped when it was realised that people were unlikely to enjoy disembarking an airship, that was tethered to the building, at the height of over a thousand feet. The building cost over forty million dollars and this was in a time of economic depression. Some referred to the building as the building that should never had been. One reason for the rapid completion was that the owners wanted rent from the spaces available as soon as possible. In its day, the Empire State Building was constructed using up to date technology. A substantial
concrete base was laid as a foundation to take the weight of the steel framework of the building. All the steel sections were prefabricated, that is, manufactured in a steel mill and transported to the construction site. The sections were manufactured to exact sizes to within 2mm tolerance and prepared so that they could either be bolted together or joined with rivets. It only took three days for the sections to be manufactured in the steel mill, transported and positioned in the framework as part of the buildings structure. Once the steel framework was fixed in positioned it was then finished with an outer skin of stone.
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Market Analysis
Opening a gold mine Mining and quarrying has been a ray of light for the construction machinery industry with the Middle East experiencing its own mini-boom.
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I
t may be a marriage of convenience but there’s no greater love for construction machinery companies at the moment than the mining sector. Why else would the world’s biggest equipment manufacturer want to sink almost $1 billion into a mining specialist barely six months after completing the purchase of Bucyrus for $8.8 billion? Of course Caterpillar is not only the biggest company in the sandpit but it is the wealthiest. It also has investors to appease and they have their own particular passion – seeing their shares gather value. When the economy goes awry, tradition dictates that the safe havens are the things people always need like commodity materials that excavators and crushers can churn out. Caterpillar’s material gains with ERA and Bucyrus makes all kinds of sense. Bucyrus was the gold stamp it needed to enter the mining sector (the underground mining segment in particular) and ERA – a company which designs, manufactures and sells underground coal-mining equipment in China – was the visa stamp it needed to tap a rich seam of business. Caterpillar will arrive in the mining sector in China with two other familiar rivals already
scratching away. Both Komatsu and Hitachi have made ground in the industry there, but they’ll be more worried about Caterpillar’s new venture than the other way around. Fortunately the global market – with the Middle East an increasingly important market in its own right – looks rather perky at the moment. Since global demand for construction and mining machinery/equipment began to plummet in 2008 due to the global economic downturn, the construction machinery industry has begun to realise the value in mining. As the decline in demand continued through 2009 and 2010 spending on new construction activity continued to slump, and the stock of mining rose. Current estimates calculate that the global market for construction and mining machinery and equipment will be 822,000 units by the year 2015. As we have seen in the Middle East, demand for general construction equipment is expected to come from developing countries with growing needs to construct highways, oil refineries, power plants, office buildings, and other infrastructure projects, but mining is the sector that the big companies are working hard on. According to the Construction And Mining
Machinery/Equipment: A Global Strategic Business Report, a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com, China and other developing markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, alongside the Middle East are forecast to drive market growth. “Nevertheless, the outlook for the construction machinery market is positive, with demand for machinery expected to recover post-2010, as the global economy recovers,” says the report. Asia-Pacific is forecast to register robust growth in the construction machinery segment, especially in countries such as Indonesia, India, South Korea, and China. Among these nations, China is expected to account for the largest share of the overall demand for new products globally, followed by North America. The US market for construction equipment is expected to be driven by the enhanced activity in residential construction sectors. Besides, the nonresidential construction work such as construction and repair of bridges, highways, and public works, mining will be a major growth driver for the US construction industry. The implementation of strict emission norms for off-road engines in the EU, the US, and Canada
is expected to drive up the prices of construction equipment in these regions, in turn increasing the sector’s revenues in the coming years. The trend related to construction equipment rental is spreading, particularly across mid and smaller size machines. In terms of unit sales, China represents the largest market for construction and mining machinery worldwide, as stated by the report. China is also projected to emerge as the fastest growing market for construction and mining machinery worldwide. Wheeled loaders represent the largest machinery segment in the Chinese market, accounting for about 63% share in 2010. Crawler excavators, vital in mining operations, represent another major segment. Currently, Europe constitutes the second largest market worldwide, followed by the United States. Global mining equipment demand is forecast to grow significantly over the years. Presently, China is a major market for mining equipment worldwide, backed by the country´s expanding mining industry. The US as well as the industrialised countries of Western Europe represent other major mining equipment markets.
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Market Analysis
The F60 in action on a site in a quarry, it was 502m long.
The big one
$600 mILLIon
The $600 million north/ Middle East has also been buying Growth in mining equipment South railway has the heavily into the sector. Qatar demand is expected to be driven potential to boost the Holdings, owned by the Qatari Emir by growth in China, as the mining sector in the Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, country is expected to continue Kingdom. recently dropped $1 billion on Greek generating half of the demand mining company European Goldfield (the for novel mining equipment. China deal also saw the group take a 10% share registered robust growth in the mining in the country’s biggest construction company equipment sector due to significant investments Ellaktor). Closer to home Saudi Ma’aden and its made by the nation in the local mining sector last JV partner Alcoa raised a $1 billion for the second year. In addition to China, Australia and India phase of their mine and refinery at Ras Al Khair. are other major markets in Asia-Pacific region, The Kingdom is expected to continue to invest where demand related to mining equipment is in its bauxite mining and aluminum production high. Demand for mining equipment in Latin and when the country recently signed off its $600 America, Africa and Middle East is forecast to million North/South railway, it made sure that rise significantly as these regions possess large the mineral mining centre of Ras Azzour was stop mineable resources. en-route. Like the construction machinery industry, the
The F60 was probably the biggest and meanest looking machine ever built. Looking like a twisted Eiffel Tower with teeth, the machine was designed for open cast mining in Germany. The cutting height was 60 meters, hence the name F60. With a length of 502 meters, F60 was the series designation of five overburden conveyor bridges used in brown coal (lignite) opencast mining in Germany. They were the largest movable technical industrial machines in the world at the time of their launch. The F60 had two bogies (a chassis with wheels), one on the dumping
side (front) and one on the excavating side (back), which each ran on two rails (standard gauge). In addition to the two rails on the excavating side, there were another two rails for the transformer and cable cars. There were a total of 760 wheels on the bogies, of which 380 are powered. The maximum speed of the F60 was 13 m/ min (0.78 km/h) and the operating speed was 9 m/min (0.54 km/h). Unfortunately the F60 was almost too big for its own boots and was shut down after just 13 months of operation due to energy and political reasons. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
Mining in the Middle east The middle East’s mining industry is on the cusp of major reform that could boost the sector in the region. Post-revolution Egypt will release a new mining code within a year designed to attract investors to its vast gold reserves in the Western Desert, previously neglected by the previous regime for political reasons, said Fekry Yousuf, Chairman of the Egyptian mineral Resources Authority (EmRA). “Investors prefer coming to Egypt because they can work year-round in the mines. There are no tribal issues as in other African countries, where the tribes living near the mines tell companies they cannot work there.” Egypt expects its gold reserves to be 25 million ounces and it has 14.5 million ounces of proven reserves, he noted. mining contributes just one per cent of Egypt’s gross domestic product, but EmRA plans to increase
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it by eight to nine per cent in the next two years, he said. of the $8.7 billion (Dh31.9 billion) of direct investment that Egypt received last year, only 4.5 per cent went into mining. Investors pumped $450 million into the Al Sukari gold mine in Sinai to complete Phase 4 of a project that will double production to 500,000 ounces a year, he said. “Why would they invest so much if there is no stability? It’s a clear message,” said Yousuf, assuring that there are no reasons for security fears in the Sinai. Investors can get a licence valid for 30 years and an exploration period of four years through an application process that starts at Emra. morocco, the world’s third biggest phosphate producer, is marketing itself as a politically stable haven amid the political turbulence in north Africa. Rich with mines of
gold, barite, lead and zinc, morocco is offering incentives to investors in hopes of at least doubling its gold production from a mere 700 kilos in 2010, said Addi Azza, general engineer at the minister of Energy, mines, Water and Environment. The government is offering tax exemptions on geological equipment imported by morocco for mining projects, payments of up to 50 per cent of infrastructure costs such as electricity, water and roads for mining companies and geological mapping studies, he said. However, phosphate mining in morocco, home to 50 per cent of the world’s phosphate deposits, is still a state monopoly. The biggest challenge to prospective investors in the middle East’s mining industry is a lack of credible information that is hindering investments, said Vladimir Kuznetsov, member of the Board of Directors of
Earthstone Group, a minerals and mining corporation currently working on an iron-ore project in morocco. The mining industry is also facing major challenges such as social and environmental pressure from communities living near the mines, the disappearance of shallow mine reserves, water scarcity and market volatility that makes it hard to plan ahead.
QUALITY & STRENGTH Digging wayy to success gg g your y
Al Khobar P.O.Box: 2841, Al Khobar-31952, Saudi Arabia. Tel: + 966 3 8576769, Fax: +966 3 857 4681 Email: Construction@saudidiesel.com.sa Web: www.saudidiesel.com.sa
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Special Report
75 x Terex 100 ton Rigid Truckso perating in Phosphate Mine in Jordan
MOVING MOUNTAINS COMEDAT in Jordan has worked minor miracles to keep its fleet of Terex trucks at the coal or rather the phosphorous face.
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P
lants, animals, and people all need phosphorus to function. In the human body, phosphorus plays a critical role in everything from shaping DNA to strengthening teeth. In agriculture, phosphorus acts as fertiliser to improve crop yield. Because phosphorus can’t be artificially produced, it must be mined from phosphorusrich compounds, or phosphates. Phosphates are among Jordan’s most abundant natural resources, and phosphate mining is one of the country’s leading industries. The chemical itself is highly toxic to humans making mining a hazardous and difficult occupation. It is also not too healthy for machines and can be highly corrosive to the machinery used to dig it out of the ground. The fact COMEDAT, Jordan’s largest phosphate mining contractor, has managed to keep their f leet of Terex’ trucks moving for decades makes their operation a minor miracle of mining. COMEDAT is owned by the Dababneh Family and runs one of the largest f leets of TR100s trucks worldwide. Founded in 1970 to mine phosphate, the company’s current opencast operations generate in excess of 4 million cubic metres of overburden and 800,000 cubic metres of phosphate per month and rely predominantly on Terex rigid trucks to move this vast amount of material. COMEDAT purchased their first Terex rigid trucks in 1997, and currently operates 75 trucks split between twenty 3311E, five 33100 and 50 TR100 models. Working at the company’s three sites to the South of Amman, the trucks have been purchased principally for their simplicity of design and their durability. “We have a policy of standardising our equipment and the TR100s were chosen primarily for their reliability, spare parts availability as well as their pricing,” explains Dababneh, COMEDAT’s chairman. “They are, in general, simple and
forgiving trucks where failures usually do not turn into a catastrophic failure. This is extremely important to us and ref lects very well on our productivity.” Operating in such a tough environment, the Terex trucks have proven to be a reliable choice for the company. Temperatures in the region vary wildly with summer months reaching a scorching 45o Celsius during the day and dropping to 20 degrees during the night shift whilst the winter months see barely 20o during the day and dipping down to minus 5o at night. Operating a varied f leet of trucks in a wide age group, the COMEDAT trucks are still giving excellent operational availability. Operating hours of individual units vary between twenty and seventy five thousand hours and despite the age, the trucks are still providing high levels of availability. Keeping the Terex trucks up and running is a straightforward operation with engine rebuilds and transmission overhauls all carried out at the company’s workshops. Loading the f leet of Terex trucks is taken care of by a total of ten hydraulic mining excavators with bucket capacities between 13m3 and 17m3. The low, wide body fitted to the trucks gives the loader operators an easy target to aim for. Haul distances are generally short for trucks on overburden removal, approximately 750m, whereas trucks carrying low grade phosphate have to travel further, undertaking a journey of 2km, as the material, approximately 18% of the excavated product, is stored close to the pit area. Higher grade material, 6% of the material, is transferred directly to the screening plants located nearer to the processing facility, a distance of approximately 6km from the workings. The simple, yet robust design of the Terex trucks has impressed both Ms Dabebnah and her staff. The longevity of the Terex design and the quality of the build ensures the COMEDAT trucks will be moving mountains for decades to come.
One extreme to another There can’t be many more demanding places for mining equipment than the extreme cold of the Artic. In 2009 the Sydvaranger opencast iron-ore mine, at the northern tip of Norway, 400 km north of the Arctic Circle, was reopened after 14 years out of service. This is the first new iron-ore mining operation to be launched in Europe in the 21st Century, says earthmoving, mining and construction equipment manufacturer Atlas Copco. Australian company Northern Iron first started to rehabilitate the mine in August 2008, and production of iron-ore restarted in 2010, with production
expected to rise to twomillion tons a year of iron-ore concentrate by July 2010. The ore processing plant was refurbished, which included the installation of a pelletisation unit for the processed iron-ore concentrate. The average grade of the ore is 32% iron. The improvements mean that the mine will produce about 4,7-million tons a year of iron-ore, yielding about twomillion tons a year of iron-ore concentrate for about 30 years, the company reports. Sydvaranger CEO John Sanderson said that the challenges to getting the
mine operational include management changes, setbacks in the refurbishment programme, changing equipment specifications, bit-life problems and delays caused by the global financial crisis. He added that a major challenge is the refurbishment of the processing plant. There are three iron deposits at the mine and the quartzbanded magnetite ore is difficult to drill through and highly abrasive but fragments well when blasted. For this reason, the mine uses three crawler-mounted, hydraulic top-head-drive DML drill rigs to drill the
200mm-diameter production holes. These rigs can drill large vertical blast holes economically and are used on the largest benches on the mine. They are fitted with a 24bar high-pressure attachment so that the rigs can also be used to drill 203mm holes using a Secoroc TD 80 downthe-hole hammer.
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Heavy Hitter
making a splash T
he weathered and soaked sailors of the Volvo Ocean Race cruised into the sun-kissed coast of Abu Dhabi in January. The occasion was momentous for a number of reasons. The stage from South Africa to the Gulf had seen the global race make a number of firsts. Not least the fact that the stage had seen the race take its first ever mid-ocean break. Racing to a secret location deep in the Indian Ocean the fleet of streamlined boats were craned out of the water and onto freighters – the crews watched with their hands over their eyes.
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CMME catches up with the Volvo Group CFO Anders Osberg at the Volvo Ocean Race to get his impressions of the CV sector. Even the world’s most famous circumnavigation can’t avoid the pirates that terrorise the huge expanse of water. Especially when their position is trackable to the metre by an iphone (another first). The boats were shipped and carefully dropped back into the water at Sharjah where the crews got back onboard and took a final sprint to Abu Dhabi (incidentally won by the crew onboard the Telefonica) bringing the race to the Middle East for the first time. Their arrival sparked two weeks of celebration for sailing fans who journeyed to Abu Dhabi to see the
surprisingly slight craft, but beyond the ice cream and music, the more serious and shadowy show of corporate hospitality was underway. Make no mistake the Volvo Ocean Race is a huge priority and opportunity for its many corporate sponsors such as Telefonica and Camper. Much more flexible in its stops than, say, the Formula One competition that visits the Yas Island complex a few kilometres down the coast. F1 needs expensive purpose-built tracks, the Volvo Ocean Race is a global junket of brand names and merchandise designed to carry companies into new ground – or rather waters. Race owner Volvo says the millions it spends on the race opens up new markets and territories for the company. Anders Osberg, CFO, Volvo CE tells CMME that every stop, rest and hospitality tent is a carefully planned exercise to maximise the dollars spent. “This year we stop in South America, the Middle East, China, South Africa,” says Osberg. “These are important markets for us. Yes it’s deliberate.” The temporary building in which we meet has an array of Volvo product outside trucks, machinery and cars. Osberg is keen to differentiate his own concern, the Volvo Group’s trucks and Construction Equipment with the conventional four wheeled S60 sitting on the decking. “We’re here representing Volvo Group, but as you know the two companies separated a few years ago. A move that has enabled us to grow even in the last few years.” “When we sold Volvo to Ford, we made the decision to make Volvo a company for commercial vehicles. Turning out new product is quite capital intensive and we thought this would be the way to change the company. However even after ten years people still have an emotional attachment to the name.” Volvo Group is now much larger than when it had the cars, he explains. “Today we are about 300 million SEK we were nowhere near that when we were all together.” Volvo’s trucks have been vital in that growth as has its ever-stronger presence in the Chinese market. Both Volvos have been making progress in the market. With the steps from car to truck, especially as they are seen so often together on roads not a big one in the consumer’s eyes, it’s no surprise that the next stop will be Sanya on the China’s East coast and equally it’s no shock that the construction equipment business will be in the mood to push product: “The awareness of the brand name Volvo is never a disadvantage for us.” He continues: “We were discussing this previously with Chinese media. In China, because of the passenger car, it is easier for people to put their hands on a car and say it’s a Volvo. We will be working to promote the Volvo Group. The Volvo race is a chance to show all our products together for customers and the people. The success of the passenger gives all sorts of opportunities for the Volvo brand.” “I think you expect a little bit to have the market on the radar screen so that every thing is compliant with their inflationary goals and objectives,” he explains. “They are quite direct on that. I think
that the government has been working hard to make the market.” At an event that celebrated elan, excitement and man’s ultimate victory in the ancient battle against the sea, Volvo’s CFO assessment of the global economy swung dangerously close to being a damp squib. “In Europe growth will be flat for this year. In 2012 we won’t see growth in Europe,” Osberg says. “We see a much more balanced picture and this is how we would like to be in the future,” he said. “In an economic downturn it is good not to have to rely on a single market... The first six months of 2012 will be very much guiding where we are heading in these different key markets. I think we’re coming into a situation where it is very hard to make any kind of economic forecast.” The stopover in Abu Dhabi is the centrepiece of Volvo’s – and Osberg reminds me its other truck brand Renault’s – push in a region that has brought
“WHEn WE SOlD VOlVO
TO FORD, WE MADE THE DECISIOn TO MAKE A COMpAnY FOR COMMERCIAl VEHIClES. HOWEVER EVEn AFTER TEn YEARS pEOplE STIll HAVE An EMOTIOnAl ATTACHMEnT TO THE nAME.”
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Heavy Hitter
“WE HAVE TO RECOGnISE THAT THERE ARE bIG pRODUCERS
THERE THAT HAVEn’T bEEn THERE bEFORE. THE WORLD IS CHAnGInG, IT’S VERy MUCH A GLObAL pICTURE nOW. THE EMERGInG MARKETS HAVE bECOMInG MORE IMpORTAnT OVER THE LAST TEn yEARS.”
solace to an industry that has seen sales fall off elsewhere. The company was instrumental in bringing its key supplier in the Gulf, Famco and its key distributor Al-Rehab together. A move that makes sense to the company’s aspirations in the Kingdom, he says. “We have been working with FAMCO for a long time, which has been a successful relationship. This is a fantastic market.” One of his objectives in Abu Dhabi is to raise money that he says will be used to fund more exports. “This is the first time for me to be here but it is an attractive place to be, we are of course looking
for opportunities to build relationships with banks to sell our products even further. It was especially important for me to be here because our banks are here, our customers are here and we can explore export solutions. Without the financing we can’t sell. He continues: “Financing is much easier now than a couple of years ago as we’re stronger financially in the group. The European banking sector is under pressure, we are trying to push for them here. He adds: “For them to come into new areas, and for today as they are under more pressure. However we can help them create business partnerships here. Volvo’s Middle East effort is concentrated down the road in Dubai and Osberg says the company is using the race as a staging point to push into other markets. “There are other markets that we haven’t been so active before. Saudi Arabia is a market that has been identified for the trucks as one of the biggest single markets. One of the reasons we have the race here is to meet customers from those markets.
Unpredictable markets Looking at the year ahead he says the volatility in the economic markets is making it difficult to predict which will be the stronger commercial vehicles and construction equipment markets “Coming into 2012 I think we’re coming into a situation where it is very difficult to make any predictions. Trend-wise the emerging markets have becoming more important over the last ten years and depending on what happens in the US and Europe I can see the other markets have proven that they can grow independently of the Western World. “In terms of the Middle East and Africa, we’ve been trying to identify where are we, where can we go and where are the potential areas we can grow. I think from the write ups of Volvo Trucks they are giving many more opportunities than ten years ago.
A CAT/BAE Hybrid BAE Systems and Caterpillar have signed a supply agreement to develop an energy efficient parallel hybrid propulsion system for heavy-duty trucks. As per the deal, BAE Systems will merge the Cat CX family of transmissions into its HybriDrive parallel propulsion system revealed at last year’s
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Automechanika, and will establish an aftermarket field services model leveraging Caterpillar’s global service network to support the growing installed base. The parallel propulsion system, which is the new member of BAE Systems’ HybriDrive family can improve fuel economy by an average of 30%.
It is designed for heavyduty truck applications that include refuse collection, construction, pick-up and delivery, and utility vehicles. BAE Systems GM of HybriDrive Solutions Steve Trichka said this agreement brings two industry leaders together to provide a product that will surpass marketplace expectations for cost,
performance and support. “Building upon our initial relationship to develop the parallel hybrid electric system, this supply agreement cements Caterpillar as a key supplier and partner on a system that will lower fuel and ownership costs and emissions for fleet owners,” Trichka said.
Volvo now offers a diverse array of product into the Middle East market. Saudi Arabia is now one of its biggest single markets, and a reason behind the race’s arrival in the UAE.
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Heavy Hitter
Volvo’s operation in the Middle East is centred around its parts and distribution centre in Jebel Ali. Renault trucks is stronger in the North African market.
With Renault Trucks strong across North Africa, Osberg says that the company is currently planning where best it can place it trucks brands. “Traditionally it’s been a case of Renault stronger in the French-speaking countries of course. But today, it’s a multibrand approach. Within the EMEA, it is getting easier to get organised and work
Volvo safety hits 50 Volvo Trucks has long been the industry leader in the field of passive safety, that is to say technology that helps protect those involved in a collision. In 2009 it was 50 years since Volvo introduced the threepoint safety belt – an invention that has saved more lives in traffic than any other technical feature. “We immediately gave free use of our patent to all manufacturers and today the safety belt is a natural feature in virtually all trucks and cars. That is why we can say that there is a bit of Volvo in every vehicle on the road - irrespective of make and model,” says Volvo Trucks’ traffic and product safety director, Carl Johan Almqvist. However, although the three-point belt has been around for half a
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century, its use is still worryingly low among truck drivers in some countries. On Swedish roads, only four out of ten truck drivers use the belt, while France, owing to tough legislation, has boosted safety belt use to 80 percent. The consequences of not using the belt are well documented in Volvo Trucks’ own accident research. Of 15 truck driver fatalities on Swedish roads over the past three years, for instance, only one was wearing a safety belt. “The human being does not have a built-in speedometer so we do not perceive speed as dangerous, especially not when we sit high up in a large vehicle. In a global perspective, every year a large number of drivers die while not
wearing a safety belt and their lives might have been saved by the truck’s most obvious safety feature. This is something we must rectify, a challenge that is as big as the development of new technologies for accident avoidance,” says CarlJohan Almqvist. He concludes: “We have safety belt reminders in our trucks, but ultimately it is the drivers themselves who must realise the risks they are taking when they drive without wearing the safety belt. Virtually our entire systematic safety approach is bypassed if the belt is not given the chance to hold the seat occupant securely in place during an accident. This applies equally if the driver is thrown around inside the cab or is thrown out of the cab if the truck rolls over.”
out what we can do in this region working multibrand wise,” he says. He adds that that despite Europe and the Middle East increasingly looking like very different markets in terms of their economic outlook, the company has no plan to open a split dedicated Middle East and Africa division. Volvo is also wellestablished in India, a country with good links to the region for supply and demand. “Obviously if you look at the competition they tend to have different ways of doing it,” he explains. “But for us it makes sense because of the time zones. We think this is a good way to do it. You have to make a decision one way or another.” Osberg adds that other important markets are Qatar because of the World Cup and Iraq. “We are a quality producer with quality engines. We can’t always compete on price as a single component. We have seen a tendancy to buy cheaper products, but we are seeing people more interested in durability here. The cost of the lifecycle of the truck is becoming more important. Does the cost of the truck work out better in the long term versus the durability is a question the customer has to ask itself.” Having integrated Renault into the company Volvo can now look on the potential merger of Scania, MAN and VW satisfied that it doesn’t have to go through a painful merger. While he accepts it as an opportunity he points to the changing picture of global players and says that the market is now a highly competitive and dynamic sector. “There is constant consolidation in the business. It’s the same thing with Daimler (and Mercedes), you have to accept that will happen in the traditional markets. “But it is also the same in the Chinese market with their local producers that are coming close together. We have to recognise that there are big producers there that haven’t been there before. The world is changing, it’s very much a global picture now.”
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Heavy Hitter
Selling Volvo cars has allowed the company to invest in its non-road car business. Volvo Group is one of the few companies coming out the downturn stronger than it was before.
“SInCe THe FInAnCIAl CRISIS STARTed We HAVe leARnT A
lOT ABOuT THe neCCeSITy OF MAInTAInInG A STROnGHOld, THAT We HAVe A GOOd CRedIT RATInG And SO On. THAT IS A pRe-ReQuISITe OF MAInTAInInG A GOOd BRAnd IMAGe, yOu knOW.” Upswing in fortUnes
Truck sales still on the rise in the GCC
Sales of commercial vehicles in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states showed significant growth last year, with the first three months of the year (the last set of published figures) indicating similar positive signs. The total sales of trucks and buses over 4,000kg gross vehicle weight in 2010 in GCC stood at 58,025 units, an increase of 50 per cent from 2009 (38,590). Over the first three months of 2011, a total of 11,924 commercial vehicles were sold in the GCC, a steady four per cent increase over the same period in 2010 (11,433 units sold). Though the figures -released by global motor
trade data specialists, Auto Strategies International -- are still well down on 2008, when 116,997 trucks and buses were sold in the GCC, indicates that an industry hit hard by the economic recession in 2009 is again gathering momentum. The region certainly looks like it’s a bigger blip on the world’s manufacturers’ radars these days. Following MAN Trucks recently making an appearance at Big5, Mercedes, Renault Trucks and IVECO have all joined the line-up of exhibitors for the third edition of Commercial Vehicles Middle East, taking place from March 6 to 8 at the Dubai
International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Renault trucks, which uses a network of 19 dealerships, 25 service points and mobile workshops to cover 19 countries across the region, will have a prominent presence at the event with a large stand, as they look to launch the new Renault trucks Sherpa. “Commercial Vehicles Middle East is the only event of its kind in the GCC for us to present our brand and product range,” said Marco Bonaveglio, head of marketing at Renault Trucks. “We have seen growth in the GCC in 2011 for of sales of heavy trucks in the 16-tonne plus range. So we look forward to showcasing our latest products, and to strengthen our position in the region “Commercial Vehicles Middle East is the region’s only event dedicated to commercial vehicles, parts and services, bringing together the largest annual gathering of transport, fleet and
logistics decision makers from every sector of the road transport business. This is a major draw for Al Ghandi & Sons, the licensed distributor for IVECO in the UAE. One of the heavyweights of the global transport world, IVECO, which has 74 dealers, 13 satellite locations and 139 sales points across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, will be launching new products from their stand on the front row of the show. New features for the exhibition include the CVME Business Group, launched in June this year, when more than 100 representatives of leading industry players discussed key issues facing the commercial vehicles industry in the Middle East. The region’s first ever business group of its kind hosts year round industry updates, workshops, seminars and networking. An informal networking event held at The Towers Rotana Dubai, was attended by 120 industry professionals.
Since Osberg step into the position of CFO for Volvo Group, the company has seen an upswing of its fortunes. The Swede’s modesty dictates that he sees the growth as a result of its new multi-brand approach. “It’s very important for me to be able to operated cross-functionally within the group. When we had the brands separated as Volvo Trucks, Renault trucks and so on as seperate companies, it was very difficult to do that. “My role is to make sure that we have the balance sheet that is strong enough to promote the brands. Since the financial crisis started we have learnt a lot about the neccesity of maintaining a stronghold, that we have a good credit rating and so on. That is a pre-requisite of maintaining a good brand image, you know.” While revealing that Volvo Group made $45 billion at the end of Q3 2011, he is shy on revealing any forecasts for the upcoming and crucial final year results (“nice try, we can’t comment on those at this time”) he says that he is unable to make any predictions on the race too. “I told you I am not allowed to make any forecasts,” he laughs. “But we’ve been following it on the ipad and it’s a close one. He continues: “The fun part is that with the tracker even if you don’t know too much about racing you can follow it. “And my kids have been playing games on it and using the tracker too. And they know I’ve been down here so they’re following it on that.” After the interview, Osberg joined the crowds outside to watch the crews re-join the race. By the time they re-boarded with hundreds watching on and the fanfares playing you could see by the smiles under the suntans that the racers were happy to get back to the proper work of racing.
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The Big Topic
Not swept away In post-tsunami Japan, its machinery industry begins to recover and turn to the future.
a
t first it didn’t feel unusual, but then it went on and on. So I got myself and my wife under the table…. I’ve lived in Japan for ten years and I’ve never felt anything like this before. The aftershocks keep coming. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t know whether it’s me shaking or an earthquake.” Even watching through the easy distance of a TV screen the horror hit home. Watching the sea take the land like someone had tipped bath water over a play set and realising that those were real people driving the soon to be swept away toy cars was both surreal and terrible. In all 15,000 lives were taken by the water and the ensuing chaos.
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Hundreds of thousands were left displaced and their lives changed forever. In the context of such devastation, it almost seems distasteful to look at the effect that the disaster had on the many thousands of companies located on the prefecture, but Japan’s domestic fleet of machines proved crucial in the hours and days that followed. Thousands of machines were mobilised to help with the immediate task of sorting through the millions of tonnes of debris scattered over the torn coastline, helping the rescue effort, clearing the way as emergency teams began the arduous task of finding trapped survivors. If Japan wanted to recover they would prove crucial to getting the country back to work and on
its feet financially as a major contributor to bringing money into the country. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. There was work to be done. Companies like Komatsu, Hitachi and Hyundai all have major manufacturing bases and plants in the region, and it soon emerged they had been critically disabled by the tsunami. Many plants were without power, some were critically damaged and even those that had escaped relatively unscathed were shut down as the companies on their supply chains were wiped out. This was reflected by share prices which fluctuated wildly in the cold-eyed columns filling the screens of the world’s financial markets.
Komatsu, the so-called Japanese Caterpillar, had posted an operating profit of $738.5 million for Q1 2011, almost double on the previous year, but was facing major challenges to get up and running. The disaster had wiped millions of Yen off its share price. Meanwhile Toyota and Honda Motor Co revealed that domestic production in March plummeted by more than 60% from the previous year following the disaster. Honda’s production fell 62.9% to 34,754 units in March. Toyota, which resumed manufacturing operations at all domestic plants on 18 April, said domestic production fell 62.7% to 129,491 units, the lowest rate since 1976. At the same time, the Yen, which had been priced way above
other currencies for so long analysts had begun to question whether Japan’s manufacturers would ever be competitive, also began to gain value as investors turned bullish on the money markets. It was the sort of bad news for the construction machinery industry did not need – the resilience and maybe the future of an entire industry was being tested. Japan sits close to one of the world’s most active earthquake zones, with the archipelago located in an area where several continental and oceanic plates meet. In 1995 the Kobe earthquake struck one of its vital nerve centres for steel manufacturing, plunging the country deeper into the worst recession for several decades. In the intervening years, Japan had
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The Big Topic
$50 billion budget
asked itself what it could have done better. It had reacted too slowly and Japan’s government reacted that the government-led relief effort quickly to secure funding was under-manned and ill-equipped. to rebuild the damaged Fortunately this time around prefacture. the response was both swift and, most crucially, effective. A proposal for a $50 billion budget to help finance to the reconstruction in Japan was soon unveiled and included the construction of 100,000 temporary homes for the displaced. It was a timely boost to manufacturers, who at best had seen output levels splutter to 50% of normal at best. Komatsu also had the Fukushima nuclear plant to worry about. Many of the company’s plants were extensively damaged by the tsunami. Repeated aftershocks, black outs and disruption to water supplies hampered repairs, but the situation at a facility near the nuclear plant were even more precarious, said Komatsu US’ Dave Grzelak. “Shipments of equipment have been delayed because roads and harbour facilities from and near our plants have been severely damaged. Gasoline shortages and rolling electrical blackouts that affect trains make it difficult-to-impossible for employees to get to work.” Company president Kunio Noji said the company had to respond swiftly to get up and running.
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Although power shortages by the Tokyo and Tohoku Electric Power Companies meant the company had to cut power consumption by 30% of its daily peak use and production was only possible by using its inhouse power generation. “Although we stopped production at some of our plants after the earthquake, our maintenance people from the Awazu, Osaka and other plants rushed to the affected plants and suppliers’ locations and worked to recover their production the day after the natural disaster,” Noji told analysts. By May, Komatsu’s recovery was well underway and the company was starting to feel the benefit of the disaster funding. In fact its share price had increased by 10% since the disaster, way ahead of a Nikki average fall of 6% as investors speculated it would be a major beneficiary of the rebuilding process.CFO Mikio Fujitsuka was sanguine about the year despite the boost from the government. “It is unclear how much rebuilding-related demand there will be and we have not incorporated any into our forecast. We are looking for domestic demand to be flat year-on-year,” Fujitsuka said. One of the most impressive recoveries over the last year took place at Hitachi. According to Michijiro Kikawa, Hitachi Construction Machinery’s president his company managed to quickly restore production in just over a month. “Facilities of a number of group companies, including five production bases in Ibaraki Prefecture and sales, service and rental bases in the Tohoku region were affected by earthquake,” said Kikawa, “but all related parties made efforts towards the restoration of those bases in order to minimise the impact on stakeholders, and we were able to restore production capacity to pre-disaster levels in midApril. The fact that all group personnel came through the disaster unscathed was the greatest relief.” In 2008 Hitachi set out its mid-term management plan setting targets for sales of 1 trillion yen ($13 billion – to put that in context Caterpillar raked in $54 billion in 2011) under the theme of establishing the company among the global top three construction machinery companies. It was an ambitious programme but achievable according to Kikawa. “To achieve those targets, we mapped out a growth strategy centered on three axes: a “hard (products) axis” to establish new core products, a “soft axis (solutions)” to strengthen after sales customer support throughout life cycle of machine, and a “regional axis” to strengthen business development based on the regional market characteristics of countries around the world.” Kikawa explained that the company has since been forced to revise its plans. “The global construction machinery market has faced two changes that could be described as dramatic. One of these was the Lehman Shock, which occurred in 2008. Another great change was the rapid growth of emerging markets.” Kikawa understands that the emerging markets will be the fighting grounds for Japanese manufacturers like itself. “After the Lehman shock, demand for construction machinery made a rapid recovery in the emerging countries, including China and India, against the backdrop of rapid economic development. The ratio of demand for hydraulic excavators between the
The Big Topic
advanced countries and emerging countries, which was 50:50 in the term ended March 31, 2008, has shifted to 20:80 in favour of emerging markets.” While the volume and structure of global demand for construction machinery changed dramatically in this way, HCM rolled out its growth strategy based on those three axes. “Although we could not achieve the numerical targets raised at the beginning of the plan, we were able to make certain strategic moves with potential for future growth. For example, in the hard axis, opportunities appeared that seemed likely to become our next core products, such as ultra large dump trucks for resource excavation such as mining, etc. We intend to sell these trucks as a package with our ultra
“THE RATIO OF dEMAnd FOR HYdRAuLIC ExCAvATORS
BETWEEn THE AdvAnCEd COunTRIES And EMERGInG COunTRIES, WHICH WAS 50:50 HAS SHIFTEd TO 20:80 In FAvOuR OF EMERGInG MARKETS.” large excavators and expand the parts and service business that would accompany these sales. Also, on the soft axis, we are continuing to establish our know-how in this mining business, contracting to undertake maintenance after sales, and this also promises growth in the future. “Moreover, on the regional axis, I think that the measures we have taken in each region have steadily produced results, including the strengthening of dealers in China and other parts of Asia, the strengthening of our dealer networks in Russia and India, the strengthening of our mining business systems in Africa.” Kikawa has recently become disappointed at the flabby demand experienced towards the end of 2011. Last year he forecasted 20% growth. By the time Hitachi’s financial year climaxes in March, he expects demand to have dropped by as much as 30%. “I had expected Chinese demand to come back sooner,” he said at his most recent meeting with journalists. “The business environment is changing greatly, including increasing severe environmental and energy restrictions, and the intensification of the competitive environment due to the rise of Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.” In a world where the Yen refuses to fall in price Kikawa is keen to see Hitachi become a lot more f lexible in its approach to markets, like the Middle East. “Our business is rapidly spreading on a global basis and our overseas business ratio has reached
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Komatsu
Hitachi said first-half net income fell 68 percent to 50.9 billion yen from a year earlier. The March earthquake and a stronger yen hurt earnings, according to the company. Hitachi’s main production facilities in Ibaraki Prefecture experienced serious damage.
Komatsu, the world’s second-biggest maker of construction and mining machinery, recovered quickly following the tsunami, but sales of power shovels declined 57 percent in October, according to Nomura Securities Inc as a consequence of the disaster.
CONSTRUCTION
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February 2012
80%. Consequently, we will review head office functions and the roles and responsibilities of regional business divisions and undertake reform towards systems whereby local personnel can develop business matched to their countries. We will delegate authority to regional operating divisions working locally, promote local personnel to top management positions, and strengthen our global governance systems and diversify management based on “Kenkijin Spirit,” our common global philosophy.” “It will be important for us to make our value chain spanning product development to production, sales and service even stronger than ever. Because of this, while globalising our development system towards prompt “hard” (products) supply matched to the requirement of the various regions of the world on the one hand, we will promote a flexible manufacturing system that develops and produces core components in Japan and tailors the rest to local needs, and are also planning to respond to increased demand by investing in large-scale production facilities. “Furthermore, in solution areas such as sales and service, we will upgrade our sales support systems for our dealers in each region looking and focus on the creation of systems that aim for customer satisfaction by supporting product lifecycles over the long term.” He thinks that there are two great perspectives involved with regard to the CSR that Hitachi should deliver. “With the recent earthquake, the important roles fulfilled by Japanese manufacturing industries through the supply of superior technology and products were once again highlighted in global economic—industrial society. The stable supply of superior products is the foundation of the CSR of the manufacturing industries. “We will think once more about the modalities of manufacturing that will be called for in the future from now on, including things such as raising business continuity plans (BCPs) for times of disaster to the next level, the strengthening of supply chain management in alliance with business partners, and the pursuit of further energy savings based on the electricity supply situation, and we will cast each of these into shape. Kikawa continued: “I would like to turn the HCM Group into a truly global corporation that always has global social issues like this in its field of vision and both achieves growth as a company and contributes to the creation of a sustainable global society to earn the trust of all stakeholders through global business operations.”
Sumitomo Heavy Industries With its metal Sumitomo Heavy Industries cut its full-year net-income forecast 6.7 percent to 28 billion yen, missing analysts’ estimates of a 30 billion yen profit.
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Product Section
Crawl Calling
Your essential guide on the best in new construction equipment and heavy machinery in the market. Plus guides to new and future technology.
CONTENTS 44
ThiS mONTh’S rElEaSES
54
fuTurE TEChNOlOgy
• MTU Tier 4 engines • Doosan DX180LC-3 • Doosan’s new loaders • Bobcat TL470HF • Hyundai 1200/9
They fly, they build, they do it all by themselves. CMME looks at the little machines that bring science fiction to construction fact.
49
SECTOr aNalySiS
56
bObCaT miNi-ExES aT 25
The attachment market.
52
POiNT Of viEw
A look at access equipment, a guide to its uses and what to look for. JLG also explains what it has in store for the coming year.
Its been 25 years since Bobcat entered the mini-excavator market, and this year’s Intermat 2012 will be a critical opportunity to fight back in a crowded market.
February 2012
COnSTrUCTiOn
MiDDlE EaST
43
Product Section
MTU TIER 4
MTU fine-tuned: New Tier 4 series engines SPECS EU Stage IV / EPA Tier 4 final 100 - 260 kW 4R, 6R Series 1000 EGR, SCR 280 - 320 kW 6R Series 1100 340 - 380 kW 6R Series 1300 EGR, SCR 400 - 460 kW 6R Series 1500 EGR, SCR 560 - 730 kW 10V, 12V Series 1600 EGR 560 - 730 kW 10V, 12V Series 1600 EGR
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G
erman engine specialist Tognum says its ready to showcase its MTU-brand C&I engines designed to meet the EU Stage IV and US EPA Tier 4 final emissions regulations scheduled for introduction in 2014. The new Series 1000, 1100, 1300 and 1500 engines come with outputs ranging from 100 to 460 kW and will be properly released in time for the new regulations. Based on Daimler technology, these units have been specially developed for off-highway applications in the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors and are suitable for powering a wide range of construction machinery such as excavators, mobile cranes, haul trucks, and wheel and telescope loaders.
They will utilise an SCR exhaust after-treatment system to achieve compliance with the extremely stringent limits set by EU Stage IV and EPA Tier 4 final for nitrogen oxides and particulate emissions, and need no diesel particulate filters to achieve any further particulate reduction. “We are proud that, in the future, we will continue to be able to offer our customers engines without diesel particulate filters for all construction industry applications. They are cleaner than ever before and they use even less fuel than the current engines,” said Dr Ulrich Dohle, Tognum CTO, highlighting the company’s technological expertise as well as its competitive edge.
DX180LC-3
Doosan: The next generation SPECS Buckets: 0.70 – 0.93 m3 Operating weight: 18040–20540kg Digging depth (std front): 6110mm Digging reach (std front): 9130mm Digging force over bucket: 13.1t Lifting capacity at ground level (over front): 4.65t @ 6m Engine (SAE J1349): Doosan DL06 Stage IIIB (EGR), 91.2 kW (124 PS) at 1950 RPM
A
s Intermat 2012 gets closer we’re starting to see companies reveal their hands in terms of new products. Doosan sent in a great swathe of updates this month, including news on its unveiling of its new generations of excavators and and wheel loaders. The first new generation crawler excavators include the DX300LC-3, which we covered in January, and the DX340LC-3 heavy model, which we talk about in this month’s news. So that leaves the DX180LC-3 mid-range model. In the new generation excavators, the ROPS and OPG certified cab offers more space (+6%) for the
operator and several convenient features, including direct control through the joysticks, which have new proportional thumb wheel switches and integrated buttons to provide precise, proportional control of attachments. The machines all feature a new 7in colour high quality visual control console. All functions can be controlled both from the instrument panel as well as via a new jog/shuttle control next to the joystick, (a feature we’re told is exclusive to Doosan excavators). A new function to set engine speed, hydraulic flow and pressure for attachments is standard.
Doosan’s new LoaDers
Doosan loading up I SPECS
Capacity, heaped: 3.0 m3
Static tipping load, straight: 15100kg Length with bucket: 8290mm Width with bucket: 2910mm Height: 3476mm
Dump ht (at 45°) w/ bolt-on teeth: 2725mm Dump reach (at 45°) w/ bolt-on teeth: 1300mm Turning radius, bucket edge: 5550mm Engine: 5cy Scania DC09 SCR, delivering 202 kW at 1800 RPM Operating weight: 19010kg Breakout force: 17100kg
ntermat will also see the launch of the new generation DL300-3, DL350-3, DL420-3, DL450-3 and DL550-3 large wheel loaders and the new DL200-3 mid-size wheel loader. These will be shown alongside the company’s new DA30 and DA40 articulated dump trucks being seen for the first time at the show. The new wheel loaders have three engine working modes: ECO, NORMAL and POWER, to adapt the machine to different applications, with different engine speeds and gear steps according to the working mode engaged. The ECO Bar provides information about fuel consumption in relation to machine performance in real-time, allowing the operator to select the driving profile for the best fuel efficiency. All new generation Doosan wheel loaders are equipped with load-sensing controlled, variable hydraulic piston pumps, improving performance and reducing fuel consumption. With load sensing, the hydraulic pumps receive a signal
from the MCV informing how much oil is needed. This helps to save on engine performance. The new ZF limited slip Type II differential axles provide more durability and a longer lifetime. Rolling resistance for the axles is reduced, improving traction and decreasing fuel consumption. Revised kinematics and a larger cylinder on the lift arm have allowed the main pressure in the front hydraulic system to be increased by up to 40 - 70 bar, depending on the machine size, with a corresponding increase in breakout and lifting forces of up to 5%.
February 2012
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Product Section
TL470HF
Bobcat TL470HF SPECS Engine: 97.5 kW (130 HP) Perkins 1104D-E44TA diesel engine Max speed: 40 km/h Max lift capacity: 3.5t Max lift height: 7m Max reach: 4002mm Max capacity at full reach: 1.5t
B
obcat will use Intermat to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its compact excavator (see Bobcat storyon pg 56) and will show its complete range of new generation compact loaders and miniexcavators from Bobcat for the first time at Intermat. Bobcat will also be showing the new high horsepower TL470HF telescopic handler and the comprehensive display will include a wide selection of Bobcat attachments such as the new sonic tracer system for use with the company’s two largest 244 and 274cm (96 and 108 inch) heavy duty grader attachments. The new high horsepower TL470HF telescopic handler is powered by the 97.5 kW (130 HP) Perkins 1104D-E44TA diesel engine, offering higher horsepower and torque for superior performance and a maximum travel speed of 40 km/h. Thanks to the high horsepower engine, the TL470HF offers significantly increased torque, enabling improved performance and productivity. Combined with a new load sensing pump delivering a hydraulic flow of 190 l/min, the TL470HF model
offers faster cycle times at a lower engine speed when performing both single and combined boom movements. This helps to reduce fuel consumption and improve efficiency. The TL470HF telescopic handler has a maximum lift capacity of 3.5 tonne and a maximum lift height of 7m. The capacity at full lift height is 3.0 tonne, while the maximum forward reach is 4002mm and the lift capacity at full reach is 1500kg.
Hyundai R1200-9
L
ike Doosan Hyundai will present an extensive range of equipment for the construction, mining and quarrying industries at Intermat, including the release of the first models of a new range of -9A Series Excavators and Wheel Loaders, alongside a broad selection of other established models in the ever-expanding Hyundai range of excavators, wheel loaders, mini-excavators and lift trucks. There will also be the global public launch of the giant new flagship model, the 120t R12009 Excavator, and a preview of the first Hyundai Hybrid model, a 22t tracked excavator, offering exceptional productivity at optimum fuel economy. Underlining its intention of competing on a broad
front in all sectors of the construction and mining equipment business, Hyundai’s introduction of a new top-end excavator in the 100t-plus sector endorses the company’s commitment to large-scale investment in developing new products and new market opportunities. Building on Hyundai’s experience with the successful 50t and 80t high capacity models, the all-new 120t R1200-9 has been conceived with an eye on the expanding worldwide mining and quarrying sector, where the demand for efficient, large-scale mass excavation in minerals extraction and overburden removal has fuelled an increase in sales of large mining trucks and the equipment to load them.
yanmaR waTeR sTages
Y
anmar is introducing a new range of watercooled Tier 4 and Stage 3b engines mainly based on its TNV series. There are 10 new models - a mixture of three and four-cylinder diesels, indirect and direct injection and ranging from 10 to 56 kW. The company said all are interchangeable with existing Yanmar engines. For over 19 kW Yanmar has used an ECUcontrolled Bosch or Denso Common Rail fuel injection system, water-cooled EGR, a new intake throttle valve and DPF. Four of these new EPA Tier 4 engines, the 3TNV80F, 3TNV88C, 3TNV86CT and 4TNV98C models, will – of course - be shown at Intermat 2012.
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The region’s largest heavy equipment exhibition The Construction Machinery Show will be the largest heavy construction machinery event in the region. There will be a wide variety of products on show ranging from heavy equipment to machinery and generators including service providers. There are plans of a live auction and demonstration area for visitors to get a real idea of the capabilities of the equipment. This event is dedicated to the construction machinery sector and will provide an invaluable platform for customers in the Arab world bringing manufacturers, distributors and buyers together. In 2012 the Construction Machinery Show will be co-located with the Saudi Building & Interiors Exhibition. SBIE is an ideal business platform to find out about the latest building and interiors industry developments, assess the competition and network with specialist contractors, equipment and material suppliers, as well as solution providers. We will be in Jeddah this April. Will you?
Find out more. Visit www.constructionmachineryshow.com The Construction Machinery Show and Construction Machinery Middle East and their entities are registered trademarks. The Construction Machinery Show is held alongside the Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. Š 2011 Corporate Publishing International. All rights reserved.
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Sector Analysis
Tools of The Trade CMME looks at what’s new in attachments.
s
wapping the old adage about a workman and his tools, a good operator can always thank the right attachment for getting the work done. And when it comes to using attachments like buckets and breakers selecting the right tool can be essential. Unfortunately as the market for construction machinery fell in 2007/08 the attachments sector was unable to escape the collapse in demand. Demand fell by 40% over the next three years but the sector has since managed to prove itself to be as flexible as it is varied. After a period where the message was always about power, the manufacturers have learned to focus on what attachments do best, namely make construction much more efficient and targeted. Scan the pages of the manufacturer’s brochures and web stores, and you’ll not most are promoting their use as an aid to boosting productivity and site efficiency. They have also become popular for turning excavators into green recycling machines with the most popular tool being the hydraulic breaker. Hydraulic breakers are powerful, productive machines used to break a variety of materials. Depending upon the job to be done, the breaker chosen may be light, medium or heavy. For use, these breakers are to be mounted on some equipment such as backhoes, excavators etc. Despite the increasing prevalence of Chinesemade breakers the Middle East is dominated by the traditional power houses of Europe and North America, Japan and Korea. Outside of the OEM brand names, Sandvik is perhaps still the name most related to the sector. The mining and construction equipment manufacturer and leading manufacturer of hydraulic breakers, has been setting the standards for breaking for over three decades. Sandvik, through its former Rammer brand, was the first manufacturer to offer large and heavy-duty
hydraulic rock breaking hammers for tough conditions. The company enjoyed a successful 2011 seeing its Middle East business increase by 32% in its last quarterly results, with its mining business making up for falls in its construction side. The company has been taking great strides since it integrated Rammer into its portfolio in 2007. At the end of the year Q-Fab in Qatar supplied its first Sandvik DX700 top-hammer crawler drill rig and array of attachments to Qatar National Cement Company for Qatar’s largest limestone quarry, near to Doha. QNCC are using Sandvik drill bits, rods and shank adapters to bore to depths of 75ft (22m). The DX700 is using Sandvik 89 mm RT300 Uniface Retrac drill bits – a newly launched range of threaded button bits that use one super grade of cemented carbide throughout and a universal face design. According to Sandvik, the user needs only to select the best button shape – spherical or ballistic – and open skirt design – regular or retrac – to obtain the best bit for the rock formation; keep blastholes clean during drilling, minimising re-crushing and ensuring longer service life. Major rival to Sandvik in the sector Atlas Copco was similarly left bemused by the drop in the construction sector but has again been more positive about the mining sector in the region, citing a 19% in sales. The company brought its attachment and tools business together with its other construction equipment businesses in July last year but has continued to release product into the market. Most recently it launched its new Hydraulic Breaker HB 4100, which it claims, scores points in comparison with its predecessor model with less weight, better
40% fall in demand 2008-2010
as the market for construction machinery fell in 2007/08 the attachments sector was unable to escape the collapse in demand. demand fell by 40% over the next three years but the sector has since recovered.
February 2012
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Sector Analysis
performance and higher efficiency. “Both in terms of performance and efficiency,the improvement in comparison to the predecessor model is considerable”, explains Gordon Hambach, product line manager for Hydraulic Breakers, “here we were able to achieve increases in the double-digit percentage range.” The theory behind the HB4100 is that reduced weight and better performance means that the size of hydraulic breakers can be reduced. A lighter breaker also means that a smaller excavator can also be selected. That saves investment and operating costs. Hambach added: “The follow-up costs of an investment in a hydraulic breaker are many times greater than the pure acquisition costs. The reduction of these total cost of ownership involves
Gripping stuff
Attachments at a glance Augers
An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a ‘lighting’ to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material. The rotation of the blade causes the material to move out of the hole being drilled.
Breakers
A breaker is a powerful percussion hammer fitted to an excavator for demolishing concrete structures or rocks. It is powered by an auxiliary hydraulic system from the excavator, which is fitted with a foot-operated valve for this purpose. Additionally, demolition crews employ the hoe ram for jobs too large for jackhammering or areas where
blasting is not possible due to safety or environmental issues.
Buckets
A bucket (also called a scoop to qualify shallower designs of tools) is a specialised container attached to a machine, as compared to a bucket adapted to the form of a human being. It is a bulk material handling component. The bucket has an inner volume as compared to other types of machine attachments like blades or shovels. The bucket could be attached to the lifting hook of a crane, at the end of the arm of an excavating machine, to the wires of a dragline excavator, to the arms of a power shovel or a tractor equipped with a backhoe loader or to a loader, or to a dredge.
Grapples
A hydraulic grapple is a clawed extension for an excavator. Grapples are used most commonly in demolition or waste disposal work. In many parts of the world they are also used for logging work.
Quick hitch
A quick-hitch is a device designed to facilitate the efficient connection and removal of attachments (such as buckets, grapples and rock breakers) to plant and equipment. It is often affixed to the end of the dipper arm of an excavator, as a means of enabling different types and sizes of excavator bucket (for example) to be changed at will.
the conserving of resources, such as energy and work time, as well as durability and simple maintenance concepts.” Against this background, the guide system of the hydraulic breaker was also changed in order to make it even more stable and resilient. “Hydraulic breakers are ultimately subjected to use under the most extreme conditions,” Hambach adds. “A new covering for the retaining bar offers more protection, especially in the lower part of the hydraulic breaker which has to take a lot of wear and tear. There is also circumferential wear protection, which has proven its worth with all heavy hydraulic breakers from Atlas Copco.” Doosan has perhaps been the most prolific launcher of new attachments on the OEM side of the sector recently launched the three new DXB100H, DXB170H and DXB260H hydraulic breakers for use on Doosan wheeled and crawler excavators from 14 to 38 tonne. The Doosan DXB100H breaker is suitable for the Doosan excavators up to 18 tonne, namely the DX140LC, DX140LCR, DX160LC crawler excavators and the DX140W, DX160W and DX170W wheeled excavators. The DXB100H has an operating weight of 900 kg and a blow energy of 2350 J. Designed for use on Doosan excavators from 20 to 28 tonne, the DXB170H breaker has an operating weight of 1620 kg and blow energy of 3400 J. It is approved for use on the DX210W wheeled excavator and all the medium Doosan crawler excavators from the DX225LC to the DX255LC. The Doosan DXB260H breaker is suitable for the Doosan excavators from 30 to 34 tonne, namely the DX300LC and DX340LC models. The DXB260H has an operating weight of 2450 kg and a blow energy of 5000 J. Staying with excavators its new Geith ripper has been designed to give an excavator a powerful ripping ability in hard ground conditions as well as in the most demanding demolition applications. The ripper is engineered to reduce excessive stress on the excavator. The ripper is available for machines from 2 tonne to over 80 tonne in weight and offers a work depth of up to 1550 mm (62 inch). Under Doosan Geith remains a world leader in the design and manufacture of couplers and attachment products for excavators and is launching new safetyfocused, automatic quick couplers for a range of excavator sizes at Intermat 2012 as well as new ranges of heavy duty excavator buckets, tilt buckets and ripper attachments.
February 2012
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Point Of View
Access All AreAs Fancy a ride on a flying carpet? Or maybe you prefer the term access platform? In any case, CMME looks at the rising market.
P
owered access equipment, also known as access platforms, aerial lifts, flying carpets or aerial work platforms, and most commonly cherry pickers, get workers up high and up to inaccessible areas quickly and safely. You’re not spoilt for choice in the hire and sales market, and the list of options can be quite daunting. Do you go for vertical lifts, boom lifts, scissor lifts or truck-mounted lifts? This guide will give you an introduction to the types of cherry pickers out there, and help you decide which is right for your task. There is a huge choice of kit available in the cherry picker market, which is good news because it means whatever the job, there should be the perfect machine to fit. While there is a healthy choice of product in the market, JLG, remains the name many people associate with the products. The company is currently preparing its Intermat line-up, including the launch of the 1500SJ, the first straight boom lift that elevates operators to 45.72m and requires only a weight permit for transport. Xenia Kolijn, marketing communications manager, JLG says that the prospects for powered access are bright.“We’ve got a long way to go economically and recovery is fragile. But we think the overall trend is going to be positive for the next few years. ” Kolijn says that 2011 saw its plans in the region affected by the Arab Spring. “Within the Gulf region our politically stable core markets were largely unaffected. That was countered by the slow down in North Africa which affected development plans, and this is still the case in most of the Maghreb region today.” Overall however the Middle East still has a great deal of potential.
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“Despite this being a period of consolidation in some established markets, particularly in rental, there is a huge potential for growth in developing territories.”
Boom Lifts
those under 3,500kg can be driven on a standard driving license. Larger HGV truck mounted booms are supplied with a fully trained operator.
Rent oR buy?
Rent. unless you’re in a remote location, keep your options open and your costs down by renting.
trailer mounted boomS
Boom lifts come in all shapes and sizes, from selfpropelled to truck-mounted. The main feature of a boom lift is that it is jointed, meaning it can move out sideways as well as straight up and down, making it ideal for extending up and over objects to reach hard-to-get-to areas like roofs.
Working on the same principal as a truckmounted boom, a trailer-mounted boom lift gives you the option of collecting and moving the lift using your own vehicle to tow. Lightweight and versatile, they are a good low-cost option, often used by builders on smaller jobs.
Self propelled boom liftS
SpecialiSt boom liftS
A self-propelled boom lift is usually a smaller unit that can be moved from place to place by the operator from the basket. This means they are quick and convenient for reaching more than one tricky spot without having to stop work and re-set the unit. They are ideal for hire on a long-term project on a site, where a cherry picker may be needed for a variety of work at height.
In recent years boom lift manufacturers have developed some very specialised pieces of access equipment designed for particular working conditions. Rough terrain boom lifts are designed to be used on uneven ground outdoors, and others can feature caterpillar tracks and even non marking tyres for internal work.
truck mounted boomS A truck-mounted, or van-mounted boom is the ideal choice for work which requires access to numerous high work areas in a short space of time. For example, machines such as the Ascendant 12.5VM is often used for working on street lighting. Great for short term hire on jobs where you need to be in and out quickly, truck-mounted booms offer speed and mobility. They can come with larger platforms which can carry several workers and heavy equipment. Truck mounted booms can be hired on a self-drive basis -
scissor Lifts Mobile, practical and versatile, scissor lifts use a mechanism to lift a caged platform vertically. This might be a criss-cross scissor mechanism, or one of several other designs.
battery powered SciSSor liftS Powered scissor lifts are usually self-propelled, meaning the operator can drive them from the basket and can be either battery powered or diesel powered allowing them to be used both internally and externally.
“We’Ve GoT A
LonG WAy To Go econoMIcALLy AnD RecoVeRy IS FRAGILe. BuT We THInk THe oVeRALL TRenD IS GoInG To Be PoSITIVe FoR THe nexT FeW yeARS.”
These are ideal for indoor commercial use, Several models offer a narrow working width which allows them to travel along warehouse aisles making them ideal for carrying out task’s such as stock takes within a warehouse. They are also ideal for work where equipment is needed at height, such as electrical engineering. Because scissor lifts are compact when they are lowered, they can be easily stored on site.
dieSel powered SciSSor liftS These come in varying sizes from with some ideal for smaller building sites where space is at a premium to the larger equipment which are ideal for workers who wish to fix large pieces of cladding to the side of a building. Scissor lifts can offer a low-cost solution for working at height, with push-around models at the lowest end of the price range.
February 2012
coNstrUctioN
miDDLE EAst
53
Future Technology
The Swarm
Working day and night quadrocopter robots have proven that it is possible for humans to stand back and let machines get on with hard work of building towers.
I
n an issue where we look at building the world’s tallest tower, it seems only appropriate that we look at the next tallest structure NOT built by human hands. If you’re thinking of the gnarled lumps that termites presumably in their own language (something along the lines of “click, clp, click”) refer to as mountains, then you are probably right. But only just. Because in a warehouse-like art gallery called FRAC, just outside Paris, in December a team of robots built a 6m high tower almost, by themselves. Using small plungers they plucked one brick at a time, carried each to the “building site” and slowly created a wall. It took a few days, but what emerged was a twisting, undulating tower designed by Swiss architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler. The robots themselves were designed by ETH Zurich, a Swiss-based technology institute, and boy are they clever. Using some guidelines and blueprints ,the robots were able to pick up the polystyrene pieces of the tower, navigate, avoid airborne collisions and place their load where applicable and move on back to their base. The work was continuous with every robot returning to its charging station when needed before heading back to work. “This,” proclaimed roboticist Raffaello D’Andrea, is the “first installation to be built by flying machines.” Like I said, it was clever stuff. But how does it work? Each ‘quadrocopter’ was fitted with custom electronics and onboard sensors to allow for
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precision vehicle control, whilst also providing the opportunity for pre-programmed flight paths, which could include arcs and spirals. Furthermore, the fleet management technology helps avoid collisions by taking over when the flying robots get too close to each other. The same technology is also used for automating routine take-offs, landings and vehicle calibration and charging. According to the EHT, the system, uses specific components developed to manage and perform construction. As with The Blueprint is a file that establishes how the structure will be constructed. It holds information such as brick location and the order in which parts should be assembled. A special unit, called The Foreman manages the overall construction process by interpreting the blueprint, issuing build-orders to the Crew, and tracking the construction progress based on their feedback. It is also the means by which the system interfaces to the outside world via a user interface. Using the Foreman, the number of flying vehicles in flight at any one time, as well as the rate (in Bricks Per Hour) can be controlled. Software called The Crew is responsible for interpreting the Foreman’s build-orders and based on these, building the structure. The Crew subsystem manages the flying machines at all levels, including coordinating recharges, planning trajectories with collision avoidance, managing the pick-up and placement of bricks, and generally controlling the in-flight dynamics. The configuration file contains the operational
Many ideas, iterations “ and Fine-tuning showed that the Most accurate and reliable Method oF placing a brick, is to ‘Fly’ it quickly into place avoiding signiFicant disturbance.
”
Bees do it, presumably polar bears can’t Two Korean architects Yoon H Kim and Yang-Kyu Han, have designed a highrise construction project to be built by robot ‘bees’. Using a technique called brick swarming the worker bees will build a structure by using cartridges filled with agents that enable them to construct literal physical material, which the designers dub “augmented synthetic material.” The building would then literally be pieced together bit by bit. Presumably the workers would live in their own specially-built hive. Sweet.
parameters, such as the usable space dimensions, flight ‘freeway’ definitions and properties of the building materials, as well as parameters relating to system behaviour such as pickup/placement tolerances, flight speed & aggressiveness and parameters to control battery management. the first use of the Flying Machine enabled construction paradigm is the installation titled ‘Flight assembled architecture’ at the Frac centre, orleans. the installation was developed jointly with architects gramazio & kohler. Flight assembled architecture is the first installation to be built by flying machines. conceived as an architectural structure at a scale of a 600m high ‘vertical village’, the installation addresses radical new ways of thinking and materializing architecture as a physical process of dynamic formation. to coordinate flying and avoid collisions, the vehicles use two freeways that encircle the structure. usage of the freeways is controlled by a space-reservation system, whereby each vehicle reserves the space required for a trajectory before the trajectory is flown. this space is then unreserved once the trajectory is completed. this system ensures that while a space is reserved, only the reserving flying vehicle has access – all other vehicles must wait before flying through this space. this system is also used to stop collisions with the tower. in this situation, the entire tower is reserved, thus preventing any vehicle from planning a trajectory through this space.
both freeways as well as the space reservation system can be seen in the image below, where the black and red “tubes” represent space reserved for each trajectory – one on each freeway. to grip bricks, a specialized gripper was developed. this gripper uses three, servo-powered pins to puncture and hold the brick. being able to accurately and reliably place a brick is fundamental to a successful construction. Many ideas, iterations and fine-tuning showed that the most accurate and reliable method of placing a brick, is to “fly” it quickly into place, avoiding significant disturbance due to turbulences or ground effect. starting at a specified distance above the brick, the vehicle plans a trajectory that will result in the brick being flown into the structure with a specified velocity. testing showed that lower impact velocities (and thus gentler landings), were significantly affected by turbulence and groundeffect around the structure. For this reason, a faster and more aggressive impact is favoured. could this be used in a real live and scaled up construction site? well not with current architectural design but if they were tailored designs on a controlled building site with some form of bonding fixer applied, from the start, then it could save cost and time. it’s also not too difficult to imagine that with some sort of gps integration that the robots could operate in such an environment. it may be a long way away yet, but the age of the magnificient flying constructor bot could be just around the corner.
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Bobcat’s birthday
Bobcat mini-ex hits 25 Bobcat celebrates 25 years of producing mini excavators
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n 2012, Bobcat celebrates 25 years of success in the compact excavator market. From what began as an important diversification for Bobcat as the premier manufacturer of skid-steer loaders, the last 25 years have seen the company evolve to become one of the world’s leading compact excavator manufacturers and lay claim to being the global leader in compact construction equipment. Scott Nelson, President for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region at DICE, says: “We are very proud of our achievements in the compact excavator market over the last 25 years. This is a tribute to the tremendous efforts and commitment of our salesforce and distribution network worldwide. Most importantly, we thank all our excavator customers, who have demonstrated confidence in our products and expressed their loyalty to the Bobcat brand.” The story of the Bobcat compact excavator began in 1987 when the brand first appeared on machines sourced under an OEM agreement. Demand was so strong, particularly in Europe, that the decision was made to design and manufacture the company’s own line of excavator products. This led to the debut in October 1988 of the company’s first compact excavator product, built in collaboration
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with a Japanese manufacturer and introduced to European dealers at Da Balaia in Portugal. In 1989, Bobcat began production of its own line of compact excavators at the company’s plant in Bismarck in North Dakota, USA. Throughout the 1990s, successively larger models were added to the Bobcat-designed excavator product offering. In the Spring of 1998, the 5-tonne 337 and the 341 long arm variant were added to the line, with the 337 being exhibited for the first time at Bauma 1998. This brought the range of Bobcat compact excavators to four core models: the 320, 325, 331 and 337 models.
Continued expansion The company lost ground in the 1990s but at Samoter 2002, another significant development was marked with the addition of the 7.5 tonne 442 excavator. Not only did the 442 represent an important expansion in terms of operating weight and digging depth; it was also the first Bobcat excavator product offering zero tail swing. More recently, complementing the introduction of new products, came a determination to design and build products that meet the needs of customers in the local markets.Illustrating the intensified focus of listening to the voice of the customer was the
1.4 tonne 319 compact excavator, introduced early in 2006, the first excavator product to be designed and built specifically to meet the needs of Bobcat customers in EMEA.
LoCaL produCtion In 2001, Bobcat acquired Superstav s.r.o., at the time a manufacturer of compact loader backhoes based in Dobris in the Czech Republic. This acquisition was an important stepping stone to establishing a manufacturing capability in Europe for Bobcat compact excavators, compact loaders and attachments. At first, there was only manufacture of selected high volume attachments such as buckets and backhoes. In 2004, however, manufacture of the line of loader backhoes was discontinued, freeing up capacity to produce compact equipment. At Bauma 2010, the Bobcat E45 and E50 zero tail swing compact excavators were introduced. In 2011, based on a platform similar to that of the E50 zero tail swing model, Bobcat launched the E55 compact excavator with a conventional upper structure. Also introduced was the new 2.6 tonne zero tail swing E26 compact excavator, completing the new E-generation of machines. Replacing the 425, 428
Bobcat unveils first *machine in Europe
shows 5t model *atCompany Bauma
Bobcat buys Superstav *upping production capability
Zero tail swing compact *excavators introduced
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Bobcat enters market with *OEM agreement
Production of the first *Bobcat marquee compact
Expandable carriage *model launched
*First 7t model hits market
excavator begins
“We are very proud of our achievements in the compact excavator market over the last 25 years.”
and 430 models, the E26 offers all the advantages of the E Series: high reliability, exceptional operator comfort, smooth and precise workgroup operation and superior hydraulic performance. Twenty-five years on, the Bobcat compact excavator range sets the standard worldwide for performance, quality, reliability and durability. The range currently comprises 13 different models of compact excavators with operating weights from 1-8 tonne, including both conventional and zero tail swing designs. Tom Raes, Business Unit director for Compact Excavators, tells CMME that with Intermat 2012 coming up, Bobcat is preparing to launch more updates to the range – including a special limited edition of the machine. With the event still many months away he is unable to go into specifics, but he suggests that the market is moving towards ever greater operator comfort and greener technology. “I think there are big changes coming to the mini-excavator market. The last few years have made people very concerned about cost,” he says. “Machines have to be cost-competitive but still do the job. There’s also more emphasis on operator comfort. We have to find a balance.” Raes says that a legacy of the downturn has been the growth of the rental segment and the company
of over the last 25 years has got better a targeting the dealer channel. He adds that the channel has become a proven route to get feedback on development. “Dealer rental is crucial,” he says. “We have always worked hard to support the channel but now we’re working on value solutions and are focusing on the Bobcat range of attachments.” With the strongest markets being the UK, Germany, France and Italy. Despite their growing presence, the market is still relatively low in the Middle East. “The development of the compact excavator market in the Middle East has a completely different timeline to those in Europe and the USA. Initially, because cheap manpower was so plentiful, the MX concept was much less well accepted. “In addition, up until four or five years ago, most small excavations were done using backhoe loaders, but with the boom in building and infrastucture development in the region, the compact excavator concept has become much more appropriate and the market has expanded significantly in the last four-five years, where the excavators have become very popular for work on roads, in tight places and in landscaping.”
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The Last Word mand will be to By 2017 de a rising need by spurred on ent. pm ui replace eq
rs who were ed contracto ck la s ie n pa d cranes and Rental com uck-mounte tr t ou rs t n re willing to s lacked buye d wholesaler d an se s, es ck u pr tr boom wake of de for ucts. In the d od an pr m e de es th for downstream , ty vi ti ry ac st n d, and indu constructio anes droppe cr port d Ex te . n 09 ou % in 20 tr uck-m timated 33.4 es es an ic ll pr fe l e u ee reven high st as well, wit h cost sales suffered fsetting the of d an es ic pr r. ct u do lued US lla raising prod d by the deva e te ic ea pr cr s er w ge advanta zed by lo e characteri ar so s al rt po ey th im , e Whil ration market penet to 2009. tags and deep s from 2008 le sa ed h is in m gun to di be d cture has experience industry’s pi e ruction th , st n 10 co 20 vy Since ee, “hea cB M to g n di or ral br ighten. Acc from the fede ived a boost ce re projects.” u re ct ty u vi tr ti as ac lus for infr u im st s exhibited t’ en io governm construct n t en tm ar ap 11, lows. As Furt her, in 20 recessionar y of f of th ow gr wholesalers double-digit demand from am re st n w 12, IBISWorld a result, do eased. In 20 cr in s will rm fi l n conditions and renta g constructio $1.7 in ed ov at pr m ti im s es expect 2% to an 6. by e u n ve om fr re very lif t industry ntinued reco ugh 2017, co demand and t en em billion. Thro ac rising repl s, w ive lo y ar n will likely dr recessio s compliance on si is em g n evolvi th. as slowed revenue grow ion activity h ct ru e st e n B co c , machiner y Furt her st Josh M ly a n ts, so global a ke h ar rc m a d markets pe se lo y re tr s s in deve e to emerging u n d ed ra in rn c tu d d n e rl te o av n h rs IBISW East and Lati truck-mou manufacture r fo s , the Middle g pe in ro ry Eu th ve n co ig er re in Asia, East predicts b the economic growth. Wit h dr iver of y ke a be l Amer ica for il sw a, ages, export of years. Chin in its early st next couple e th in be th ly like industry grow dle East will a and the Mid ic g public n er ro m A st n h l ti it il w La markets, struction w g n in co ts ow in t gr t oj en ounted ucture pr ec the fastes n improvem ajor infrastr r the Tr uck-M m fo ment. on ip th u re ow eq tu gr n e di expen nstructio facilitate ry over th co st r du fo d in g an n m ri de ctu ighlighted es stimulating Crane Manufa oc has also h ounted cran ow -m it ck ica as u an Tr M s. er cks, d South Amer Major play next five year d Central an ts, boom tr u ar an a rp te ad n n u Ca co . ts like aller Mexico, and their sm ons for projec future growth ng lifting soluti rtunities for di e po or il cc op ob A m s. e er id prov ent tow re and apar tm Josh infrastr uctu arch analyst se re ry st du in ire the ld projects requ to IBISWor ese types of th rding e il ga h re “w ty , McBee es, activi ti li bi pa ca g ftin sed.” industry’s li cently decrea ojects has re pr and al s u tu io ac ev e th industry, pr e th r to fo y el ag ave man ed Fortunat th periods h a ow as gr t ed en rd u subseq sses reco n et revenue lo fs io ct of ru at h st n ew co som cing recession redu s result of the World expect IS IB y, tl en qu se n Co e activity. ounted Cran the Tr uck-M an at ll revenue for fa On the up? to ng industry the g Manufacturi n ri du 4% te of 1. In 2012, IBISWorld expects annualized ra . 12 improving construction conditions 20 to s five year any activity on m n will lift industry revenue by 6.2% to an io ct ru st n Co g estimated $1.7 billion. Through 2017, halted durin as w ts ec oj pr cked continued recovery from recessionary n, as firms la the recessio rent or y bu to it lows, rising replacement demand and ed cr to access s. their job site r evolving emissions compliance will fo y er in h mac y e US econom likely drive revenue growth. th , lt su re a s A ession. ec R at re G e entered th
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