12 minute read
NEWS
ACT expands fleet with 16 new Demags
Saudi crane rental company ACT Crane & Heavy Equipment, part of Arabian Consolidated Trading, has expanded its crane fleet with 16 new Demag mobile cranes.
The Saudi Arabian company, which was founded in 1986, specialises in the provision of mobile cranes and is also engaged in numerous other business areas. As part of its latest crane fleet expansion, ACT recently put four Demag AC 160-5 and two Demag AC 300-6 all-terrain cranes into operation, and these are being followed by four Demag AC 100-4, four Demag AC 250-5, and two Demag AC 500-8 units.
Deepak Jain, senior sales manager, Middle East, Tadano Demag, said: “We have an excellent and longstanding business relationship with ACT Crane & Heavy Equipment and are very proud of the fact that our products meet their exacting requirements. It’s proof of the quality behind these products and of the trust we’ve earned. ACT is driven by Hassan Al Naimi, who is really inspiring in the way he is driving the business, it is more than a pleasure to work with someone who has such a great foresight.”
ACT as a group has interests in industrial trade operations, petrochemical and petroleum plants turnaround services, industrial cleaning services, emergency medical care, wood and construction material trade operations, industrial equipment sales and pallet production operations.
NIKOLAI SETZER IS NEW CONTI CEO
Continental AG has appointed Nikolai Setzer as its new chief executive officer and new executive board chairman until March 2024. Setzer, 49, was confirmed by the company’s Supervisory Board as the successor of Dr Elmar Degenhart, 61, who stepped down from the position on November 30 for health reasons, with Setzer’s term beginning December 1. Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, board chairman, said: “Nikolai Setzer has our utmost trust and confidence.”
QR CODES FOR SINOBOOM MEWPS
Chinese powered access maker Sinoboom’s European arm is delivering MEWPs with QR code decals as standard. Scanning the codes with a smart phone camera app accesses all information for that particular machine.
NEW SARENS ELECTRIC RING CRANE FOR HEAVY LIFTS Demag has introduced the AC 450-7 all-terrain crane, which it calls a new standard among seven-axle ATCs. The company said the basic idea behind the new AC 450-7 was to “give wheels” to a more powerful alternative to its existing six-axle cranes, with the objective of keeping it as compact as its counterparts despite the additional axle, with better performance. The crane has an 80m main boom with a maximum lifting capacity of 195.5t. A luffing jib extends the main boom to a maximum 81m. The crane’s maximum system length is 132m.
RAISING CAPACITY
TADWEER EXPANDS ABU DHABI USED TYRE RECYCLING FACILITY
The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center (Tadweer) has opened its expanded used tyre recycling facility in Abu Dhabi with a capacity to treat 70,000t of used tyres annually in partnership with a private sector company for the safe disposal of used tyres, lowering health and eco risks.
The private sector partner is Tarheel Collecting Wastes LLC, an Abu Dhabi-based firm with over 10 years of expertise in waste management and environment services. Under the partnership, Tarheel collects and cleans used tyres prior to their recycling and treatment at the dedicated facility, which has recycled nearly 17,000t of tyres this year until the end of the third quarter.
Tarheel has set up a new integrated automated plant in collaboration with its Italian partner to increase total facility capacity to 100,000t annually, and said In expanding the facility, it seeks to reduce the health and environmental risks of burning tyres,
50 new Groves for Tamimi Rentals
Saudi Arabia’s Tamimi Rentals has ordered 50 units of Grove GRT8100 rough-terrain cranes (RTC) to drive its expansion and help win more work in the kingdom’s oil & gas fields.
According to an announcement by Manitowoc, the owners of the Grove brand, the first GRT8100 cranes have already been delivered to Tamimi Rentals, with others to follow over the coming months. The 50 new cranes will join a fleet that already includes over 40 Grove all-terrain cranes, as well as a number of older RTCs. They will be dispatched to a range of job-sites where typical lifts will include placing heavy machinery at shorter radii, for example when moving rigs, or lighter picks, working with fully extended booms for longer periods.
Mohammed Fahad S Al-Tamimi, CEO of Fahad S Al Tamimi & Partners Co (Tamimi Rentals), said: “We chose Grove GRT8100 rough-terrain cranes because they have a very good load chart which is about 25% stronger than competitive machines. We also liked the precise and customisable movements that the Crane Control System (CCS) offers. Having close control is very important when lifting complex and expensive equipment around oil rigs. In addition, we know that Grove cranes are reliable, having operated many all-terrain and rough-terrain cranes from the company down the years, and we have a strong relationship with our local dealer, Kanoo Machinery.”
The GRT8100 has a 100t maximum capacity combined with a five-section, full power boom that extends up to 47m, and which can increase its length to 64m with the use of a jib. Power comes from a Cummins QSB6.7L engine and the model offers an overall GVW of nearly 55t.
NEW KONECRANES ELECTRIC FORKLIFTS Konecranes’ new heavy forklifts come with silent, fully electric drivelines and zero direct emissions. The E-VER line, part of its Ecolifting family, is its first allelectric lift truck. It cuts energy consumption by up to 70% over a diesel engines, with a lithium-ion battery taking 45 minutes to fully recharge.
SMART CONSTRUCTION
MARR CONTRACTING TEAMS UP WITH BUILDAL FOR AI ON JOB-SITES
Cranes from The Men From Marr’s (Marr Contracting Pty Ltd) will now be equipped with a cloud based AI software system that automatically reports construction progress after the heavy lift crane specialists announced a collaboration with tech start-up BuildAI to fast-track artificial intelligence (AI) on job-sites.
Marr Contracting, which is working in important projects around the world, such as Turkey’s new Canakkale Bridge over the Dardanelles Strait, said that in the first strategic partnership and significant investment since BuildAI launched in 2019, it has taken a minority stake in the start-up and The Men From Marr’s cranes will be the first in the world to adopt BuildAI technology.
Simon Marr, managing director, Marr Contracting, said incorporating BuildAI’s artificial intelligence to his company’s cranes would allow Marr’s and its clients to use real-time data to improve overall project outcomes at an important time when businesses needed to think differently about how to drive productivity and efficiency.
“Despite the massive technological advancements in other sectors, our industry hasn’t changed much in terms of technology over the last 20 years. Where manufacturing productivity has grown by 3.6%, construction productivity growth is sitting below 1%. This is why we’re joining forces with BuildAI to bring developments in technology to analyse realtime lifting data,” Marr said. DOOSAN SALES RISE IN Q3
Doosan Infracore saw a 4% increase in year-on-year sales figures in its financial results for the third quarter this year, reporting sales of $1.7bn, up from the $1.6bn in Q3 2019 - a pleasant surprise in a global construction and equipment sector reeling from the effects of Covid-19. Doosan attributed the performance to a recovery in both developed and emerging markets, and strong growth in China.
Kobelco, Leica team up for remote operations
Kobelco Construction Machinery (KCM) has announced a collaboration with Leica Geosystems to develop integrated 2D and 3D machine control solutions which can be operated remotely. Part of Kobelco’s ‘K-DIVE CONCEPT’ - the Japanese equipment maker’s remote-control system – the system involves manipulating a dedicated cockpit with displays showing the job-site from an office. Operators can control excavators remotely without going to the real job-site.
“With a focus on bringing more efficiency, safety and productivity through digitalisation to the heavy construction industry, KCM and Leica Geosystems are working together to help facilitate the remote operation of excavators. The relationship will take advantage of Leica Geosystems’ knowhow in relation to K-DIVE CONCEPT’s next generation Telework System using remote operation technology for operators,” said Kobelco.
TEREX TRUCKS ADT IMPRESSES DOWN UNDER
ATerex Trucks TA400 articulated hauler has been working hard at a site in Swanbank, near Brisbane, Australia, carrying out a variety of jobs from remediation of landfills to stormwater management. The TA400 was bought by civil and demolition works company DECC recently to work on the landfill site, and has already impressed the DECC team with its ability to perform in tough conditions.
DECC specialises in demolition, environmental, civil contracting, earthworks, remediation and decontamination services, as well as project management and constructoin consulting services. Josh Cutts, DECC’s national plant manager, says: “We have pretty rough conditions in demolition, so we choose equipment that’s tough, reliable and efficient – but without that hefty price tag. We do lots of landfill jobs from design, construction, monitoring, remediation and postclosure management. The TA400 dump truck is performing a lot of these landfill jobs for us. It has been giving us heavy-duty and efficient performance in the various conditions that it has been used in so far.”
DECC has a fleet of over 100 machines, including articulated dump trucks, excavators, skid-steer loaders and road trucks. With many jobs at the Swanbank site, the company was recently in the market for another ADT.
“We had a requirement for an additional dump truck, so we got a Terex Trucks TA400 on trial,” says Cutts. “We used it for a couple of weeks before buying one. Apart from the landfill jobs where it is being used currently, we plan to use this machine across various other sites and jobs.”
Since April 2017, Terex Trucks has partnered with equipment supplier Porter Group to exclusively represent the company throughout Australia. Michael Carter, national sales manager for Porter Equipment Australia, says: “With all the investments and improvements that have happened since Volvo Construction Equipment took ownership of Terex Trucks in 2014, they are now producing great ADTs. The trucks are robust, reliable, powerful, and they can handle whatever terrain and conditions you throw at them – which is exactly what the TA400 has proved to DECC on this landfill site. These days Terex Trucks are a bit like a best kept secret – people don’t realise how much they’ve changed over the last few years, but when they test one of the latest generation models they never look back!.”
The TA400 is the largest articulated hauler on offer from Terex Trucks, with a maximum payload of 38t and heaped capacity of 23.3m3. Powered by a high performance, fuel efficient engine with a gross power of 444hp, the TA400 meets the demands of the extreme operations, including quarries, mines and large-scale construction projects. For less regulated markets such as Australia, it is fitted with a fuelefficient Tier-2 engine.
“We want to show customers that Terex Trucks has come a long way over the last few years, and with the latest generation machines, there has never been a better time to invest in a Terex Trucks’ ADTs. Since Volvo CE acquired Terex Trucks, we’ve made substantial investments and improvements in our people, processes, products and facilities. These improvements can be seen in our latest products, the TA400 and TA300, two robust and reliable off-highway dump trucks,” concludes Lee Irving, regional business manager, APAC/Oceania at Terex Trucks.
LIVING ITS LEGACY
AMONG THE OLDEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL HEAVY EQUIPMENT PROVIDERS IN THE REGION, KANOO MACHINERY IS LIVING UP TO ITS OWN HIGH STANDARDS IN THE WAY IT IS SERVING CUSTOMERS DESPITE THE COVID -19 CHALLENGES, COUNTRY MANAGER FOR UAE AND OMAN, KANNAN CHANDRASEKARAN, TELLS CMME
Please give a brief overview of Kanoo Machinery (KM) and its operations, mentioning the history, journey and association with its principals.
Kanoo Machinery is a part of the Kanoo Group, which is one of the oldest and most prominent business houses in the Middle East. The Group started way back in 1890 as the Yousuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Company in Bahrain, working in the shipping sector. So, it is a 130-year old company with a great legacy. Around 60 years ago, some of the company’s directors moved to Dubai, as well as to other places in the GCC, and now the Group is present in almost every country in the region and has major operations all over the GCC and beyond in diverse fields, such as energy, shipping, travel, industrial, machinery, real estate, etc.
At its core it remains a family company and carries forward the legacy into the present day, in which the Group is organized into several arms, each dealing with a separate area of business. Kanoo Machinery itself is part of the Group’s Industrial & Energy Division. In this division, we also have the Oil & Gas and Power and Industrial Projects arms. And we also have another company called Ahmed Ali Kanoo, which deals with chemicals. All of these businesses report to the Group CEO of Industrial and Energy, based in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Coming now to Kanoo Machinery, we are the distributors of many leading machinery and equipment brands across the GCC, such as Lincoln Electric, Sullair, Massey Fergusson, Perkins, Hyster, Snorkel. Grove and of course Bobcat, among others. We have a major presence in the engines, forklifts and logistics equipment, mobile cranes, agricultural machinery, welding equipment and of course the construction equipment sectors.
Most of the brands that we represent have been with us for many decades, sometimes stretching to 40-60 years. A prime example is our association with Bobcat, which is now more than four decades old and we distribute Bobcat products in both the UAE and Bahrain. It is among the top-three most important brands for us among the 15-plus brands that we represent. It is a very important business for and we’re very happy and proud to be associated with Bobcat for so long.
The other two in our top three are Perkins in the power and engine sector and Hyster for forklifts. And this is counting their importance in terms of contribution to the Group’s revenue. When it comes to prestige brands, we can also include Grove and Snorkel to that list. But to be clear, all brands are equally important for us and we value all our partners immensely, which is why they have stayed with us for so many years.
How has Kanoo Machinery performed in these times of Covid-19? What measures have you taken to keep business running as usual for your customers and partners? There is no doubt that Covid-19 has been
