Earthmoving & soil compaction

Caterpillar’s Chinese excavator facility in Xuzhou, China has celebrated its 20th anniversary since its opening. The Caterpillar (Xuzhou) facility was the firm’s first hydraulic excavator manufacturing factory in China and the company has now extended its capabilities by opening the additional Caterpillar Chassis (Xuzhou) plant. The opening was celebrated in an event attended by Caterpillar’s key executives. Following a series of investments, Caterpillar (Xuzhou) has now become the world's largest excavator

Volvo Construction Equipment has carried out the official opening for its new technology centre in Jinan, China. The 50,000m2 facility is located in China’s Shangdong Province, China and will focus on developing products and components for customers in emerging markets. The centre combines design offices with workshops and facilities for testing both complete machines and components. Currently there are more than 150 employees working at the facility, the majority of which are local engineers, but employee

UK firm JCB is opting to move production of its compaction equipment range from its facility in Germany to facilities in India and the UK. Production of the VM compactors and the two larger VM tandem rollers will be moved to the firm’s factory in Pune. Meanwhile production of all walk-behind models and the two smaller VM tandem rollers is relocating to the JCB Attachments factory in Uttoxeter. And production of the 403 Wheeled Loading Shovel will be brought back to the JCB Utility Products factory in Cheadl

The grader market may be comparatively small but it is still fiercely fought and while Caterpillar holds a strong market share worldwide, other firms are also increasing their presence in the sector. John Deere hopes to capitalise on its share by installing the new G-series graders with the firm’s PowerTech, Tier 4 Final compliant engines. The engine update has also allowed engineers to install a number of other upgrades. The G-Series still includes 12 models, with power ranging from 164-214kW and six o