Features

XCMG is increasing its presence in the North American market, emphasised by the fact that the machines on its stand at Conexpo 2014 are already sold. Yansong Wang is vice president and chairman for XCMG and said, “All the machines have been ordered by customers.”

A senior LiuGong figure says the company’s keenly awaited 900E Series excavator is a “very key machine” for its future. Dave Beatenbough, vice president of the Chinese construction equipment manufacturing giant’s research and development arm, said production of the model at LiuGong’s Dressta base in Poland was expected to begin “within three months”.

Roz Buick, vice president Heavy Civil Construction at Trimble, has highlighted some key technology introductions from the firm. The GCS Flex system is an important introduction for Trimble and Buick explained, “The idea is to install a less complex system. We want to attract customers from the smaller contractors.” Comparatively low cost for a machine-control system, the basic GCS Flex package offers entry-level 2D technology and it can be upgraded to what Buick calls a ‘2½D’ system.

Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, has been a busy man at bauma. As well announcing the release of the new DC61 PXi Komatsu bulldozer, the Topcon boss also found time to comment on world markets and talk up a number of the products on the company’s stand.

Market conditions are tough, according to Jean-Claude Fayat, executive managing director of the Fayat Group. He said, “From my point of view this crisis is not over. We have a slow recovery but this is a structural crisis and a new balance has to be found.” Despite the difficult conditions, the company is performing well and Fayat said, “Our group turnover is around €3.7 billion/year. We are a family group and we have never wanted to be on the stock exchange.” The European market has become less important

A group of senior executives from Caterpillar spoke to journalists in a round table discussion, providing insight into the company’s future direction. Giving key talking points were: Rob Charter, vice president Excavation Division; Paulo Fellin, vice president, Global Construction and Infrastructure; Mary H Bell, vice president of Building and Construction Products; and Karl Weiss, vice president Earthmoving Division.

Mario Gasparri, head of the CNH Construction Equipment business for its new Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) business region, outlines his and the Group’s immediate and long-term priorities “The creation of Fiat Industrial by bringing together the three businesses of CNH, Iveco and FPT Industrial has resulted in a business operating on a vast scale: Fiat Industrial is one of the top three global groups in the capital goods industry. Because of the large scale of Fiat Industrial and the huge scope of our b

Volvo Construction Equipment president Pat Olney has stressed the importance of the bauma show to the industry giant ahead of the 2013 event. Speaking during the recent inauguration of Volvo CE’s new Americas HQ in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, he said: “Bauma is a major show in Europe and also attracts international visitors.

A new airport project is benefiting from some of the latest developments in compaction technology Work started on a new airport for Istanbul in June 2014, with the facility set to be one of the world's largest and to set new standards when it opens for business.

Terex Trucks has struck a major supply deal for machines to Jordan The extraction company COMEDAT has bought a fleet of 50 dump trucks to use at its operations, which are in the south and north of Jordan. The firm is a long standing customer for the Terex Trucks brand, having bought numerous machines for its fleet and as far back as the 1970s.

An eight year project to construct the highest road in the UAE is now complete, with key help having been provided by a fleet of Volvo CE machines The work was carried out by local contractor General Mechanic Company (GMC), with assistance from Volvo CE dealer FAMCO as well as Volvo CE itself and Volvo Trucks. The 36km road climbs 1,910m to its highest point in a mountain range and required the transportation of 5.5 million m3 of materials during its construction.

A key road in Costa Rica has been upgraded and now features concrete construction CEMEX Latam Holdings, a subsidiary of CEMEX, supplied the cement needed for the project to upgrade a 50km stretch of the Inter-American Highway in Costa Rica.

A highway link to the north of Panama´s capital city that connects with a national park popular with tourists, has now been rebuilt Cement producer and concrete specialist CEMEX carried out a study into the project, to find a cost effective solution. And working with CEMEX, Panama’s Ministry of Public Works began planning for the project in 2015. A 5.7km stretch of the highway has now been improved, with the road structure being built from concrete.

Algerian firm SAPTA is currently using four Sennebogen cranes for a bridge project close to Algerian capital Algiers. SAPTA is a specialist in bridge construction and is using the cranes, a combination of crawler and telescopic machines, to lift heavy components weighing up to 60tonnes

A Chinese contractor is carrying out a major road project intended to cut congestion in Kenyan capital Nairobi – Shem Oirere writes Chinese contractor China Wu Yi has won a US$163 million contract for the reconstruction and expansion of a 25km highway leading out of Kenya’s capital Nairobi with financing from the World Bank. The contract was awarded by the country’s National Highways Authority (KeNHA), a state-owned road agency responsible for the management, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of i