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Think electric, smart tech, and road re-surfacing with no new material needed. The future work site is going to be a greener, quieter, and nicer place to be.

Doka has pledged that it will be climate-neutral by 2040 as it addresses one of the most pressing issues in the global construction industry. By focusing on decarbonisation and the circular economy, the company says it has already made an important first step towards achieving this goal.

Last summer, Doka introduced the Product Carbon Footprint to help customers make more environmentally responsible purchasing decisions, explained Robert Hauser, the company’s chief executive.  

"Sustainability and digitalisation are two of the most powerful market influences and important pillars of our global growth strategy,” he said. “With the calculation of the Product Carbon Footprint, we empower our sector to make environmentally conscious product selection decisions.”

The Product Carbon Footprint details each product’s CO² emissions. The company reviewed the composition and raw material requirements for each item’s manufacturing, plus delivery methods to the worldwide distribution centres and branch offices, repair and cleaning processes, as well as end-of-life recycling. This cradle-to-grave approach allows Doka to detail each product's carbon footprint over its entire life-cycle.

For example, the Doka floor prop Eurex 20 top 300 generates 38kg CO²-equvalent, while the Doka floor prop Eurex LW 300 accounts for 27kg CO²-eq. Thanks to high-strength steel and state-of-the-art production, the latter weighs significantly less than standard tubular steel props, delivers the same performance and service life, but with fewer CO² emissions.

The model was developed in collaboration with spider lift specialist manufacturer, Falcon Lifts. The arrival of the SPA33HJ in Europe follows the conclusion of a wide-ranging partnership agreement between the two companies.

The partnership follows extensive research and cooperation during the past 12 months, during which time Sinoboom launched own-branded spider lifts built by Falcon into the Chinese market.

“The agreement is part of Sinoboom’s commitment to providing its global customer base with a complete range of MEWPs,” said Sinoboom CEO, Susan Xu.

“We expect the combination of Falcon’s high-quality design with Sinoboom’s worldwide customer base and after-sales support to make this a great success.”

The R220-10S is a star flat-head tower crane based around Zoomlion’s future-oriented digital, green, and high-performance technology, in combination with the demands of the European market.  

The crane was jointly developed by the Chinese and German teams of Zoomlion Construction Hoisting Machinery.

As a tailor-made product for the European market, the R220-10S can provide 15 different arm length options to meet the demands of various working conditions.  

It is equipped with intelligent functions such as one-button super-lifting, on-load speed, zero-speed hovering and one-button debugging as standard features.  

Zoomlion says it has used a narrow boom structure and rotary mechanisms to make the unit easier to transport.

The R90-5RE  is a flat-head tower crane fitted with a round-tenon tower body for lower wind resistance and easier assembly and disassembly. It will be a popular option for small housing construction projects, says the manufacturer.

Spain-based MTG produces a range of teeth systems for use with excavator and wheeled loader buckets in quarries, construction sites and mines.

The company says the GET Detection Series provides its customers with increased safety by preventing a crusher – for example, being used in a quarry – from being damaged if a GET (ground engagement tool such as excavator bucket teeth) becomes detached.

“Based on extensive laboratory bench testing and field tests, we can state that MTG’s solution detects a possible GET detachment in less than three seconds, with a very high level of reliability, preventing a subsequent fall into the crusher,” the company says.

The system uses visual and sound alerts via the display screen on a tablet in the cab, to alert excavator drivers to any teeth detachments from the bucket.

The GET Detection series includes a suite of devices compatible with MTG’s Terra cast lips, Twinmet and new Veemet tooth systems as well as Promet shrouds. The GET design of these product families enables the addition of sensors and activators to allow digital monitoring of the entire cast lip configuration.  

The signals emitted by the GET sensors are transmitted via antennas and processed by an electronic control unit. A tablet in the machine’s cabin displays the GET’s live status and alerts the operator in the event of an incident.

GET Detection has especially been developed for hydraulic excavators with an operating weight of more than 250tonnes and is so far available in Australia, Europe, and the USA. More markets will follow shortly, and new GET Systems will be compatible with the GET Detection System.

Also new from MTG is the Comet fully hammerless solution for small construction machines. This new tooth system has been especially developed for digging applications of excavators <15tonnes, mini loaders, and backhoe loaders.  

Available in sizes 5, 8, 10 and 15, the new Comet’s features are designed to give users higher productivity, maximum reliability and a longer operational life.

The third new launch from MTG is the Veemet tooth system suitable for wheeled loaders and excavators between 20-150tonnes operating in quarries, construction sites and small mines.

This includes renewable fuel solutions that can address customers’ pain points and give them a competitive edge in the off-highway market.

Collin Krantz, John Deere Power Systems OEM implementation manager, said the company is committed to bringing “the most advanced, affordable and effective renewable fuel solutions” to its customers, so they know the equipment they are using is setting them up for future success.

“Petroleum-based fuels have been the industry standard for years, primarily due to the lack of acceptable, cost-effective and reliable alternatives,” said Krantz.  

“However, with growing interest in sustainable energy, renewable fuels are becoming more widely adopted and readily available. Within the variety of available renewable fuels, we believe biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel will integrate most effectively within the heavy equipment industry.”

The company has made significant progress in testing engine compatibility with renewable diesel fuel such as hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), which is a biofuel made from hydrocracking or hydrogenation of vegetable oil.

Ethanol, a renewable fuel made from corn and other plant materials, is another option of interest. Ethanol is widely used in the industry, with the most common blend being E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline). The use of biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel, said Krantz, has contributed to significant reductions in carbon emissions for existing vehicles in the past decade.

Biodiesel is a renewable, oxygenated fuel made from a variety of agricultural resources such as soybeans or rapeseeds. It contains no petroleum but can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. As a renewable, domestic energy source, biodiesel can help reduce dependence on petroleum imports.

To support this goal of providing differentiated powertrain solutions, John Deere has made an equity investment in ClearFlame Engine Technologies, a growing start-up dedicated to the development of clean engine technology.  

ClearFlame’s solutions enable low-carbon fuels such as ethanol to be easily integrated into compression ignition engines, offering a more sustainable solution without compromising engine performance.

“The John Deere investment is in line with its strategic vision to accelerate and lead the industry in low- and near-zero-carbon powertrain technology,” concluded Krantz.

Power for the HA60 machines comes from a Yanmar diesel rated at 110kW, an increase from the 92kW of the Isuzu engine in the previous generation machines. The machines also benefit from sophisticated technology developed by Sumitomo, ensuring high work efficiency and low fuel consumption, while meeting the Stage V emission standards through the use of a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system.

The improved heating system features flat-type heating plates. “We modified the design of the heating elements to increase efficiency,” said a spokesperson for the firm. “Before we used a round type, but now we use a flat-type heating element and you get more contact with the ground.” Heating times are also said to be around 50% quicker than before due to the new elements.  

In addition, the heating generator has been changed from a belt drive to a direct motor drive, eliminating the need for daily belt adjustments.

Sumitomo’s innovative STV compaction system (strike-off, tamper, vibration) is said to ensure a high-quality, smooth surface. An automatic tamper speed setting function is now available on the DASH 11 generation machines. The machine retains the proven, novel screed design, which features overlapping hydraulic cylinders and allows wider extension than other machines in its size class. However, the firm says that the rigidity of the screed has been increased to make it stiffer and further boost paving quality. Both the wheeled and tracked variants offer screed widths from 2.3-6m using the hydraulic extension, although bolt-on extensions can be used if a wider setting is required.

The wheeled model now has a slightly shorter hopper, which helps manoeuvrability in tight locations, as well as allowing the machine to be loaded on a truck along with a small twin-drum roller for easy transport. Hopper capacity for the wheeled machine is 12tonnes, compared with 13tonnes for the tracked model.

Crew comfort levels have been improved and the new FRP canopy is raised and lowered hydraulically, while there are also side windshields to provide operator protection in bad weather, as well as LED lighting for night working. Site safety is improved by the installation of a field view monitor (FVM) package that allows the operator to see around the machine.  

A new differential lock option helps to ensure traction when working on soft ground, while the brake steer system that was an option on the previous wheeled model is now a standard feature.