Photo courtesy Bauma China China's slowing economy has left its equipment vendors with more excess capacity than in 2012 (shown), when they last exhibited at Bauma China. This year's show promises to attract around 180,000 global visitors. Related Links: Where East Meets West, China's Uphill Battle New Blooms for China's Latin America Construction Romance For all the outward bravado Chinese companies have demonstrated in recent foreign investments and acquisitions, they are now feeling the effects of a slower economy that has left them with excess manufacturing capacity and large numbers of unsold machines."The extent of unsold machines could be 20%
Photo courtesy Ford Motor Co. Ford's 2015 F-150, now in production, is class-leading among gasoline full-size pickups. Related Links: Test Drive: Ford Reinvents Tough By Switching to Aluminum Fleet Owners Stand To Gain From V6 Pickups The top-selling vehicle in the U.S. now is also the most efficient gasoline pickup in the full-size category.Equipped with an optional 2.7-liter V6 EcoBoost engine and two-wheel drive, it achieves 26 miles per gallon on the highway; equipped with a standard 3.5-liter V6, it gets up to 25 mpg, according to new ratings for the 2015 Ford F-150.Switching to a lighter steel frame and
Photo by Jeff Rubenstone / ENR total control Komatsu's new intelligent excavator (above) features a semi-autonomous digging mode, which prevents the boom from excavating outside a predefined model. This model can be set on the built-in LCD touch screen (below) or loaded remotely via Topcon's 3D Enterprise software. Photo by Jeff Rubenstone / ENR Related Links: Komatsu Takes Machine Control to Next Level Sensing the heavy-equipment market is ready to move from machine guidance into full machine control, Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Komatsu America has launched the PC210LCi-10, the first intelligent hydraulic excavator available in North America.Built on the same technology
Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co. Link-Belt partnered with A1A Software for iCraneTrax, which ships on new cranes at no extra cost. Photo by Tudor Van Hampton/ENR Every crane owner has individual data requirements, said Bill Stramer on Nov. 12 in Miami. Related Links: AEMP Reveals Comprehensive Telematics Standard Telematics Help Trim Contractor Fleet Costs Who owns your data? If you own a new Link-Belt crane, you do, according to Bill Stramer, vice president of marketing for the Lexington, Ky.-based manufacturer. As global crane owners are cautiously adopting telematics to manage maintenance, safety, geography and other risks, manufacturers such as Link-Belt are
Photo Courtesy Volvo CE Volvo CE is discontinuing its lines of backhoe loaders and motor graders, including the recently introduced C-Series motor grader (pictured). Related Links: Where East Meets West, China's Uphill Battle Volvo Goes Modular for Global Markets In one of its biggest production shifts since acquiring China-based SDLG in 2006, Volvo Construction Equipment has announced that it is discontinuing the development and manufacture of its motor graders and backhoe loaders in favor of SDLG-branded machines.Volvo CE made the announcement in a Nov. 13 press release. The company cited the poor performance of "technologically advanced and high-spec Volvo-branded backhoe
Preparing to run comparison tests of the world's tallest telescoping boom lifts presented a problem: What was the best way to measure the height of an aerial work platform reaching nearly 200 ft into the air?
Equipped with platforms extending more than 180 ft up and rugged running gear that is fully drivable at that height, the Genie machine, introduced at the Bauma exhibition last year, and the JLG unit, which debuted at Conexpo this year, have rapidly advanced the capabilities of telescopic boom lifts.
Related Links: Charles Pankow Foundation Applied Technology Council High-Strength Rebar Market Is Heating Up High-Strength Rebar Called Revolutionary The Charles Pankow Foundation is about to begin a nearly $27- million fund-raising campaign to support unprecedented research in high-strength reinforcing steel. The goal of the five-year research program is to simplify and speed reinforced-concrete construction by easing rebar congestion. The program would provide the scientific basis for the first major overhaul of the concrete building standard in 50 years."This project has the potential to change engineering practice in a significant way," says Jon A. Heintz, director of projects for the Applied
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