Earthmoving & soil compaction

Volvo Construction Equipment is opening up the remote Portuguese regions of Duoro and Trás-os-Montes for development through one of the largest road tunnels in the Iberian Penninsula. The Túnel do Marão project takes in Portugal’s sixth largest mountain, the Serra do Marão. At a height of 1,415m above sea level, it presents a major obstacle between the country’s second city Porto, located on the coast, and Vila Real near the Spanish border, even since the construction of the winding IP4 highway, built in t

Demand for telematics technology is growing, as equipment users begin to lean the value of these systems – Alan Dron reports With construction projects increasingly operating to wafer-thin profit margins, any technological assistance that can keep the accounts in the black is welcome. This is particularly the case with those projects where contractors can share a larger slice of the profits if they complete their work ahead of schedule. The downside, of course, is that they also share the pain if the

Caterpillar’s hallmark has been to stake its brand value on the ability to improve on products already considered very good. So it was with some pride that the global group unveiled its new 313F L GC tracked excavator during a dealer and media demonstration conference in Malaga, southern Spain in early March. The 313’s close cousin is the 312E, a high-use machine designed to put in long hours to maximise the owner’s productivity over the machine’s life cycle. The machine’s owner likely gets paid by the h

An array of major manufacturers are introducing revamped and improved excavators to meet the latest requirements - Mike Woof writes. With efficiency, emissions and ease of maintenance all high up the agenda for customers, manufacturers have delivered a new generation of machines that offer increased output while using less fuel. The firms have all developed new models that meet the latest stringent emissions requirements. Ranging from 25-40tonnes, Case Construction Equipment has four new D Series craw

Caterpillar has raised the bar for articulated dump truck performance with the introduction of its C Series to replace its B series ADTs. All the new Cat 735C, 740C EJ and 745C ADTs have engines that meet US EPA Tier 4 Final/EU Stage IV emissions standards. The machines also incorporate many new and upgraded features designed to boost the operator’s efficiency, ensure a longer life cycle of the vehicle and save fuel. Rated payload capacities for the new models are 32.7tonnes for the 735C, 38tonnes for the 7

Terex Trucks is appointing Rumaillah Motors WLL as its new dealer for Qatar. This pivotal move is intended to boost dealer support for the haulers from Terex Trucks, which are built in Motherwell, Scotland. The Terex hauler brand has been well known in the Middle East for the last two decades and the move appointing Rumaillah Motors WLL as the dealer for Qatar strengthens support for this range. The partnership with Rumaillah Motors follows Terex Truck’s recent acquisition by Volvo Construction Equipment.

A life-cycle assessment has found that an asphalt mix containing a high percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) along with an additive by Arizona Chemical can produce a significantly lower carbon footprint than virgin asphalt mix or a mix containing a low percentage of RAP. The assessment study was carried out by third party Arthur D. Little, an international management consulting firm, using Arizona Chemical’s SYLVAROAD RP 1000 performance additive. The work noted that cradle-to-gate, a road aspha

Earthmoving equipment manufacturer Dressta is launching the first of three new hydraulic crawler dozers later this year, and has ambitious growth plans funded by parent company LiuGong, the Chinese construction equipment manufacturing giant. Guy Woodford reports Dressta’s trio of new hydraulic crawler dozers represent exciting additions to the dozer market and are the first results of parent company LiuGong’s significant R&D investment in the Polish firm, which it bought in 2012. Being launched in Q

A Caterpillar top hammer rig is said to be working well in a tough granite quarry operation in the US. The MD5150C rig is out-performing down-the-hole (DTH) rigs, with higher productivity and lower fuel consumption. Of note though is the fact that the machine is also delivering comparable hole straightness to the DTH machines. Iron Mountain Quarry is located to the south of St Louis, Missouri and the operation says that overall productivity from its Cat rig is almost double that of the earlier gener