15 leading innovations shortlisted for the Bauma awards 2013

688 Bauma has announced the shortlist for its Innovation Awards 2013, which will be presented at the show in mid April. Speaking at the event’s giant media dialog in Munich at the end of January 29, Johann Sailer, President of the 1331 VDMA Construction Machinery and Building Materials Machinery Association revealed that the organisers had received 156 entries across the scheme’s five main categories.

The judges have selected three groundbreaking innovations per category to go through to the final round, and the line-up start with the machinery category where the three finalists are a mobile tunnel miner from 2434 Aker Wirth called the Erkelenz Pipe Express / a new semi-trenchless method for installing pipelines from 2592 Herrenknecht / and a fully automated production of multi-layer concrete elements by Sommer Anlagentechnik.

In the machinery components category the finalists are a tablet PC that transfers the digital workplace to the construction machine from Bauer Maschinen /  a new fume extraction system from 2394 Volvo Construction Equipment / and an AutoPilot Field Rover 3D system for controlling offset slipform pavers from 2395 Wirtgen.

In the construction process / construction work group the top three are a monopile foundation for tidal engine turbines from Bauer Spezialtiefbau / revolving tower cranes to erect hybrid-energy wind towers in a short space of time from Max Bögl Bauunternehmung / and a new, reliable and automated road-building process from Hermann Kirchner Bauunternehmung.

In the research category, the shortlist is an online grain size analyzer from the Technical University of Clausthal / parallel kinematics (HEXAPOD) for working equipment on mobile machinery from the Technical University of Dresden / and computer tomography that enables orientation analysis of steel fibres in reinforced concrete from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern.

The design category short-list is the 718 Liebherr compact loader from Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen / the Kaiser Walking Mobile Excavator 2013 from Kaiser / and the EH 100 demolition breaker from 1651 Wacker Neuson.

The judging criteria includes sustainability, practicality, the idea’s ability to contribute to the environmental protection and humanisation of the workplace, it’s economic benefits and performance capabilities combined with energy- and cost-efficiency, as well as the way in which the innovation can contribute towards enhancing the image of the road-building, construction, building-materials and mining industries … or the sector as a whole.

In 2013, the innovation awards are being presented for the tenth time. The competition is a joint project by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA – Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.), the German Construction Industry Association (HDB – Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie e.V.), the Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB – Zentralverband des deutschen Baugewerbes e.V.), the German Building Materials Association (BBS – Bundesverband Baustoffe – Steine und Erden e.V.) and Bauma.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on April 14 in the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (Court Church of All Saints) in the Residenz Palace in Munich.