News

Haulotte Group (HG) recorded net sales growth of 23% to $400.3million in 2011, compared to $326million in 2010. The boom lift and lifting equipment manufacturers believe the strength of emerging markets and renewed investment by major European retail companies will also give the Group a “double-digit” growth in 2012 sales. However, to cope with the perceived weakness of Southern European markets, HG is closing its Spanish production unit in Santander and transferring all products manufactured at the p

Ramtec’s search for a new French dealer for its Robi product range has come to a successful Finnish at INTERMAT. The Lahti-based demolition and recycling equipment specialists put pen to paper on the partnership with Escomel on Tuesday. “It’s a very important move,” said company sales and product manager Benjami Pitkäsalo. “They have a good sales network and we are looking forward to getting new business.”

Rising bitumen prices should be factored in more consistently when awarding highways contract tenders, according to Tarmac National Constructing (TNC). The near 60% bitumen price hike of the last two years, driven by a major decrease in European refinery production, is said by TNC to be making it “extremely difficult” for highways contractors to tender for work, as current price fluctuation mechanisms do not fairly compensate for significant extra input costs. TNC says that while the Highways Agency’s

In Chile the contractor Grupo Costanera currently has deals in hand for some US$650 million. Projects Grupo Costanera is working on include road works in the eastern part of Santiago, the construction of a connection with Route 78 from the union of Costanera Norte with Route 68 that goes to Valparaiso, and the Santiago-Lampa highway. Grupo Costanera is at present 45.8% owned by Atlantia. But Atlantia intends to increase its stake in Grupo Costanera and take a controlling interest by June of this year.

Three flood mitigation projects in Malaysia worth a combined US$171.82million will be carried out in Perlis state. One is part of the under design 16km Western bypass, another is connected to the Timah Tasoh dam upgrading works, with a third part of the widening and deepening of Sungai Arau. All three projects are due to be finished by the end of 2014.

The first tranche of tenders for the US$392 million Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) project in the north west of South Africa has been announced by the local municipal council.The tenders are for the construction of the North-West RRT Corridor, topographical and structural survey services and environmental-impact assessment (EIA) services. The RRT aims to provide transport to half-a-million Rustenburg residents from 2015.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is reported to be in talks with the sponsors of the A-66 Benavente-Zamora highway public private partnership (PPP) in Spain over a possible bond financing deal, which would see the Bank provide subordinated debt for an A-rated bond issue. The possible bond issue would be a further greenfield project to launch the European Union’s Project Bond 2020 initiative, with its initial pilot stage being managed by the EIB.

Manitou Group (MG) president Jean-Christophe Giroux says the Group will look to double its business in the next three to four years after revenue rose by 35% to US$1.13billion in 2011. Speaking on the publication of details of MG’s FY11 performance Giroux, who is also the French construction, industry and agricultural machinery manufacturers chief executive, said: “We want to take advantage of all growth opportunities in a developing yet fragmented market and double our business over the next 3-4 year, t

Dutch surveying company Geomaat is capturing millimetre accurate measurements in record times to support a range of highway design, construction and maintenance projects. Using the mobile laser mapping system StreetMapper, and specially developed point cloud software, the company can calculate very accurate cutting, milling and asphalt figures, create as built models and undertake change detection. “In the past, these types of measurement were undertaken using total stations which was time consuming, and

Clearview Traffic Group has secured a contract for the installation and maintenance of automatic traffic monitoring equipment on behalf of Transport for London (TfL). As part of the contract, the company will install a number of additional automatic traffic counter (ATC) sites, as well as continue to maintain and repair nearly 200 existing ATC sites in and around the city of London to ensure there is a continued supply of acceptable traffic count data. The sites include equipment, ancillary devices and serv