Booming Chinese aggregate demand

Global demand for construction aggregates is set to increase 5.2% a year until 2015 to 48.3 billion tonnes, according to research by The 2821 Freedonia Group in the United States. The same source tips China alone to account for half of all new aggregate demand worldwide in the period 2010-2015. Guy Woodford reports on the growing importance of the Asian aggregates market

China is already the biggest nation for aggregate production and use in the world, and the competition among the giants of aggregate production machine manufacturing to meet Chinese customer demand is set to intensify as construction aggregate demand in the world’s biggest emergent economy continues to grow. However, it is not just a growing demand for aggregates that machine manufacturers are drawn to. The 2719 Chinese Government is pushing for more environmentally friendly and safer quarrying, such as through the use of breakers rather than blasting with explosives at the quarry mouth. They may have possibly noted with great interest how breaker deployment prevents potentially hazardous  yrock, and possible cracks in buildings due to blastinginduce pressure waves through the ground. Breaker rather than blasting quarry applications can also reduce health and safety red tape and work site noise levels.

Two of the world’s largest hydraulic breaker – the 11.5tonne 237 Indeco HP 1800 - are being used to break up material at the
mouth of a quarry just north of Beijing. If their deployment is deemed successful by China’s new leaders, it could lead to a major nationwide shift away from the current preference for quarry blasting, and a potential sales boom for leading and smaller but ambitious breaker manufacturers.
This battle for the prized Chinese aggregate production market was tangible at 5930 Bauma China 2012 held in November 2012.

325 Sandvik Construction unveiled what it described as its groundbreaking DH350 surface drill rig during the major four-day exhibition. Speaking about the signi cance of the DH350 during a special launch event at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre-based show, outgoing Sandvik Global Construction president Thomas Schulz said: “We have our biggest assembly centre worldwide here in the Shanghai area in Jiading district, and we inaugurated in 2010 our own R&D centre, the product development centre, for China. This is the  rst product developed in the PDC and is only for the China market.

“This unit is to use in quarries, cement, and aggregate [applications], as well as possible engineering [projects]. It  ts into our whole drill rig family, no matter if it’s top hammer or down the hole.” The DH350 is a diesel-powered, crawlermounted down-the-hole drilling rig, designed for drilling with 76.2mm, 101.6mm and 127mm hammers in 89–152mm (88.9mm
–152.4mm) hole range.

A rigid fixed boom and feed design, and efficient state-of-the art hydraulics for boom positioning, feed, rotation, tramming, and track oscillation, is said to make the rig exceptionally accurate and productive. Operation productivity, hole accuracy and drilling smoothness are further enhanced by a heavy-duty rotary head that supplies a very high torque of 2530Nm. Fuel costs are said by Sandvik to be minimised with two separate power sources. The rig features an optimised, on-board 43kW diesel engine for drilling and ancillary operations, while an external compressor, providing compressed air for the hammer and hole flushing, is powered by an independent engine.

CDE Global-Sandvik Construction Brasil link-up

3168 CDE Global’s new alliance with Sandvik Construction Brasil will see the promotion of the CDE washing equipment portfolio through the existing Brazilian Sandvik sales network.

The move follows the creation of CDE do Brasil Ltda in 2012 as the company seeks to expand operations in Brazil and the rest of Latin America.

Stefan Hunger of CDE do Brasil said: “This new alliance provides CDE do Brasil with an opportunity to quickly identify opportunities that exist for the upgrading of the existing minerals washing equipment infrastructure. Our aim is to establish CDE as the premier choice for mineral washing plant in Brazil.”

Late last year, a delegation from CDE do Brasil attended an open week in England to visit a construction and demolition waste recycling plant installed by CDE for the Sheehan Group, Oxford. Included in the visiting party were a number of representatives from Sandvik Construction Brasil, as well as a group of potential end users of CDE equipment identified by both parties over the last few months.

Among the England-visit group was Tiago Carvalho of Sandvik Construction Brasil who said: “The visit to England allowed us to demonstrate to the visiting companies the CDE equipment and its ability to handle even the most difficult materials. I am sure that over the coming months and years we will identify many opportunities in Brazil to introduce CDE equipment.”

The CDE equipment portfolio can be applied in a wide range of construction materials and mining applications and includes the Evowash sand washing plant; M2500 mobile washing plant; Aggmax portable logwasher; and Prograde aggregate screens as well as a variety of water treatment and recycling equipment including the Aquacycle thickener.Schulz was keen to emphasise the firm’s growing commitment to China, and gave an upbeat forecast for the health of the global construction equipment manufacturing industry over the next 12 months and beyond. “The global construction equipment market has been a bit lower for the past two years. However, based on these market conditions, the performance of Sandvik in China is quite good,” said Schulz. “We have quite a positive outlook for 2013, and ongoing from there.” Asked about the extent to which the market has been down, Schulz estimated that there is a 40% to 50% pent-up demand for Sandvik’s crushing and screening equipment which has been caused by a lack of available funds. He sees the situation changing during 2013. On specific Chinese investment by Sandvik, he added: “We have since October last year a joint venture officially finalised with Shanghai Electric regarding 4897 Shanbao (SJL). That’s an ongoing big investment in China. Sandvik Group invests all over the country, not just in construction and mining.”

Also during bauma China 2012, 6934 Metso announced two initiatives aimed at increasing its share of the rapidly expanding Chinese crusher market: A joint venture with 269 LiuGong Group; and the acquisition of 75% of Shaorui Heavy Industries.

Metso and LiuGong will form a 50%-50% joint venture aimed at developing the trackmounted crushing and screening business in China. The joint venture is said to combine Metso's know-how in track-mounted crushing and screening business and technology with LiuGong's distribution resources and manufacturing capabilities in China. The initial scope of the joint venture will cover the design and manufacture of localised versions of Metso's Lokotrack 1000 series mobile crushers and screens. The products will be sold under the dual branding of Metso LiuGong. In addition, the joint venture company will promote Metso's global track-mounted crushing and screening equipment in China. Metso will also acquire 75% of 6935 Shaorui Heavy Industries (Shaorui), a Chinese producer of crushing and screening equipment. The Finnish company has an option to purchase the remaining 25% of the company in the future. Metso claims the acquisition forms a good platform for future growth by combining Metso's current premium product offering with Shaorui's mid-market products. Shaorui's has 18 sales and services centers and a manufacturing facility in southern China.

Both transactions are subject to the relevant regulatory approvals, which are expected in the next few months.

"China is a very important market for us, and we want to be part of the future development of the fast growing construction market. The joint venture with LiuGong offers us an opportunity to enter the crushing and screening mobile equipment market in China together with a well-known partner. By acquiring 75% of Shaorui, we will gain deeper knowledge about the mid-market customers and products that will benefit us in many ways. In the longer term, both of these investments will naturally grow the installed base of Metso crushers in China providing future service potential," said Andrew Benko, president, mining and construction, Metso.

The Chinese construction equipment market is estimated to reach US$100 billion by 2016, driven by urbanisation and infrastructure development.

Metso first entered the Chinese market under a previous name in the 1930s. Currently, Metso Group has more than 3,200 employees in China and a local network of manufacturing and sales and service outlets. In 2011, China was one of Metso's biggest markets with net sales of €777 million. Metso operates in seven fully owned factories and three service centres, and it has three joint ventures with local partners.
Shaorui Heavy Industries employs some 370 people producing crushing and screening equipment for the local market, and is headquartered in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province.

Chinese firm LiuGong is one of the largest wheeled loader manufacturers in the world. It offers a full line of machines, including wheeled loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, skid steers, forklifts, graders, excavators, rollers, truckmounted cranes, pavers and cold planners. The company owns facilities in Liuzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Jiangyin and
Bengbu.

Built to cater for hauling and ideally suited for quarry site applications, Cat showcased its 772G rigid-frame truck at bauma China 2012. The productive, durable and reliable machine comes with a fuel-efficient, yet powerful C18 diesel engine and has multi-mode operation to tailor performance to the duty cycle. The centrally mounted cab is said to offer high levels of operator comfort compared to rival models, with mirrors providing good rear and side views.

Manufactured in India, this truck is designed to cope with challenging working operations and offers low maintenance needs. Braking systems are configured to deliver high safety levels along with low service needs. The 47.7tonne capacity truck has the option of a flat floor body, a dual slope body and a quarry body, to better suit specific operating requirements. The flat floor body suits duties such as dumping into crushers and on ramp hauls of up to 12% while the dual slope body can be used on ramp hauls steeper than 12% in construction or quarrying operations. The quarry body can cope with soft- medium hardness rock in quarrying applications and will not require additional liners if used in limestone operations. 6902 Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment could be another major construction equipment manufacturer set to cash in from the Chinese government’s emerging desire for greener quarrying practises.

The South Korean company has added two new models to the company’s range of hydraulic breakers for use on 695 Doosan 14-38tonne wheeled and crawler excavators.
Like the existing DXB100H, DXB170H and DXB260H models, the new DXB130H and DXB190H hydraulic breakers are said by Doosan to offer superior power-to-weight ratios, providing very efficient reduction of rock, boulders, concrete and other demolition waste, as well as excellent excavation work. The new Doosan DXB130H breaker is suitable for excavators up to 22tonnes, namely the Doosan DX160LC and DX180LC crawler excavators and the DX160W, DX170W, DX190W and DX210W wheeled excavators. The DXB130H breaker has an operating weight of 1.09tonnes and a blow energy of 2700Joules. Designed for use on Doosan excavators from 22-30 tonnes, the DXB190H breaker has an operating weight of 1.81tonnes and a blow energy of 4000Joules. It is approved for use on the medium to large-sized Doosan crawler excavators from the DX225LC to the DX300LC model.

All Doosan breakers are intended for demolition, construction and mining applications. Among several significant features are a simple, robust design for economical and reliable performance, low maintenance costs, operator comfort and carrier protection. According to Doosan, its DXB technology ensures the carrier is protected from the effects of reduction in pressure peaks. The breakers include an energy recovery system and a patented valve system, said to increase overall performance; a high quality piston and cylinder manufactured to precise tolerances; and an advanced dampening system to protect the breakers against blank firing. The close tolerances of the parts used in the breakers are said to lower maintenance costs.

Also new from Doosan is its new generation DL550 wheeled loader. Aimed at Middle East and Africa markets, and partly intended for mining and quarrying applications, the DL500 has a bucket capacity of 5.4m³, with a key feature being its Tier 2 12.7litre 759 Scania DC13 turbo-charged, air-to-air intercooled diesel engine - ideal for use in the heat of the Middle East and Africa.

The engine is said to have ‘best in class’ power with a maximum output of 294kW. The high engine power output is combined with new ZF transmissions and several other features which, in addition to reducing fuel consumption, are said by Doosan to provide exceptional performance, high durability, ease of handling and serviceability, and significantly enhanced operator comfort.
The 2395 Wirtgen Group is looking to significantly increase its presence in the surface extraction sector, partly through developing new quarrying, mobile screening and crushing machines.

Speaking at the Group’s Mineral Technology Days 2012, joint president Stefan Wirtgen said: “We see the future in mobile crushing and screening products. We think there are advantages in them, such as lower investment costs than static units. There are also reduced requirements in terms of siting regulations, so a machine can be placed exactly where it’s needed.”

More than 420 Wirtgen Surface Miners are operating at mines globally, and more than 360 261 Kleemann mobile crushing and screening units were sold up until the early October 2012. As of June 2012, Kleemann had 1,440 crushing units and 425 screening units operating worldwide.

TWS has Dual Power

Terex Washing Systems (TWS) has launched its Dual Power control system available on all versions of the Terex M-Range Wash Plant.

The new system consists of both Diesel-Hydraulic and Electrical-Hydraulic power drives, said to allow the customer to start, transport and operate the machine using the standard diesel engine. Once in position, and if a suitable electrical power source is available, the machine can be easily plugged into the electricity supply and the machine will operate using the electrical-hydraulic power drive, utilising a much more efficient system and resulting in significantly reduced running costs.  If the plant needs to be moved, the customer can unplug, start the engine and move the machine to the desired location.

TWS product line director Sean Loughran said: “For the past few years there has been an increasing focus on energy efficiency and alternative improved methods of running mobile machinery. Traditionally Diesel-Hydraulic drive systems have been used for both machine movement and operation, resulting in significant fuel costs. We decided it was time to offer our customers a better alternative.”