Passion for Heavy Equipment & Construction

How to Use Monster Toys to Tear Down a Stadium


National Geographic - Tools of the Trade: Demolition

Full Episode | 44:48

Demo crews unleash every weapon as they tear down Busch Stadium so a new ballpark can be built, with less than 90 days to do it.

This video showcases a Komatsu 400, 600, and other cool equipment. The cranes are crazy. Check it out.

Its in HD, so I hope you have high speed.

http://www.hulu.com/hd/29283

Tractor Square Dancing Video

Some Great Dancing

Heavy Equipment News



RUSSIA
Deere Announces Major Investment In Russia (English)
MOSCOW, Russia (April 2, 2008) – Deere & Company today announced plans to significantly expand its presence in Russia, one of the most important growth markets of the company in both agriculture and forestry.

Deere said it has signed an agreement with the Russian government and local authorities to invest approximately $80 million in a central operations center which includes a distribution, replacement parts and training facility in the Kaluga region, 38 miles southwest of Moscow.
“We believe this is one of the largest single investment projects of a non-Russian farm and forestry equipment manufacturer in Russia,” said Robert W. Lane, Deere & Company chairman and chief executive officer. “Our strategic investment reflects Deere’s confidence in the Russian and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets. It also recognizes the commitment of our dedicated Russian employees and the support of the Russian government and local authorities.”

In its initial stage, the new 98-acre facility in the Kaluga region will accommodate a 322,000-square-foot replacement parts distribution center, a training facility for dealer personnel, including a product demonstration site, and a whole goods distribution facility.
“The site will leave room for further expansion potential as our business in Russia continues to grow,” said Mark von Pentz, president of Deere’s Agriculture Division for Europe, Africa and South America. “This new center, which will be operational in 2010, marks a growing commitment to this important region. As an interim step for further investments, it also contains a provision for local assembly and manufacturing at a later stage.”


TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Smelter equipment coming
EQUIPMENT IS on the way to Trinidad from China for the construction of the country’s first aluminum smelter plant, the Alutrint Smelter.

Prime Minister, Patrick Manning made the announcement Friday night at the gala commissioning of the 428-room Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port-of-Spain. Manning also announced that construction on the country’s second iron and steel complex is slated to commence by August.

Manning said, “We will initiate construction of our first aluminum smelter...in fact equipment is now on the water from China.”

In quick succession, the Prime Minister listed a string of development plans, including the new port in the capital city which he said has attracted bidders from around the globe and is to be completed in three years, a $25 billion transportation highway upgrade over the next eight years, the ongoing construction of the Performing Arts Academies, Govern-ment Campus and the establishment of the country’s first national philharmonic orchestra, in tandem with plans for performance arts.


USA
Design Contracts Awarded for Heavy Construction Equipment Manufacturing Plant in Georgia, an Industrial Info News Alert
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- China's Sany Heavy Industrial Company has selected architectural and engineering firms to design the $30 million first phase of a new heavy construction equipment manufacturing plant to be built in Peachtree City, Georgia.
For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=130789, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com.


Squash The Caterpillar
Komatsu is a smaller rival in a global battle, but it is leaving big tracks in China.
Kunio Noji, chief executive of construction and mining equipment maker Komatsu, smiles at the suggestion that he, from his shabby corporate headquarters in Tokyo, has more insight into the health of China's economy than its rulers in Beijing. "I don't know, perhaps we do," he shrugs. Noji's peek into China comes from 23,000 heavy-duty vehicles spread across the nation's vastness, each fitted with an antenna that via satellite link tells Komatsu where it is and what it's doing. Globally, 90,000 machines feed the same data to the Japanese company. Introduced to tackle machine theft, it has helped turn Komatsu into the biggest foreign supplier of excavators and dump trucks to China's booming construction and mining companies.

Not even Caterpillar (nyse: CAT - news - people ), with nearly triple Komatsu's $16.1 billion revenues, can match its better-performing Japanese competitor in a market that Noji reckons is ballooning by 50% a year for his company. "Caterpillar is suffering because of being centered in the U.S.," he says. Cat's home market accounts for better than 40% of its sales, versus only a fifth in long-dormant Japan for Komatsu.


Heavy equipment companies take refuge in overseas markets
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Caterpillar, Deere and other companies that make heavy equipment are enjoying some of their best financial results in years -- and doing it as the American economy grinds toward recession.
The companies are enjoying the building booms going on in China, India, Russia and the Middle East. In those places, the demand for backhoes, cranes and tractors is on the rise.
Peoria-based Caterpillar, for instance, recently reported a 13 percent increase in profits despite an eleven percent drop in North American sales.


Sun, surf and heavy equipment
Cities concerned as renourishment is slated for Strand's peak tourist season
Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach officials are concerned about the timing of beach renourishment work, now scheduled to begin July 5 in North Myrtle Beach - peak tourist season.
City managers would rather see work begin in September along the Grand Strand because, they say, the beaches are a key part of the area's identity and a vital component of the tourism economy.

They have requested a meeting or phone call with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to see about changing the schedule, officials said.


Enhancing Construction Equipment Security - Travelers Inland and Celevoke Announce Risk
HARTFORD, Conn. - (Business Wire) Travelers (NYSE: TRV) Inland and its Risk Control unit announced today that it has developed an innovative initiative with Celevoke, Inc. that will allow Travelers customers the ability to purchase Celevoke’s LunarEYE Wireless Asset Tracking and Control systems at a discount. Recognizing that stolen equipment causes costly delays and increased losses, Travelers Inland is pleased to be working with Celevoke to help reduce the likelihood and severity of losses for Travelers’ insureds. Increased security measures, such as asset tracking, protect the insureds’ significant investment in construction and other heavy equipment key to their operations.


Auburn to invest in heavy equipment
The city is looking to go shopping for some heavy equipment.The Auburn City Council will hear a report Thursday during a work session meeting about the public works department's need for some large pieces of machinery. According to a proposed ordinance, city officials want to purchase a front-end loader, a hydraulic back hoe, a compactor, two truck chassis and packers at a maximum cost of $1.2 million.

The meeting, which will not include a time for the public to be heard, will take place at 6 p.m. in Auburn City Hall's council chambers, 24 South St.

The cost of the machinery would be financed by serial bonds. Councilors will hear Thursday the first reading of the ordinance that would authorize the city to issue the bonds.


New range of skid steer loaders from CASE Construction Equipment
CASE Construction Equipment’s new 400 series 3 line of skid steer loaders, feature more powerful engines, a redesigned cab and improved serviceability.
The eight-model series is powered by clean burning, Tier III certified turbocharged engines that provide increased horsepower, improved torque and enhanced performance across the line.


Kootenai County's Mfg/Construction Career Day April 15
Hundreds of middle school and high school students are signed up for Kootenai County's first-ever Manufacturing and Construction Career Day on April 15 at the county fairgrounds.
Dubbed "Hard Hats, Hammers and Hot Dogs," the event will give young people first-hand information on the many skills and crafts in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
After orientation and under supervision, they will be able to operate heavy equipment if they choose and try their hand at any one of many trades from brick laying and welding to surveying and trim carpentry.

Heavy Equipment News


KOREA
New Hyundai Heavy Technology Slashes Shipbuilding Time
Hyundai Heavy Industries said Sunday that it has developed a new technology that makes it possible to launch a completed ship while continuing shipbuilding work at the same dock.

"The new technology is expected to help reduce the terms of works by almost 20 percent because we no longer have to stop building ships to launch a completed ship," a company source said. "The number of days working at a dock will decrease by 13 days from 70, and it will make it unnecessary to remove and install again various facilities and equipment."

JAPAN
Caterpillar CEO says U.S. probably in recession
TOKYO (Reuters) - The chief executive of Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest maker of earthmoving equipment, said the United States economy is probably in a recession but would likely recover from late this year.more stories like this.

Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Owens made the comments at a news conference in Tokyo to announce that the firm was raising its stake in a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd <7011.t>.


USA

NEW YORK, USA
Heavy equipment sales prosper abroad
(AP) - THE COMPANIES: American heavy-equipment makers such as Caterpillar, Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) and Manitowoc Co. (NYSE:MTW) have so far dodged the slowdown in the U.S. economy, relying on increasing sales volume overseas to report high profits even with a recession looming.

THE ECONOMY: The U.S. economy has slowed to a growth rate of just over 2 percent for 2007 and is forecast to slow even further this year. Economies in developing markets such as Russia, India and the Middle East, though, are booming on new oil wealth and the development of other industries.

Heavy equipment companies take refuge in overseas markets
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Caterpillar, Deere and other companies that make heavy equipment are enjoying some of their best financial results in years -- and doing it as the American economy grinds toward recession.

The companies are enjoying the building booms going on in China, India, Russia and the Middle East. In those places, the demand for backhoes, cranes and tractors is on the rise.
Peoria-based Caterpillar, for instance, recently reported a 13 percent increase in profits despite an eleven percent drop in North American sales.

Still no updates on stolen bulldozer
Detectives are still on the lookout for a 17,000-pound piece of construction equipment stolen Jan. 30 from the Morning Sun community.

Rick Watson of Conway, owner of the yellow Caterpillar D4CXL bulldozer, reported the missing vehicle Jan. 31 to the Criminal Investigation Division of the White County Sheriff’s Department. Valued at $45,000, the dozer had less than 3,000 hours on it and was parked in the 3700 block of Hwy. 367 just outside the Searcy city limits. The serial number, 1FWO465, has been entered into the databases of the Arkansas Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center, and if located anywhere in the United States Watson and the sheriff’s department will be notified.


Metal thieves spill chemical into Benton County pond
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Scrap metal thieves who sawed down a decommissioned power pole last week caused an estimated $100,000 damage and spilled roughly 180 gallons of oil mixed with a hazardous chemical, the Benton County Sheriff's Office said.

The theft of $443 worth of copper wiring was reported to police last week. It happened on property owned by the Knife River Corporation.

Authorities believe the chemical might have spilled into a nearby pond. Bill Mason, a clean-up specialist with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said Knife River hired a private contractor to contain and investigate potential contamination.

Steel Costs Set to Add Fiver Percent to Volvo Construction Equipment Prices
Restricted supply and burgeoning demand for steel, especially in China, has led to the cost of iron ore rising by over 70% on the worldwide markets. This has resulted in a sharp increase in the price of steel and consequently in the production costs of manufacturers of construction equipment. To offset some of the impact of these rises, Volvo Construction Equipment will increase the prices of its machines, attachments and parts by five percent.

"Manufacturers of heavy construction equipment are being particularly hard hit by the current record prices of commodities, such as steel, oil, iron ore and rubber," says Mr. Scott Hall, Executive Vice President of Volvo Construction Equipment. "With no sign of commodity prices cooling in the foreseeable future it has become unavoidable that these costs be offset in the form of a price increase."

Caterpillar taking control of Japanese joint venture
Caterpillar Inc., moving to boost its presence in the booming Asia-Pacific market, on Wednesday unveiled an approximately $500 million transaction that will boost the heavy-equipment giant's 50 percent ownership stake in a Japanese joint venture to a controlling 67 percent.

For more than four decades, the Peoria-based manufacturer and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. have operated an equally owned venture that makes Caterpillar-branded construction and earthmoving equipment.

Not so odd jobs: Farmers stay in ag arena with extra employment
FAIRBURY — Bob Printz has a stake in more than one piece of the agriculture pie. First and foremost, the Fairbury man is a farmer. But Printz also runs a trucking company, stores and sells seed, and sells farm equipment.

“We’re one big pie,” Printz said.
Printz is among Central Illinois farmers who don’t just till the soil. Whether out of necessity or more for fun now, they have their hands in other ag-related businesses, as well.

Reno Contracting Set to Build $50 Million Marriott Hotel in Historic Gaslamp Quarter
SAN DIEGO - (Business Wire) Walt Fegley, President of Reno Contracting, one of Southern California’s premier general contractors, is proud to announce his firm’s construction of a new Marriott Residence Inn located in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. The new hotel is next to the historic Brunswig Building, built in 1900, which originally housed the Brunswig Drug Company.

Heavy Equipment News



ENGLAND
Heavy equipment used to bury 728-pound man
LONDON - A British man who weighed 728 pounds when he died was winched into his grave Friday with the help of a mechanical digger.


The heavy-lifting equipment took more than four hours to lower the oversized coffin of John Christian Jeffrey into his final resting place at a cemetery in southwest England.
The 29-year-old was found dead in his room at a hostel for people with drug, drink and mental health problems in Taunton on Feb. 28.



QATAR
NBK holds seminar on heavy equipment
THE heavy equipment department of Nasser Bin Khaled and Sons Services (NBK), the sole agent of the German BOMAG heavy machinery in Qatar, recently organised a conference on BOMAG equipment in Doha.Participants in the conference included representatives from BOMAG and consultation companies, as well as general manager of NBK, Ahmed Habib and manager of the heavy equipment department, Fouad Hijazi.


CHINA
Chinese firms dumping, but it is okay: BHEL
Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has accused Chinese companies of grabbing equipment supply contracts for mega power projects by dumping, but the navratna PSU has declined to move the government on the issue.


"The Chinese currency, yuan, is under-valued. There is a case of dumping," K Ravi Kumar, chairman and managing director, BHEL, told PTI when asked as to why his corporation lost out on contracts for the two ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) to Chinese companies.


US


Companies say schools aren't pushing trades as a career
Several local construction companies say they need more workers, blaming the shortage on educators.


Pat Pate, owner of Pate Construction in Pueblo West, says he needs 200 workers. Right now, he has about half that number.


Pate thinks the reason more workers aren't available is because school teachers discourage students from considering construction as a career.


Doug Houghton, owner of Acorn Construction, agrees. He says he can't find enough skilled workers.



Hydraulic Excavator comes with 7 in. multi-color monitor.
PC270LC-8 Driven By Improvements In Efficiency, Operator Comfort And Fuel Economy
Rolling Meadows, IL, For CONEXPO - CON/AGG 2008- Komatsu America Corp. introduces its new PC270LC-8 hydraulic excavator. Distinguished by enhancements in efficiency and information technology upgrades, the hydraulic excavator offers improved operator comfort and a new low emission engine that improves fuel consumption. Primarily used for general contracting and underground utilities installation, this powerful excavator has a net horsepower of 187 HP and an operating weight of 65,336 to 67,393 pounds. The PC270LC-8 exemplifies the Komatsu design concept of matching highly efficient engines and advanced hydraulic systems to provide leading edge productivity and low-cost operation.


The new PC270LC-8 is standard-equipped with the latest Komtrax(TM) technology, which sends machine operating information to a secure website utilizing wireless technology. Data such as operating hours, location, cautions, and maintenance alerts are relayed to the web application for analysis. The Komtrax wireless equipment monitoring system increases machine availability, reduces the risk of machine theft, allows for remote diagnosis by the distributor, and provides a wealth of other information to drive business efficiency and productivity.


WESLACO - Thieves stole over half a million dollars worth of construction equipment from a Valley business.


Henry Hartzog, the manager at Nueces Power Equipment, says it's the third time equipment's been stolen. He tells us it's "very frustrating, very aggravating."


Hartzog says whoever stole the high priced items knew what they were doing. He adds the thieves may even have posed as customers at one point.


460-foot crane is safe, officials say
GRAND RAPIDS -- The tower crane being used to build River House condominiums is similar to the one that toppled in New York last weekend.


But even as they watched the sobering news unfold, local construction officials don't fear for the safety of their workers or the public passing beneath the 460-foot-tall structure on Bridge Street NW.


"It's a pretty safe operation. There's a lot of planning that goes in before a tower crane goes up," said Bruce Burgess, vice president of Wolverine Construction Management Co.



Big construction project completed ahead of schedule
When the Arizona Department of Transportation crews completed a major construction project earlier than expected last weekend, one official compared it to art.


"It was almost like watching a ballet of heavy equipment," said Tim Tait, community relations director for ADOT, who together with many others, watched the work. ADOT finished the demolition of the north side of the Carefree Highway Bridge at Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway more than 32 hours ahead of schedule. The demolition began on Friday and was scheduled to continue through 5 a.m. Monday.


Instead, the project was completed 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Equipment News



USA

Local and state authorities investigating stolen heavy equipment in Warren County
WARRENTON, Ga. - An ongoing criminal investigation by agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and deputies with the Warren County Sheriff's Department has led this week to the recovery of more than $500,000 worth of stolen heavy construction equipment.
Although no one has been charged in connection with the theft case, which involves Warren and Glascock counties in Georgia and at least three counties in South Carolina, a local man and his business have become targets of the probe, The McDuffie Mirror has learned.

Enough! To Dirt And Heavy Equipment On Union Street
BAY ST. LOUIS (WLOX) -- Marsha Favre and her neighbors say they've put up with dust and the rumble of heavy construction equipment long enough.
"It's vibrating our houses. These houses are on the historic register. The dirt and dust from it, the vibration is what I'm really concerned about," Favre said. "These old houses here are up on pier foundations. We've just finished restoring them after hurricane Katrina."
Eutaw Construction , the company doing infrastructure work for the city has leased land from a property owner to stock-pile dirt for the gas, sewer and water replacement project.


Hollis approves heavy equipment leases
HOLLIS, NH — Yankee thrift gave way to modern financial analysis as town meeting voters decided to buy seven pieces of heavy equipment using a lease-purchase plan.
But it took nearly two hours of discussion Wednesday night for voters to agree with selectmen that the equipment — two fire trucks, a forestry truck, a dump truck, a backhoe, an excavator and a skid steer — should be paid for through a lease-purchase agreement instead of traditional capital reserve funds.
Townspeople also approved money for another police officer and mobile data terminals for police cruisers, as well as for downtown sidewalks and modifications to elderly tax exemptions that will give qualifying residents more tax relief.
But it was the heavy equipment purchases amounting to about $1.3 million, and especially how to pay for them, that took up the bulk of the five-hour meeting.


Ramey Pleads Guilty In Theft Of Heavy Equipment
CHATTANOOGA, TN - A man who authorities say was at the center of an organized vehicle theft ring entered guilty pleas in Federal Court on Thursday.
Prosecutor Gary Humble said Dale Ramey, 49, faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
He said in 2004 Ramey, who is from Catoosa County, Ga., was found with several stolen pieces of heavy equipment.
Ramey has been free on bond since his arrest, but he was taken back into custody after a hearing before Magistrate Bill Carter.
Joseph Brent Starnes of the probation office said Ramey has been uncooperative with his North Georgia probation officer, including failing to find a job and lying to her by saying he has been working with the FBI.


Deere looks overseas for future sales
LAS VEGAS, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. farm and heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. Thursday said it will lean on overseas markets, where construction equipment sales are expected to boom.
Samuel Allen, president of Deere's construction and forestry division, said in Las Vegas at a trade show, "China is clearly a very large market," pointing out that no large equipment manufacturers in the country dominate the market.
None "have more than a 6 percent or 7 percent market share," he said.
Similar to Caterpillar Inc. Chairman Jim Owens' talk at the show Wednesday, Deere sees emerging markets as hungry for heavy equipment.


Construction Equipment Theft Continues to Plague Equipment Owners in 2007, Lojack's Annual Theft Study Reveal
WESTWOOD, Mass. - According to the study, which analyzed LoJack stolen vehicle recovery reports for the calendar year 2007, construction theft continued at a steady clip with professional theft rings fueling the issue and skid steers being the number one theft target.



SOUTH AFRICA

Heavy equipment manufacturer introduces next series of ADT upgrades
South African heavy equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment is introducing significant upgrades to its articulated dump trucks (ADTs), which include new ribless bins across the range, as well as upgraded software to facili-tate new electronic features on the trucks. Coupled with the general upgrades across the range, Bell is also introducing the higher-power articulated truck, the B30D.


QATAR

NBK holds seminar on heavy equipment
THE heavy equipment department of Nasser Bin Khaled and Sons Services (NBK), the sole agent of the German BOMAG heavy machinery in Qatar, recently organised a conference on BOMAG equipment in Doha.Participants in the conference included representatives from BOMAG and consultation companies, as well as general manager of NBK, Ahmed Habib and manager of the heavy equipment department, Fouad Hijazi.


INDIA

BHEL, NTPC in talks to set up JV for heavy equipment
NEW DELHI: The row between the two power PSUs, BHEL and NTPC, over manufacturing of heavy main plant equipment, may finally be settled. The two companies are discussing the possibility of a joint venture (JV) for manufacturing heavy equipment like boilers and turbines for all types of projects including the super-critical thermal power plants. Both the companies have constituted two separate committees to discuss the issue.