Earthmoving & soil compaction

The excavator and wheeled loader segments represent massive sales volumes for manufacturers, so new model development is prioritised - Mike Woof writes. The crawler excavator segment accounts for a substantial portion of total sales of construction machines. With this in mind, it is no surprise that this is a market segment for which manufacturers prioritise a significant proportion of their research and development budgets. Wheeled loaders, while not selling in quite such large numbers as crawler excava

Calcium carbonate and limestone processor Longcliffe is using a number of Terex haulers to move premium limestone and recycled materials around its quarry in Derbyshire. Apart from the construction sector, Longcliffe’s Brassington Moor Quarry near Matlock supplies a variety of industries, from animal feed manufacturers to glass, plastic and adhesive businesses.

Volvo CE is upgrading its L260 wheeled loader with the introduction of the H-series variant. The new model delivers a 15% increase in productivity while offering a10% fuel saving over the outgoing G-series model according to the firm. This 35tonne class machine is designed for heavy-duty applications and benefits from a 50mm increase in wheelbase, boosting stability and load carrying capability. The optimised design of the front chassis and loader configuration are said to combine with its longer wheelbas

Scottish Doosan dealer Balgownie has supplied new Doosan DX225LC-5 22tonne and DX255LC-5 25tonne excavators and a new DL420-5 wheeled loader to Miller Plant. Miller Plant offers services from bulk earthworks and contract crushing and screening to plant hire, site clearance, demolition, aggregate supply and heavy haulage and tipper hire. As the machines will do more than 60 hours a week each, they come with a peace-of-mind five-year warranty and Balgownie’s fast response to requests and service support.

The UK’s NM Group - North Midland Construction - completed its first contract for iconic furniture retailer IKEA at the Swedish group’s flagship Sheffield store. The nearly-31,600m² store cost €68 million to build and created 480 jobs. The retailer’s most sustainable store to date, it incorporates photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting as well as linking to a district heating scheme.

Wheeled loaders from XCMG are working hard in two extremely tough applications, in Russia and Mongolia Both of these extraction operations require the equipment to work long hours and often in extremes of climate. In the Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia, the XCMG wheeled loaders are working at a surface extraction operation. The site has been extremely productive, achieving a production capacity of over 22 million tonnes in the 10 years since it started. The operation has always opted to use XCMG loa

A new rigid hauler from Terex Trucks is proving useful for a quarrying facility in the US state of Missouri. The family-owned company, Conco Quarries, is using a TR70 model to help boost productivity at its limestone facility in Willard, Missouri. Conco is also a subsidiary of Ash Grove Cement, the country’s largest privately owned US cement company. To help continue the smooth running of its operations at its Willard facility, the company recently purchased a 65tonne capacity TR70 rigid hauler built by Te

Two major airport projects around the world are being constructed on poor ground and have required extensive compaction - Mike Woof writes With air travel continuing to increase around the world, airport capacity is being upgraded in many major cities. Two of the world’s largest mega cities, Beijing and Istanbul, are constructing new airports to cope with growing demand. This is because the existing facilities are simply unable to cope with projected growth for aviation and some of the airports are alrea