Earthmoving & soil compaction

Hydraulic excavators are playing a key role in building roads in the West African nation of Benin. One of the major projects has been for the construction of the A-B Highway in the country. A team of eight XCMG excavators has been used on the project to carry out important earthmoving duties, as well as for secondary breaking duties when equipped with hydraulic hammers. Due to the tropical climate, extensive drainage ditches are needed so as to prevent flooding during the rainy season. The eight 37tonne

LiuGong unveiled new machines as well as its plans for the future at the BICES 2015 construction equipment show in Beijing recently. Trading conditions are tough in China at the moment, but LiuGong is performing better financially than many of its local rivals according to the firm. LiuGong’s vice-president, Dave Beatenbough said that the firm is particularly well known for its wheeled loaders, a product line for which the firm is a market leader in China. However, he explained that the company is actively

Chinese firm Shantui continues to achieve export success for its construction equipment. Earlier this year the firm supplied its first bulk export of hydrostatic dozers, with an order for 78 machines in all. The order comprised 27 of the 74.6kW SD10YE models and 51 of the larger 97kW SD13-2 units. The machines are being used for large-scale infrastructure development works, including road building projects.

Yanmar Construction Equipment Europe officially launched its new range of compact wheel loaders, models V7 and V8, at the NordBau snow in Neumunster, Germany. The launch took place at the booth of Yanmar’a business partner company, HKL Baummaschinen.

The operation is now using one of the EC220DL excavator models, which has helped boost productivity by some 30%. In addition, the machine is said to be delivering savings in running costs at the Alam Jaya volcanic rock quarry, through reducing fuel consumption by two litres/hour. The site is located close to West Java’s capital city, Bandung, at the foot of the volcano, Tangkuban Perahu. The city is home to 2.5 million people and sits at 768m above sea level, while it benefits from one of Indonesia’s coo

Trimble’s GCS900 3D system for grade control is now available as an upgrade from the 2D laser-guided and sonic/slope systems already offered by Bobcat. The Trimble GCS900 is extremely flexible and can be used on excavators, dozers, motor graders, compactors, scrapers, trimmers, and milling machines. The GSC900 cab be used both as a single unit, or as an upgrade from a GCS600 Grade Control System.

The largest wheel loader in the Hitachi range has been delivered to Lasa Marmo’s Whitewater marble quarry near the village of Laas in northern Italy. The new ZW550-5’s main function is to lift each marble block that has been extracted from the cavernous site – situated 1,600m above sea level – and transport it through a series of passageways to an outdoor storage area. The ZW550-5 was delivered in December by Comac, a sub-dealer of the Italian Hitachi dealer for construction machinery, SCAI. The fuel

The UK drainage and maintenance specialist Lanes Group has helped deliver the new A453 dual-carriageway in the county of Nottinghamshire, one of England’s worst congestion areas. Main contractor Laing O'Rourke managed the two-and-a-half-year project that included the widened commuter route from Junction 24 of the M1 motorway to the A52 highway in Nottingham city centre at a cost of US$265 million. The new road - named Remembrance Way in honour of the 453 British soldiers who lost their lives in Afgha