Earthmoving & soil compaction

Volvo graders have made an important contribution on upgrades to a 150km stretch of the NH7 highway, one of India's most important road links. The NH7 highway is an impressive 2,369km in length, linking the town of Kanyakumari, perched on the southern-most point of the Indian mainland where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean meet, with the north-eastern holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganges.

Three years of development and field trials have resulted in the proven SparkMaster system from ASL. This sophisticated initiator is said to meet the needs of explosive engineers requiring a reliable shocktube-based system. The SparkMaster has been designed to suit an array of site conditions and can provide reliability even in challenging environments. The solid-state, ergonomically-designed unit is portable, robust, highly-visible and weighs just 700grammes. It can be operated while still inside its weath

Hitachi is boosting its wheeled loader line with the addition of two new ZW models, the ZW140 and ZW150. These machines join the proven ZW180, ZW220, ZW250 and ZW310 and share many technical features. High performance is claimed and the ZW140 and ZW150 are powered by powerful yet economical and durable engines, delivering 96 and 107kW respectively. Fuel consumption is reduced while productivity has been increased across a range of duties. An innovative hydrostatic drive system (HST) is fitted that is said t

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) has announced a significant new addition to its popular Zaxis-3 range of excavators, the ZX14-3, highlighting a new level of performance. Filling an important gap in the 1-2 tonne class, the new model has been developed to compete in the general construction sector and strengthens the Japanese manufacturer's position in the mini excavator market. Basic and durable, the ZX14-3 is easy to operate, while its compact and lightweight design allows it to be transported by t

Mike Woof reviews the latest compaction market developments In the run-up to the upcoming World of Asphalt event in Orlando, Florida in March, the leading compaction equipment firms are rolling out upgraded and improved machines. With market conditions tough worldwide, customers are also likely to be encouraged with competitive deals on purchasing new machines and replacing ageing fleets.

Articulated dumptrucks are highly versatile and new developments continue to extend productivity The ADT market has been one of the fastest growing product areas in recent years. In the past ADTs were niche products that sold particularly well in Northern Europe (and Scandinavia and the UK in particular) as well as South Africa for many years, but these have now become popular worldwide. The number of manufacturers in the market has grown too. Just 10-15 years ago the only serious ADT manufacturers building

Leica Geosystems says that its CI-14 CAT Interface Module cuts installation time when fitting its 2D & 3D machine control systems to Caterpillar off-highway machines. Using the CI-14 package is said to eliminate the cost and effort of installing add-on hydraulic valves when fitting control tools from Leica Geosystems to Caterpillar K and T Series dozers and M Series graders. The CI-14 system can be used in conjunction with laser, slope, ultrasonic or 3D GPS/GNSS as well as the Leica PowerTracker total stati

JCB has stepped up the battle against construction equipment theft by announcing that seven models in its Hammermaster hydraulic breaker ranges are to get CESAR marking as standard. The move means JCB, which was the first major manufacturer to make CESAR standard on its construction range in 2007, is the only firm to offer the anti-theft marking system on its breakers in the UK.