Features

Now in its second year and sixth edition, the IRF’s flagship technical journal has become a valuable global knowledge resource for road practitioners on the state of the art across road disciplines. “The wealth of knowledge accumulated during the 17th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition in Riyadh was the driving force behind our decision to launch the IRF Examiner as a freely available resource for the industry,” recalls IRF chairman Eng Abdullah Al-Mogbel.

The IRF has partnered with a key Chinese summit, focussing on capacity building for the new Silk Road project. During the three day International Highway Technology Summit, billed as China’s largest and most influential highway knowledge platform, the International Road Federation chaired a flagship multi-country panel discussion on China's new Silk Road Economic Belt programme. In addition, the IRF organised training workshops on forgiving roads and asset management applications. The event drew together

Demand within the global construction equipment manufacturing industry is anything but homogenous, with certain countries and sales regions significantly outperforming others, with a whole host of factors fuelling and suppressing each key market - Guy Woodford reports

Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – Global Report offers up some food for thought about where smart money might be headed within the next several years – David Arminas writes China’s rate of growth may be slowing down, but other South East Asian companies are being quick to offer alternate investment opportunities, notably Indonesia. Nigeria, too, has had issues with security of investment. But there are signs that the government may be getting serious at last about tightening up rules and regulation

The machine rental sector is undergoing significant expansion worldwide – Dan Gilkes reports. Plant hire, equipment rental, leasing, call it what you will, being able to use a machine when and where you need it, with no further concerns relating to ownership costs, depreciation or sudden repair bills, remains a compelling argument for many contractors. Which is one of the main reasons for the continued growth in popularity of equipment rental across the world. Rental has been big business in the UK, the US

Innovations in construction software are helping boost project efficiency and optimising project operations – Clive Davidson writes Over the past decade, while construction engineers have been putting up buildings or infrastructure, software engineers have been developing a parallel universe where virtual buildings or infrastructure can be created in ever increasing detail. What started with 2D architectural drawings in computer-aided design (CAD) systems, has become a multi-dimensional world, with 3D ge

Demand for telematics technology is growing, as equipment users begin to lean the value of these systems – Alan Dron reports With construction projects increasingly operating to wafer-thin profit margins, any technological assistance that can keep the accounts in the black is welcome. This is particularly the case with those projects where contractors can share a larger slice of the profits if they complete their work ahead of schedule. The downside, of course, is that they also share the pain if the

Customers can face the choice of buying used or new equipment – Dan Gilkes writes. The decision to buy either new or used equipment is almost as old as the construction plant market itself. However some of the reasons for choosing between the two might well be changing, to meet new demands from customers across the world and to cope with a changing supply base. Ever more stringent emissions legislation in Europe, the US and Japan, rapidly developing emerging markets that want the productivity of the latest

ENH Engineering has broken into the market in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by selling two in-line bitumen emulsion plants. The plants, of which each can be built into a 12m container, were sold to the Congolese oil exploration and refining company Socir in the capital city of Kinshasha, said ENH's managing director Erik Haugaard. The in-line plants can produce all known bitumen emulsion types, from the simplest tack-coat to high-grade slurry emulsions. "The emulsion market in West Africa is gr

An array of major manufacturers are introducing revamped and improved excavators to meet the latest requirements - Mike Woof writes. With efficiency, emissions and ease of maintenance all high up the agenda for customers, manufacturers have delivered a new generation of machines that offer increased output while using less fuel. The firms have all developed new models that meet the latest stringent emissions requirements. Ranging from 25-40tonnes, Case Construction Equipment has four new D Series craw

Caterpillar has raised the bar for articulated dump truck performance with the introduction of its C Series to replace its B series ADTs. All the new Cat 735C, 740C EJ and 745C ADTs have engines that meet US EPA Tier 4 Final/EU Stage IV emissions standards. The machines also incorporate many new and upgraded features designed to boost the operator’s efficiency, ensure a longer life cycle of the vehicle and save fuel. Rated payload capacities for the new models are 32.7tonnes for the 735C, 38tonnes for the 7

Volvo tracked pavers are helping China meet its ambitious programme of building 10,000km of roads annually. China’s ambitious road building programme is seeing over 10,000km of new highway being completed every year. Productivity, reliability and good uptime of equipment are key to this programme being achieved. And to the north of Xi’an, four Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) ABG8820 tracked pavers recently worked 14 hours/day paving the final layer of asphalt on a new highway. This 96km route opened

A German firm is helping increase output for construction sites in Oman. The company is providing training for a range of different machine types, aiming to reduce the risk of operator errors or machine downtime while optimising productivity, efficiency and profitability. Probst Greiftechnik Verlegesysteme is sending its service technicians around the world to provide training on proper operation and maintenance to dealers and end customers. During individual training sessions, the machine operators can

A United Arab Emirates quarry is putting its Volvo fleet to the test in harsh conditions A quarrying facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is boosting output following the commissioning of a new machine fleet for loading and hauling duties. The quarry is located in the northeast of the UAE in Fujairah, an emirate almost entirely surrounded by mountains. This rugged landscape is the product of an estimated 800 million years of geological activity and is the source of a high quality limestone used in

Local contractor Galvão Engenharia opted to use an SP 850 slipform paver from Wirtgen as one of the key machines in the job to upgrade and improve the Anel Viário de Fortaleza. This important highway connects Fortaleza, located in the federal state of Ceará, with the busy port of Pecém. The deepwater port in Pecém is some 60km from Fortaleza and since it was inaugurated in 2002, the city has become a primary port for exporting fruit products in refrigerated containers. Fuel and liquefied gas, fertilizer