Features

A prototype of SANY’s new 40 tonne SAT40 articulated dump truck (ADT) is set to be a star attraction among hauler models at bauma China 2014. Powered by a 350kW MTU engine, SANY says the model will initially be available domestically before being made available to foreign markets next year. The 45tonne model is set to be followed by 35tonne and 20tonne SANY ADTs. Zhichun Cao, deputy general manager of SANY Group and general manager of SANY Mining Equipment, said: “This is the first ADT for us and it mean

The latest equipment from Wirtgen has been used to recycle a stretch of Italy’s busy A4 Autostrada, one of the country’s most important highways. The Wirtgen machine was the first WR250 recycler/reclaimer to be delivered to Italy and was put to work on the A4 Turin-Trieste highway where it proved highly productive. The A4 Autostrada runs 522km from Turin to Trieste via Milan and Venice across northern Italy from west to east. The A4 is divided into five segments, the Turin-Milan, Milan-Brescia, Brescia-Pad

Atlas Copco says that its latest PaveManager control package offers new features including the sophisticated VarioSpeed system, which offers continuous load sensing, reduced fuel costs and automatic measurement and programming tools. The PaveManager 2.0 package is offered on the firm’s new SD pavers and helps optimise and control paving operations, while it is aided by a new ergonomic dashboard with advanced pav¬ing functions. It is available for the recently introduced SD range of pavers and is suited for

Stabiliser/recycling machines are now well proven in road construction applications, giving a stable base layer on which to lay asphalt layers. A wide variety of technologies have been developed to help optimise this process and one proven road stabilisation product called Pavmax that has been used successfully in various markets including Latin America is now being made available worldwide. Introduced by NTI Holdings, Pavmax is a proprietary concentrated liquid, with a multi-enzymatic formulation that

The road business has benefited from fairly constant levels of trading in recent years and even during the downturn, construction operations only fell by a comparatively small quantity during the downturn. Darren Fitch, director for road machinery for the EMEA region within Volvo CE said, “The road construction sector has been far less cyclical than other construction markets.” The global market for road machinery is healthy at present and he said, “We’re having a good year.”

Contractor Nyoni Projects is taking a new approach to two major road upgrades in the North West Province of South Africa. The company is refining its fleet and processes with the use of two new Caterpillarr RM300 reclaimer/recyclers. By introducing these new machines and the associated working methods, the firm believes it can help meet the country’s growing road repair, reclamation and building needs. The firm has seen an increase in productivity since it started using the machines. Maclaud Nyoni, m

Efficient night-time paving operations can reduce construction costs and cut traffic delays - *Todd Mansell writes As roads become more congested, the user cost of daytime lane closures to accommodate road construction and paving has increased dramatically. One solution to lower user costs associated with traffic delays is to carry out more paving at night during off-peak times. However night-time paving brings new challenges to producing quality work in safely.

LiuGong claims to have retained its market leader position as Thailand’s top wheeled loader provider for the third consecutive year. The manufacturing juggernaut for extreme duty equipment entered the Thai market in 2011 and has sold 1,500 wheeled loaders in three years. President of LiuGong Machinery Asia Pacific Mr Chen Hao attributed the success to the brand’s consistent focus in understanding the wheeled loader industry’s needs and delivering products that are innovative, reliable and durable. L

Working in a rainforest area can be challenging, but in a rural area outside of Kuching in East Malaysia, a road construction crew was able to carry out a project successfully One of the biggest challenges came from the moisture levels as the area has an average annual rainfall of 4200mm. The saturated soil complicates the construction process on many levels, including stabilisation and compaction. However this heavy moisture content in the soil is a constant for Geocrete Specialist crews, which handl

Uganda has unveiled plans for the construction of two road projects considered critical in enhancing the integration of the Eastern African economies and boosting the landlocked country's socio-economic performance - Shem Oirere writes The new Rukungiri–Kihihi–Ishasha/Kanungu and Bumbobi-Bubulo-Lwakhakha roads in Uganda feature a design influenced by the desire to harmonise modern road standards in East Africa. These new links will also cater for the current acute shortage of gravel for road construction

A wide array of crushing, screening and materials handling technologies have been introduced in recent months - Mike Woof writes The manufacturers of crushing and screening products have been developing an array of new systems to optimise production. The recent Hillhead show in the UK was the launch point for a number of these new products, although firms from all over the world have also been developing new designs. Productivity and wear life are two performance factors seeing major benefits from innovatio

A new tunnel connection is helping boost connectivity in Peru, improving access to remote areas Building the tunnel has been an important project as Peru has an imbalance in population distribution with 54.6% of its inhabitants concentrated in the areas along the Pacific Ocean, while only 32% of the population lives in the Andes highlands and 13.4% in the Amazon tropical jungles. The imbalance is acute given that the tropical jungle areas account for 60% of the country’s national territory. Economic deve

Jeddah’s international airport in Saudi Arabia is benefiting from a major revamp to help boost capacity. The King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) near Jeddah has seen a massive increase in passenger numbers in the last 20 years Demand has continued to grow due to both business travel and religious tourism and the KAIA authorities opted to expand the facilities in 2006, in line with anticipated needs. That first phase of the planned expansion is being completed during this year, making KAIA the la

Manufacturers of excavators and wheeled loaders continue to roll out new models aimed at specific markets - Mike Woof writes With tough emissions controls now in place in Europe and North America, manufacturers have developed an array of advanced solutions to meet requirements, while also developing parallel models for sale in other territories. In the earthmoving sector the latest round of requirements in Europe and North America has resulted in a flurry of new, low emission models equipped with Tier 4

Improving road safety in the EU has resulted in a drop in the fatality rate. Official figures just released show that the number of people killed on Europe's roads fell by 8% in 2013. This follows on from the drop in fatalities of between 2011 and 2012 and Europe is on track to halve road deaths in the 2010-2020 period Figures released by the European Commission provide grounds for optimism and Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said, “We welcome the reductio