Features

The emergence of Brazil as a major economic force and its need to improve infrastructure is proving a magnet for investment. Patrick Smith reports Brazil is now the sixth biggest economy in the world according to its Finance Minister Guido Mantega. The largest country in South America with a population of 190 million and one of the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Brazil’s economy grew 2.7% in 2011 and is now worth $2.5 trillion, having overtaken the UK. With big oil and gas reserves stil

The emergence of Brazil as a major economic force and its need to improve infrastructure is proving a magnet for investment. Patrick Smith reports Brazil is now the sixth biggest economy in the world according to its Finance Minister Guido Mantega. The largest country in South America with a population of 190 million and one of the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Brazil’s economy grew 2.7% in 2011 and is now worth $2.5 trillion, having overtaken the UK. With big oil and gas reserves stil

Specially designed and constructed formwork is being used to create some iconic bridges worldwide The Golden Ears Bridge over the Fraser River will unite the municipalities of Richmond, New Westminister and Delta in the scenic British Columbia province of Canada. The bridge, part of a CAD$800 million (US$670 million) project, is an 'extra dosed' cable stayed bridge, which means the deck will be supported by both cables and the structure itself. This design reduces the overall height of the two towers as req

Visualise today's concept of a major commercial traffic corridor in the western United States. A roadway responsible for delivering goods to Arizona, Nevada and Utah, that also connects Mexico to the United States to Canada through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). What springs to mind? A multi-lane highway carrying thousands of vehicles a day past cities at speeds up to 113km/hour, while egress ramps make sure vehicles get safely to city streets and their final destination. This is not the c

The Sila Sanon limestone quarry in Thailand is playing a key role in providing high quality aggregates for the growing Thai construction industry.Recently the family-owned operation has invested in a full range of crushing and screening plant supplied by Sandvik Construction’s dealer in Thailand, the William Wong Group, and the quarry is now able to supply over 200,000tonnes of accurately sized materials on a monthly basis. The Sila Sanon Quarry in Saraburi Province, just over 100km north of the capital Ba

An EC-funded project aims to coordinate research on essential tyre/road interaction parameters. A competition will help raise awareness of the project Drivers need grip between the tyres and the road to accelerate, decelerate or change the direction of a moving road vehicle. Grip is provided by the skid resistance properties of the road surface in combination with the friction characteristics of the tyre. This combination is critical for safe driving, and many European countries have investigated the corre

Foamed bitumen is a versatile and cost-effective tool in recycling roads - Mike Woof reports Wirtgen hopes to capitalise on the growing demand for materials recycling and its range of solutions for this sector has expanded considerably in recent times. The firm has been taking advantage of further developments in foamed bitumen technology to offer an array of cost-effective road repair solutions. The range allows this material to be used in array of cold recycling applications and Wirtgen also offers labora

With a new wave of exhaust emission regulations coming shortly, engine manufacturers are well on track to develop new solutions as Mike Woof reports A wave of technological advances has made the current generation of diesels the cleanest industrial engines ever produced. Driven by tightening controls on emissions, manufacturers have had to develop an array of innovative solutions that will help cut particulate and NOx being emitted from the tailpipe. When the phased reduction in exhaust emissions was first

The first new mobile screen to be launched under the Sandvik name, rather than the Fintec or Extec brands, is the heavy duty tracked QE440 scalping screen. The QE440 was displayed in a live demonstration at a customer event in the UK this summer to launch the newly unified branding and new machine colours. During the demonstration, customers had a chance to view other mobile crushing and screening units in the Sandvik range, as well as the new BR2577 hydraulic breaker.