Finance & Funding

Bomag’s €1mn training boost

August 24, 2012

BOMAG is set to offer more young adult traineeships after investing €1million in the expansion of the existing training centre at the firm’s Boppard, Germany HQ. Varied traineeships in production, commercial and technical areas are currently offered by BOMAG to 70 young adults. The company, which employs around 1,400 people at its Boppard site, claims this makes it one of the largest enterprises offering training. Jörg Unger, president of BOMAG, recently assisted with the planing of the asphalt area where t

Volvo CE’s African technical scheme

August 24, 2012

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) says it is confronting a shortage of technicians in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) project. The aim is to help support and modernise technical schools in Africa, and Volvo CE will take a hands-on approach with a project at Selam Technical and Vocational College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing new equipment, training materials, teacher training, ongoing curriculum development and apprenticeship opportunities fo

Subaru’s new power generation

August 21, 2012

Subaru’s range of industrial generators are said to be loaded with professional-grade features, top-of-the-line engines, and the power and ability to handle the needs of homeowners, professional contractors and rental centres. Powered by a 2.4hp EH09-2 OHV Subaru engine and delivering an output of up to 1,100W, the R1100 unit offers a 1.1gallon capacity fuel tank and more than four hours of continuous run time at the rated load.

Ritchie Bros planning major equipment auction in US

August 2, 2012

Equipment auction specialist Ritchie Bros is planning a huge sale of used equipment in the US state of North Carolina in September 2012. This unreserved sale of equipment includes no less than 60 Caterpillar D11 bulldozers as well as 20 other bulldozers. Also up for auction are over 30 large wheeled loaders and over 35 Caterpillar 777 trucks, as well as graders and other items of machinery. This particular sale is of note as the 60 D11 bulldozers are more than the firm has sold of this model over the last f

A competitive market

August 2, 2012

Competition is increasing in the earthmoving sectors, and for some companies market share is improving The wheeled loader market is becoming more competitive, with a number of firms now challenging the leading players, Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo. In other earthmoving product sectors such as excavators, companies such as Case, Doosan, Hyundai, JCB, Liebherr and Volvo are becoming more aggressive in terms of sales and are capturing market share. Case is gearing up its operations in Western Europe, Eastern

Jobs promise as Berco expands in UK

July 31, 2012

Berco UK has officially marked its relocation to a new larger factory and office in Spennymoor, County Durham, north-east England, and announced plans to double its workforce during the next few years. Helen Goodman, Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, officially opened Berco's new site, heralding the arrival of the company as a welcome boost to the town's economy with the promise of new jobs. Berco, whose headquarters is in Italy, is a leader in the manufacture of undercarriage components and systems

Cat's challenge to operators

July 31, 2012

In November, for the 11th consecutive year, Caterpillar's Demonstration and Learning Centre in Malaga, Spain, will again become the stage for the Caterpillar Operator Challenge. "Throughout the years this competition has followed the same successful concept: the competitor skills will be tested and scored in different machines, ranging from large to mini size-class equipment and the one with the best total score is the winner. This year, we will have nine challenging tests carried out with the latest Caterp

Capital move by Turkish Hitachi dealer

July 31, 2012

ENKA Pazarlama, one of the longest-serving distributors of Hitachi Constriction Machinery (Europe)/HCME, has opened a new branch in Turkey's capital city, Ankara. ENKA Pazarlama has been serving the Turkish market with Hitachi excavators, wheel loaders and crawler cranes since 1981. The new 12,000m² development is the latest addition to the Turkish dealer's branch network, which includes a number of regional offices, service centres and sub-dealers. Founded in 1972 ENKA Pazarlama is a sub-division of the la

ConExpo Russia: Planning starts for 2009

July 23, 2012

The AEM says that its inaugural trade show in the Russian capital "exceeded expectations." Patrick Smith reports The first CONEXPO Russia, held in the capital Moscow, attracted some 6,000 attendees, according to the organisers. The Association of Equipment Manufactures (AEM) said after the inaugural event in September that more than 50% of the 2008 exhibition space had already been sold for the 2009 exposition. "Leading construction equipment companies from around the world that supported the first ever CON

New president, new plan

July 19, 2012

Special ECED meeting approves Action Plan to create stronger EU representation for distributors Members of the European Confederation of Equipment Distributors (ECED) have endorsed an Action Plan aimed at strengthening the distributors' association at EU level. This was agreed at an Extraordinary General Assembly in Brussels, Belgium, convened by newly-elected ECED President, Dr. José Gameiro, in his role as board member of ACAP (the Portuguese Cars and Machinery Association). The meeting asked the ECED