News

Swedish firm Combi Wear Parts is aiming for a bucket-load of new business by showcasing its wide range of bucket protection products at INTERMAT. “Our biggest sales market is in Germany followed by the US,” said Niclas Wechselberger, the company’s marketing manager. Wechselberger said many companies are using their products, including teeth and lip, side and heel shroud protectors, on construction machines engaged in dredging applications.

Tata Steel is taking advantage of the show to emphasise its new sector-focused operation and what this means for equipment makers. The company said that the new structure gives a single point of co-ordination and that its wide range of steel ensures that equipment makers get the right product for the job. One of the services it is promoting is a collaborative design-driven approach in which it can work with major equipment makers from the early stages of vehicle development.

The new Hi-Stability technology featured in the latest range of Goodyear tyres is said to increase load capacity in off-road applications by up to 25%. The new tyres have been developed to match the power, speed and torque of the industry’s latest machines. Hi-Stability tyres allow higher inflation pressures, increasing the load capacity of the machines to which they are fitted – it is the air that carries the load. A loader that can hold 9tonnes when fitted with conventional tyres at 5bar can carry 12tonne

Bridgestone has increased the available sizes for some of its popular off-road tyres. The VLTS tyre for articulated dump trucks now comes as an 875/65 R29 to suit top weight machines and additional sizes are also now available for the VSW and the VJT L3 pattern tyre, which are usually used on wheel loaders.

BLS Enterprises is promoting its full range of Tufpads polyurethane track pads for pavers and asphalt milling machines, including the European introduction of its W series. W series pads can be used as a direct replacement for Wirtgen’s EPS system. Polyurethane lasts two or three times longer than rubber, said president Barry Stoughton. The Tufpads system is available in both one-piece and two-piece versions. The one-piece pads are bonded to the metal, while pads in the two-piece system are bolted on. This

Visitors to the Chrono Flex stand can imagine themselves in either the Sahara or the frozen north. The company has set up a convivial stand, equipped with an ice bar and a Saharan tent to emphasise that even the hottest and coldest places are within reach of its emergency hydraulic hose repair services. Broken hoses can paralyse a construction site, says the company, whose network of technicians operate from mobile workshops and aim to be on site within an hour.

Unitruck’s says its new range of mirrors and arms specifically for plant machinery being showcased at INTERMAT 2012 will be available through Europe’s leading Agricultural and Plant Spare Parts Dealers from this month. Owners of trucks across Europe are already said by the UK firm to be saving millions of Euros each year by fitting Unitruck’s existing range of replacement mirrors.

France-based Dubuis is unveiling its new Neoelec in line BPL36 crimping tool at Intermat 2012.The company, bought by Stanley Black&Decker in 2006, has designed a crimper with 35kN force and 8mm stroke, weighing 2.1kg and capable of 4-185mm² hexagonal crimping.

Ashtree Glass will be showing its new range of ‘E’ approved mirror arms and mounting brackets to go with their previously launched ‘E’ mirrors. The mirrors and their attachments, which the company says move away from wide angle ‘fish eye’ type mirror designs, reflect the latest European standard visibility requirements for telehandlers. Ashtree says the mirror arms and mounting brackets ensure ‘E’ mirrors can be adjusted to the best possible position to eliminate operator blindspots. As well as being teste

Michelin previewed its new X Crane+ tyre at INTERMAT. The new radial tyre has an ‘F’ speed rating allowing each tyre to carry a payload of 6,700kg at speeds of up to 80km/h. This means the tyre allows cranes between 35 to 1,200tonnes, which often have up to 12 axles each carrying 12tonnes, to run at 80kmh – common in the UK and some other markets. As a precaution Michelin withdrew the previous, lower rated, X Crane design from the UK market as crane owners were running at speeds higher than the tyre’s capac

Dana Rexroth Transmission Systems’ HVT R3 is the first of a series of hydro-mechanical variable transmissions resulting from the 50-50 joint venture between Dana and Bosch Rexroth AG. The R3 is for wheeled loaders with engine outputs of up to 265kW and uses a combination of hydrostatic and mechanical drives to offer fuel savings of up to 20%. Cleverly, the HVT R3 will allow the operator to preset a maximum travel speed, or preselect a fixed engine rpm and use the transmission’s characteristics to keep the

ZF Transmissions used INTERMAT to reveal its cPower continuously variable transmission (CVT) for wheeled loaders up to 210kW. Using experience gained in the agricultural tractor sector, where CVTs have been in use for more than 10 years, ZF’s cPower transmission uses a blend of hydrostatics and mechanical drives to split power throughout the entire working speed range.

Italian firm Bonfiglioli is showcasing during INTERMAT a pre-series prototype of its 716C gearbox for milling machines and cold planers.

American rock drilling tool maker, Rockmore International, has opened its first manufacturing plant in Europe to serve customers in the emerging Africa and Asia markets. The new plant, based in Judenburg, Austria, represents an investment of $12million. With Rockmore’s existing plant in the USA, it effectively doubles the company’s production capacity.

Chemical company Evonik has formulated an additive pack that creates multi-grade hydraulic oil for excavators. It is said to deliver a significant improvement in fuel efficiency compared to traditional mono-grade hydraulic oils. It’s called Dynavis and the key, said Evonik, is a clever viscosity improver that prevents aeration, which can cause cavitation and a loss of performance in hydraulic pumps. Dynavis’ technology is a closely guarded secret - it is not available as a pour-in additive, but is sold in