News

Improving performance for Hyundai
April 12, 2016
Hyundai has seen strong sales in Europe 2015 and expects the growth trend to continue in 2016. Alain Worp, sales director for construction equipment at HHIE, says the company is also investing €30 million in building a new headquarters in Belgium, with its warehouse alone covering 13,000m2. “This project is expected to be finished by the end of 2016. It will be almost four times as big as the present facility,” he said.
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Doors open to bauma 2016
April 11, 2016
In glorious spring sunshine, bauma 2016 opened its doors. Thousands of visitors poured into the show grounds at Messe Munchen International to see the latest innovations in construction equipment. Exhibitors from all over the world include Caterpillar, Hyundai, Wirtgen and Komatsu.
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Case European production hubs key to success
April 11, 2016
Case Construction Equipment is said to be reaping the benefits of its significant investment in two new European production hubs. The CNH Industrial Construction Equipment brand is developing its wheeled equipment production hub in Lecce and its excavator production hub in San Mauro. Andy Blandford, vice president CNH Industrial Construction Equipment Europe, Africa & Middle East, said, “A key element for our growth is having an efficient manufacturing footprint.
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Caterpillar’s focus on advanced technology for construction
April 11, 2016
Caterpillar has seen a drop in its turnover due to tough conditions in many of its key markets but chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman is bullish about the firm’s future. Technology is the focus for Caterpillar and Oberhelman said, “We’ve always been the leader in construction iron and now we’ll be the leader in smart iron too. We’ve been offering connectivity solutions for years and we now have the largest connected industrial fleet for the industries we serve. Every machine and even drones can share informat
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LiuGong targets stronger European market presence
April 11, 2016
LiuGong is hungry to increase its European market share – and is forecasting 500 unit sales in the continent in 2016. The Chinese construction equipment manufacturing giant is this week showcasing a number of Tier 4 Final/Stage IV compliant models for European customers - including the popular 856H wheeled loader and 925E and 933E excavators. Zeng Guang’an, chairman of LiuGong Group, said that Europe was one of the company’s biggest markets – with the UK alone tipped by the firm to reach over 250 unit sale
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Wirtgen showcases Benninghoven’s asphalt giant
April 11, 2016
The bauma 2016 exhibition marks a major change for the Wirtgen Group with the firm having its biggest ever stand at the show and the second largest at the event itself. A key factor in this is the addition of the Benninghoven asphalt plant business, although the firm has a huge array of equipment in all with no less than 30 new models being launched. Benninghoven dominates the booth - its large asphalt plant is the highest structure ever seen at the show.
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bauma Innovation Awards for six companies and research institutions
April 11, 2016
Six companies and research institutions have received bauma 2016 Innovation Awards. Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian minister of economics, praised the winners and all participating companies, emphasising that the awards programme “reflects the innovative strength of the construction equipment, building material and mining industries, both in Germany and internationally”. Not only does it show the things which are technically feasible, but it also gives us a glimpse of the future, she added.
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Montreal boost infrastructure spending for 2016
April 8, 2016
The Canadian city of Montreal will invest a record US$408 million on infrastructure improvements this year, around half to spent on road upgrades and the other half on water projects. One of the city’s executive committee members, Lionel Perez, said much is being done to mitigate problems for drivers and cyclists during prolonged construction periods, according to a report in the Montreal Gazette newspaper. Perez said drivers on rue St-Denis, a main shopping street, can now use bluetooth technology to
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Kenya infrastructure development programme
April 8, 2016
Kenya will receive up to US$284.75 million from France for infrastructure development. The funding includes loans and grants and will be used to finance several infrastructure projects. Kenya will use a significant portion to finance its Last Mile Connectivity Programme. Another portion will be spent on the second phase of the Roads 2000 Programme. In addition, Kenya has secured funding for the East Africa Development Bank.
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High crash rate for Saudi Arabia
April 8, 2016
Saudi Arabia’s shockingly high crash rate is providing cause for concern. Research suggests that the country could see up to 1.1 million road crashes in 2016. This data comes from statistics provided by Najm Insurance Services of Saudi Arabia. The firm’s studies suggest that the number of motor vehicle crashes in the country could increase from 962,000 in 2015 and top 1.1 million in 2016. The insurance firm estimates that 17 people/day die due to road crashes in Saudi Arabia. It is also estimated that less
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Swiss spending on infrastructure
April 8, 2016
The Swiss Government has announced plans to invest over €596 million/year in improvements to the country’s road infrastructure. The money will be placed in the newly created national roads fund. This money will largely come from government income from car road taxes and taxes from the sale of fuel.
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Myanmar road safety concern
April 7, 2016
Concern is being expressed at the rapid rise in road deaths in Myanmar. The road fatality rate has increased substantially in recent years, as has the number of vehicles on the country’s road network. In the period from 2009-2014, the number of registered vehicles in Myanmar more than doubled. And in 2014 the World Health Organisation highlighted its concern that Myanmar’s road death rate had more than tripled in less than 10 years. According to official data, Myanmar had over 15,000 road crashes, 25,000
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Electric only vehicles for Netherlands?
April 7, 2016
Moves are underway in the Netherlands that could see only electric cars being sold in the country from 2025. Proposals are now being made to ban the sale of diesel and petrol fuelled cars in the country, with these having passed initial stages of acceptance by the Dutch Government according to reports in the local press, DutchNews. The plan forms part of the country’s drive to meet pledges made at the most recent UN Conference on Climate Change, which was held in Paris in 2015.
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Report highlighights global construction improving
April 6, 2016
According to a new report from Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), the global construction industry is gradually regaining strength. This comes after a prolonged period of sluggishness in the wake of the global financial crisis. In real terms, the global industry is expected to have reached US$8.5 trillion in 2015, up from US$7.5 trillion in 2010. Over the forecast period (2016-2020) the pace of expansion will accelerate to an annual average of 3.4%, with the industry reaching a value of US$1
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Egis reporting strong performance
April 6, 2016
French firm Egis is reporting improved group performance with its latest financial results. In 2015, the Group’s managed turnover amounted to €937 million, up 10% compared with 2014 (€854 million). This growth can be attributed to acquisitions which account for approximately 6%, but it is also due to business development: 4% excluding scope effects. Following a drop in 2014, the order intake for engineering has resumed an upward trend. It represented 14 months of business in 2015, taking the order book t
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