Skip to main content

Case equipment helps rebuild local communities after floods

The floods and burst riverbanks suffered last spring throughout Europe have highlighted once again the importance of having the right equipment at the right time. In Germany and more recently in Spain, Case equipment is said to have been indispensable during recovery work in flood-damaged areas. During June, roads, bridges, homes and forest trails in many urban areas were affected by the heavy rain that led to flooding throughout northern Spain’s entire Aran Valley (Lleida), and the overflowing of the Ga
September 26, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
The floods and burst riverbanks suffered last spring throughout Europe have highlighted once again the importance of having the right equipment at the right time. In Germany and more recently in Spain, 176 Case equipment is said to have been indispensable during recovery work in flood-damaged areas.

During June, roads, bridges, homes and forest trails in many urban areas were affected by the heavy rain that led to flooding throughout northern Spain’s entire Aran Valley (Lleida), and the overflowing of the Garona river on its way through the town of Vielha. The emergency situation was dealt with quickly and the water had barely begun to recede when the first Case equipment turned up to help.

Following the worst of the flooding, a large amount of Case equipment is continuing to help in repairing the damage, in an attempt to help the thousands of affected inhabitants return to normal. Case equipment could be seen over the whole area, particularly heavy line equipment, but also some mini equipment. The 621E, 621D, 821F, 821C, 821E large loading shovels; the CX240B, CX290B, CX300C, CX350C and CX370C excavators; and the CX31 compact were fully operational in the area, together with the 430 mini-loader and the WX185 and WX210 wheeled excavators.

This was confirmed by Teo Cambra, head of sales for Simorra, the Case distributor in Lleida, the area affected by the disaster. “Two of our clients are working with their Case equipment in the various areas affected, and for this reason they have reinforced their fleets by renting a few more machines from Simorra," said Cambra.

Simorra has rented four machines. The first of these was an 821F loader to the company Excor, who work for another firm, 3373 Endesa, on the rebuilding of a collapsed bridge at the mini electrical power station in the badly flood-damaged town of Arties. This loader was used in conjunction with a Case CX240C excavator.

Construcciones del Pirineo 2001 has placed its Case fleet (WX185, 621E and 430) at the service of Aran town council, the Spanish government body overseeing the Aran Valley. It has been working since the beginning on rebuilding the entire area with the help of a Case CX370C, also rented from Simorra.

Cambra added, “We have also rented a CX290B and a CX300C to two private subcontractors that are also helping to repair the damage caused.”

Case equipment has also been an enormous help in the floods seen in south-east Germany during early June. The new Case dealership in Erlangen, recently opened in the town located in the federal state of Bavaria, swiftly dispatched an excavator and loader to the Bavarian town of Deggendorf, one of the areas worst affected by the floods.

Case also donated €5,000 to one of the affected families in this town. The manager of the dealership, Peter Straßer, awarded a cheque to a representative of the Red Cross in Bavaria during the opening of the new Erlangen facility. On the same day the company NMB, a Case supplier specialising in attachments, also made a spontaneous contribution, providing a demolition tool to be used with the Case equipment in Deggendorf.

The Simorra group, based in Lleida, Spain, is formed by the companies Simorra and Maquinsa. It consists of a team of 65 qualified professionals, with proven experience in the sector. The group's facility is 11,000m², fitted with the latest technology, and possesses over 600m² for display and spare parts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Nissan moves to speed up EV charging infrastructure
    February 29, 2012
    Nissan has teamed up with leading European utility and electrical vehicle (EV) supply equipment companies to speed development of cheaper, smaller, quick chargers for electric vehicle batteries, and accelerate the installation of publicly-available Quick Charge (QC) points across Europe.
  • Eurovia (UK) donates to Brake to show support for road safety work
    March 13, 2014
    As part of its ongoing commitment to BRAKE, the road safety charity, Eurovia (UK) has recently made a further donation of €5,270 (£4,401). For every health, safety and environmental near miss reported on an annual basis, we donate £1 to the charity. Richard Coteau, senior corporate fundraiser of Brake, was presented with the cheque by Dave Campbell, Eurovia health, safety and environment director on 6 March 2014 at the worksite of the £10 million A57 Worksop/Sheffield improvement scheme near Rotherham fol
  • Houston, Texas is seeing fast expansion of population, with in vast increases in traffic
    October 9, 2018
    The US city of Houston is expanding fast and its transport system is having to be developed to cope
  • Chinese quarry increasing size of Caterpillar fleet
    December 10, 2013
    Chinese quarry producer Beijing Xindadi Equipment Company is looking to increase the size of its Caterpillar machine fleet as part of its plan to increase output The company is based at Beijing Miyun Taishi Village and currently produces 1-1.5 million tonnes/year of limestone, which is used for general construction in the Beijing area. Zhang Guofeng is equipment manager for the firm and said, “Business is good because the market is not affected by the downturn.”