Advances in rubber tyre machine market

One market segment where there have been notable developments has been for rubber tyred asphalt rollers. Several models have been introduced, and the Chinese market has played a key role in this respect, with both international and indigenous companies introducing machines.

172 Bomag’s Chinese factory is not simply building models developed in Europe. This recently expanded facility has its own research and development teams and is developing machines for China, and also for the international market. Emission regulations may mean different types of engines are fitted and electronics may vary from one sales territory to another, but the base machines are the same. Sales and marketing manager Jacques Bonvallet said, “In terms of what we are selling, what you buy from BOMAG in China is what you buy from BOMAG in Germany.”

The BW25RH pneumatic tyred roller was conceived at BOMAG’s facility in China and Bonvallet said, “It’s built in China with German and Chinese components.”

The machine is versatile too as it can be used in compaction applications away from the conventional asphalt road finishing duties. Bonvallet explained, “This machine is also selling particularly well in Australia, where it is used as the last compaction stage in a train of machines for rehabilitating dirt roads. We’re the only company in the world with pneumatic rollers for use on unpaved roads.”
Peter Gray is national product manager for Australian BOMAG dealer Tutt Bryant, and has played a key role in the development of the BW25RH. Feedback from the dealer was used to fine tune the design of the BW25RH, which has a modern hydrostatic drive system, a working weight of 25tonnes and is said to offer good visibility from the cab. The way the machine is used is of note and Gray explained, “It’s a four machine train, with a water spreader, a grader, a soil compactor and then the rubber tyred roller, which puts the crust on the road surface.”

Demand for the BW25RH has been strong in Australia, where there is an extensive network of dirt roads linking outlying rural areas and it was this market potential in fact that led to the BW25RH being developed in China. However BOMAG is confident that the novel road construction technique developed in Australia could well find broader sales in developing markets where dirt roads are common. The technique, which hinges on the pneumatic roller as the finishing tool for the dirt road surface, is likely to be particularly useful in low rainfall desert areas such as in parts of Africa and Latin America.

Another firm introducing a new pneumatic tyred roller at 5930 Bauma China was 206 Dynapac, with its CP275 rubber tyred compactor. The CP275 compaction roller is a notable introduction for Dynapac, as it is the first unit that has been designed in China for this market. The firm’s president, Peter Lauwers, said, “We now have an engineering team in China of 50 people that develops its own machines. It has all the features and benefits of a European machine but is for the Chinese market.”
This marks a key move, with the firm’s Chinese operation establishing a far greater degree of autonomy than in the past and Lauwers said, “We don’t do any marketing in Europe any more for China.”

Charlie Pang is product manager- rollers at Dynapac China and said that the machine has a maximum operating weight of 27tonnes, along with a 2.37m wide compaction width. He explained that the basic machine weight is 14tonnes and the concrete ballast is modular, with the user able to lift the side covers and weights of 4tonnes, 8tonnes and 12tonnes, depending on the operating requirement. And he said, “We have a 600litre water capacity so you can work without stopping for a long time.”

The machine is offered with both Tier 2 and Tier 3 engine options, both from 196 Cummins and offering power outputs of 93kW and 119kW respectively. Drive is hydrostatic to the four rear tyres, while the five front tyres are for steering. Pang added, “As an option you can have ‘air on the run’ to adjust tyre pressures without stopping.”

Chinese firms 269 LiuGong and 1171 Shantui both now offer pneumatic rollers. Shantui’s SR26P-3 model has just come to market.