Features

Wheeled loader is fitted with a special bucket to suit the demands of German quarry site.

One of the first Hitachi ZW370-5s in Europe has been delivered to a quarrying company in the Eifel region of Germany.

Trasswerke Meurin ordered the large wheeled loader to handle lava, pumice and basalt materials in the quarry, where it started working over 150 years ago. These materials are common to the area, due to an eruption approximately 12,900 years ago that created the Vulkaneifel volcanic field, and the

Cutting-edge hydraulic breakers, drills and hammers are a feature of 2014, with the recent Steinexpo show hosting the launch of more new models. Guy Woodford reports.

Chicago Pneumatic’s hydraulic breakers and portable compressors are said to be proving a great fit for India’s expanding granite building stone industry. An example of this is Kerala-based granite quarry National Granite and Hollow Bricks which is successfully using CP1150 and RX22 hydraulic breakers as well as a CPP60E portable air compre

One leading global dump truck manufacturer has big plans to expand its production capacity, while others are attracting strong interest in their latest models. Guy Woodford reports.

Ambitious Chinese firm SANY is planning to ramp up production levels to meet growing demand for its expanding range of haulers for mining and quarrying applications.

The firm’s Kunshan factory has seen its truck production rise from just two in 2009, following a manufacturing relocation from Shanghai, to 200 last year. No

In their latest opinion piece for Aggregates Business, Aggregate Research Ltd, providers of strategic and operational advisory services across aggregates and related industries, look at whether innovation in the aggregates industry is a threat or an opportunity, focusing specifically on manufactured sand.

In today’s world we embrace change on a daily basis. Just a few decades ago we were still sending greeting cards by post, driving around with paper maps and using printed address books to store our con

A turnkey sand and gravel washing plant is set to reduce environmental pollution for a German company. To unveil the plant, CDE Global and Josef Bohnen hosted an open day at Josef Bohnen’s main quarry in Swisttal, near Cologne.

Owner Josef Bohnen started the business with one Deutz tractor and a cart in 1948 and supplied local houses in the area with loads of sand. Today, the company, which also specialises in civil engineering, earthmoving and demolition services, supplies the regions of Bonn and Cologn

Jeremy Crook of Stephens Scown LLP outlines the role of a European Works Council and its potential impact on minerals and aggregates businesses. Large minerals and aggregates businesses with employees in Europe need to be aware of European Works Councils and the circumstances in which they must be set up. Failure to meet the legislative requirements could lead to financial penalties.

What is a European
Works Council?
A European Works Council (EWC) is a consultative body set up by multinational employe

Bitumen is one of the most widely used products in the world, with an estimated 85% being used annually as the binder in asphalt for roads and other paved areas such as airports, writes Patrick Smith.

Indeed, world demand for asphalt is projected to rise 3.6%/year through to 2017 from a weak 2012 base to 121 million tonnes or 734 million barrels, according to a new World Asphalt study from The Freedonia Group, the Cleveland, USA-based industry market research company.

The Asia/Pacific region has overt

Drilling and blasting is one of the first operations to be carried out in a quarry to gain the material for further processing.

The vital process often starts with a detailed survey of the quarry face, which will enable the explosives engineer to design the blast and to plot where the shot holes should be drilled, enabling the task to be carried out safely and efficiently.

The EPC Groupe says it is among those continuing to develop energetic solutions for safe and efficient quarry blasting.

As quar

As authorities worldwide introduce steadily declining limits for soot particles, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons for off-road machines, manufacturers of mobile plants are being requested to develop fuel consumption, noise and resource-saving technologies. Patrick Smith reports.

Sandvik Construction has given the global launch to its track-mounted UH450E crushing and screening unit at the recent Steinexpo in Germany, while Rockster says it has met the challenge with an entirely new machine, and Austrian

Good housekeeping at a quarry site will greatly reduce the risk of accidents.

Maintaining a tidy working environment is a major step towards reducing or eliminating accidents in the workplace. Incidents such as slips, trips and falls can be eliminated with a good housekeeping procedure. This will include identifying and then tackling the relevant issues to prevent such incidents, says Blackwood Quarry Engineering, which offers companies support to do this as a matter of course, drawing up a housekeeping