News

The AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) Hall of Fame is seeking off-road equipment industry frontrunners whose innovations, ideas and leadership have contributed significantly to the growth and strength of the industry. Nominations can be made until 5 June, 2015 and are evaluated by an independent panel of industry experts from the American construction and agriculture sectors. Nominators can submit completed nomination forms and supporting materials to [email protected] Anyone, living or deceased

CRH, the Irish construction materials giant, has announced the co-option to its board of Lucinda Riches as a non-executive director. Ms Riches, 53, a British citizen, is a non-executive director of UK Financial Investments Limited, which manages the UK Government’s investments in financial institutions. She is a non-executive director of Diverse Income Trust, Graphite Enterprise Trust, the British Standards Institution and a non-executive member of the partnership board of King & Wood Mallesons. She is a

Martin Engineering has formed a new business unit in Russia, created with an initial focus on applications for conveyor technologies, flow aids and engineered vibration.
The new business unit will be based in Moscow.
The company says it continues to expand its presence in the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, initially targeting industries that include coal and mining, cement, gas and oil.
Staffed by native Russian speakers to facilitate communication with customers, the new group is alre

Reporting a fourth-quarter loss, compared to profit last year, Lafarge has said its merger with Holcim is on track for completion in the first half of 2015. The company says the net result group share at €145million was impacted by €385 million non-cash impairment of assets related to Syria and Iraq. The Q4 figures release by Lafarge show sales up 2% to €3,207 million ((up 1% like-for-like); EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), down 4% to €679 million (1% like-for-like) and

IronPlanet is looking for 2015 to be another big year in its history, according to the international online auction firm for used machinery’s vice president of European sales, Felipe Fernández-Urrutia Massó. The senior IronPlanet figure’s positive outlook comes after the firm’s recent launch of a new website offering customers a host of new features and significantly enhanced functionality. “With so much going on, and very thorough preparation for any changes in the markets, I really see this year as a stro

Caterpillar chief executive Doug Oberhelman says that a continuation of the current single-digit growth in China will make it a more sustainable and “fantastic” market for the world’s biggest selling construction equipment manufacturer.

Growth in the world's second-largest economy decelerated to 7.4% in 2014, its slowest pace in 24 years. That slowdown has caused ripple effects around the globe, hurting commodities, imports and US firms such as Caterpillar, that generate sales in China.

Speaking on CN

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) president Martin Weissburg says the Swedish firm is keen to play a major part in the Volvo Group’s commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 40 million tonnes by 2020. On the 7 February 2015 in Sanya, China, Volvo CE attended the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) 2015 Climate Savers China Annual Conference, where Weissburg spoke about the company’s series of innovative measures to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions by 2020. Based on an agreement between the Volvo

The telescoping EZExtenz Concrete Chute has made its North American debut at World of Concrete in Las Vegas, USA.

The hydraulic 9.14m chute swings 180° and suits standard rear discharge models. At the show it was mounted on a Mack Granite-bearing McNeilus 9.6m mixer.

Developed in Sweden by equipment manufacturer Månsarp Svets & Maskin, the telescoping EZExtenz Concrete Chute can move vertically and horizontally at the same time via RF remote control that operators also use to set or vary flow of concr

Hope Construction Materials, the UK’s leading independent supplier of cement and concrete, is supplying 18,000tonnes of limestone to boost the coastal defences in county Lancashire, Northwest England.

The two-year project, which started at the end of 2014, will see Hope supply thousands of limestone rocks - known as armour stone - each weighing between three and nine tonnes, to construct the giant 1,850m long sea wall near Fylde.

The wall, which is 18m wide consisting of 20, 40m-long groins, will br

Mexican construction materials giant Cemex could sell part of its business in northern Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia as part of a debt repayment plan, the company’s CEO told Reuters news agency.

Fernando Gonzalez said the firm could also sell 5 to 10% of its subsidiary Cemex Latam Holdings, and set aside 50% of its earnings from asset sales to lower its debt burden.

Cemex recently revealed a plan to cut costs and sell assets to boost its finances and cut liabilities, in a bid to regain its invest

Chicago Pneumatic has expanded its product portfolio with a number of recent new launches in southern Africa. With various new product launches, ranging from compressors, light towers, hydraulic breakers to generators, Jacques van der Westhuizen, Chicago Pneumatic’s business development manager for southern Africa, says the company’s main focus is regional growth. While more growth is coming out of the region than the traditional main market of South Africa, he, however, reports a soaring generator market p

UK Caterpillar dealer Finning welcomed a host of young adults to its Cannock headquarters for interactive apprentice open day sessions. Held on the 9th and 10th of February 2015, the business showcased the Finning Training Academy facilities, coupled with its commitment to investing in talent from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The academy had 240 registered applicants for the two days.

Four two hour sessions gave apprentice hopefuls the opportunity to gain valuable insight into their potential

Zoomlion is celebrating its first ever concrete pump export to Saudi Arabia.

Zoomlion Concrete Machinery Branch Company’s (ZCMBC) The marketing firm in Saudi Arabia for ZCMBC has signed an order with a Saudi Arabian dealer for an 174RSU concrete pump.

Historically there has been little demand for concrete pumps in the Saudi Arabian concrete machinery market, with sales of most concrete machinery companies concentrated in the areas of concrete pump trucks, truck-mounted mixers, and concrete batching pl

HeidelbergCement, the construction materials group, reported a 13% rise in operating profit to €1.6 billion for 2014. Adjusted sales revenues amounted to €12.6 billion in 2014. The German sector giant is said to be benefiting from the declining oil price, which lowers cement production costs. In addition, CEO Bernd Scheifele is expecting HeidelbergCement to benefit from the weak euro and the development in industrialised countries in particular in North America and the UK.

Meanwhile the company’s supervi