Stars of Asia and Africa light up INTERMAT 2015

The stars of Asian and African construction equipment manufacturing were out in force at the recent 432 INTERMAT 2015 exhibition on in Paris, France.

The world’s biggest construction equipment industry show in 2015 held 20-25 April included several eye-catching new model launches and announcements. From a quarrying perspective, South African firm 2983 Bell Equipment’s unveiling of its new 50tonne class B50E prototype articulated dump truck was a high point. South Korean OEM 429 Hyundai launched an abundance of new excavator and wheeled loader models, while 436 Komatsu, the world’s second biggest selling construction equipment manufacturer, revealed plans to expand its hybrid excavator line-up in “one or two years”, following last year’s successful launch of the third-generation HB215LC-2. The model was among those displayed by the Japanese company at the exhibition.

Also of interest during INTERMAT 2015 was the emphasis placed on the European market by Tokyo, Japan-headquartered 6512 Hitachi and Liuzhou, China-based 441 LiuGong. Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) (HCME) president and CEO Moriaki Kadoya spoke of HCME’s ambitious aim of becoming Europe’s number one construction equipment supplier, a goal visually reinforced by a number of new product launches at the exhibition. LiuGong chairman Zeng Guang’an stressed the importance of the European market to the long-term health of the global construction equipment industry. “Europe is both an opportunity and challenge to LiuGong,” said Guang’an. “LiuGong has changed quickly in Europe due to meet technology needs. To a certain extent, this market indicates the future of the entire industry.”

Meanwhile on a quarrying telematics front, 3599 Trimble Loadrite’s new InsightHQ solution for connected quarries caught the attention in Paris. Tracking the three core business areas of extraction, processing and load out is said by the company to provide information crucial to a quarry boss or contractor’s decision-making process. This can apply to short-term challenges, such as prioritising trucking, and long-term decisions including equipment purchases.

Away from INTERMAT 2015, your latest edition of Aggregates Business International includes an interview with LiuGong’s vice president of R&D, David Beatenbough, who discusses how the company’s multi-million dollar R&D centre will significantly enhance LiuGong’s product development, as well as its export and domestic sales’ ambitions.

Remaining in Asia, South Korea is the focus of this issue’s Market Report, with big infrastructure projects and a rise in commercial and residential construction leaving many leading OEMs feeling optimistic about short to mid-term sales growth.

Australia is the location of this issue’s Quarry Profile. Despite a reduction in infrastructure construction fuelled by the mining boom, and aggregate demand being depressed by a lack of growth in residential construction, one crushing contractor believes he’s found an efficient plant solution to ensure the long-term survival of his business.

Turning to Africa, we have a special feature looking at how investment in East African infrastructure is creating exciting opportunities for the region’s aggregates suppliers. Among countries offering big sales potential are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia. However, as Aggregates Business International correspondent Shem Oirere notes, these nations face some key challenges in order to meet demand for construction materials, not least their underdeveloped aggregate mining industries.