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Furloughing staff is one thing – but exiting lockdown and managing cash flow will be the real test, says one UK quarry chief

A Finnish construction engineering company is said to have achieved the impressive feat of crushing 200 tonnes of asphalt in just one hour.

Off-highway truck customisation company Philippi-Hagenbuch has started using new SSAB Hardox HiTemp steel in its Hot Slag truck bodies. The new steel is purposely designed to withstand extreme temperature environments, and Philippi-Hagenbuch says that it reduces necessary plate thickness while maintaining the product's service life for increased productivity in processing applications.

Doosan Portable Power (DPP) has appointed General Engineering Services (Genserv) as the authorised dealer for the Doosan generator and lighting tower ranges in the Sultanate of Oman.

South African surface mining and quarrying association ASPASA says that borrow pits in the country must be carefully controlled to avoid unfair competition with existing quarries and to meet environmental and safety requirements.

JCB has started to sell machines online for the first time in its history - and a Dorset, south-west England-based landscaping and groundworks contractor has become the first customer to place an order.

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) has appointed a new dealer for customers in Greece.

There have been some major new water processing and management plant launches in the first quarter of 2020.

Terex has unveiled a new ProStack range of mobile conveyors for the bulk materials handling and product stockpiling sectors.

According to Steven Aiken, ProStack global product line director: "ProStack is a tailored range of mobile bulk handling solutions, which includes feeders, telescopic conveyors and truck unloaders.

"These products have been specifically developed  for larger-scale bulk handling environments."

Terex says ProStack provides high-performance equipment that is simple to operate and maintain, requiring minimal setup time.

Off-highway equipment auctioneer Ritchie Bros is supporting its clients through the COVID-19 crisis with flexible disposition options to improve their cash flow, including advance payment options and purchasing seller assets outright.

The Canada-headquartered company has taken all its auctions online in recent months and says that, so far, it has seen very little change in anticipated demand, or selling price levels, for secondhand construction and agricultural machines.

The newly-formed Metso Outotec board of directors has decided on the planned structure of the new company and has announced related executive team appointments as the merger goes ahead.

Metso's Minerals business will be combined with Outotec to create Metso Outotec, operating in the minerals, metals and aggregates industries.

At the same time, the valves business will continue as an independent listed company called Neles.

The new Metso Outotec operation will consist of six business areas:

Mexican building materials giant CEMEX has made some senior-level company changes.

Sandvik says it has invested over the last 18 months to recruit specialists who will provide increased levels of sales and aftermarket support in the UK and Ireland.

CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX's Corporate Venture Capital Unit, has launched the 2020 Construction Startup Competition. After the tremendous growth of its previous editions, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group's Leonard, and NOVA by Saint-Gobain have joined the competition aimed at identifying and fostering startups to lead the transformation of the construction industry.

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, which develops low-carbon cement technologies, has appointed François de Gliniasty as technical and commercial promoter for the Ile-de-France region.

The new Abay Cement Factory in Ethiopia is nearly 60% completed and is set to boost the east African nation's annual cement production capacity by 2.5 million tonnes.

Quarry waste or “tailings” often represent only a liability item in the balance sheet of companies. Liam McLoughlin reports on how screening buckets are being used to turn such waste into a marketable asset.

Construction equipment giant JCB has reached agreement with the GMB union on a new working pattern that is designed to safeguard shop floor positions across its UK operations.