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Austrian construction company Strabag’s “more than ambitious” €300million earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) target cannot be achieved, according to the firm’s management board.
The board say the projected EBIT can now only be reached by “about two thirds”. This is said to be partly due to the delays of public authorities in Central and Eastern Europe in dealing with claims, especially in Poland; the cautious valuation of some construction projects; and the “ruinous price war” in the raw materials b

Producing carbon dioxide for a local sugar factory 100 years ago led Italy-based Edilcalce into the quarrying sector. Claire Symes visited the Perugia quarry to find out more The olive trees that surround the approach to Edilcalce Viola Olinda & Figli's limestone quarry in hills above Eraclio near Perugia in Italy give a hint to the company's origins. But it is only by delving into local history that gives the vital clues about how the business went from producing olive oil and into the building products ma

Producing carbon dioxide for a local sugar factory 100 years ago led Italy-based Edilcalce into the quarrying sector. Claire Symes visited the Perugia quarry to find out more The olive trees that surround the approach to Edilcalce Viola Olinda & Figli's limestone quarry in hills above Eraclio near Perugia in Italy give a hint to the company's origins. But it is only by delving into local history that gives the vital clues about how the business went from producing olive oil and into the building products ma

Installation of a new washing plant in Paekivitoodete Tehase's quarry in Estonia is helping to turn 50 years of waste into saleable aggregates Paekivitoodete Tehase - which translates as Limestone Products - first opened its Vao quarry near Talin in Estonia in the 1950s to supply the local construction market with limestone aggregates. But until now equipment at the site was unable to process material with a high clay content and this 'waste' from 50 years of operation had been stockpiled on site. Today thi

respassers that are killed or injured are a constant worry for quarry operators. Alan Peterson reports While European quarry operators have worked hard to improve the safety of their employees, there is one group of site visitors that many still struggle with - trespassers. Trespass is a problem for many quarries and related operations across Europe and disused quarries pose a particular problem, primarily because they are generally not manned. A catalogue of injuries and deaths across the region serve as a

Komatsu has announced that it has added a hybrid powered excavator to its product line-up, which the company claims offers significant reductions in fuel consumption compared to conventional diesel powered machines. The PC200-8 machine was formerly launched in June for the Japanese market and a spokesman for the company said that it is planned to be launched in other markets later but no date has yet been set. The machine is powered by the Komatsu Hybrid System which uses a newly developed electric motor to

Italian company Baioni is looking to export more of its Unicompact crushing and screening plants, particularly in Russia, where a number are already working. The Unicompact is a complete mobile unit and has just one supporting frame, said Dr Angelo Reina, general manager Far East. The unit's hopper discharges the material to a carriage feeder which feeds material to the primary jaw crusher (a BP 600-BP 700/500). Crushed material is then sent to a vibrating screen to be sorted into various sizes, and any ove

Ireland-based crushing and screening manufacturer Fintec has celebrated its success in gaining a second Queen's Award for Enterprise with its 300-strong workforce and their families. The company closed the Dungannon factory for the day to gather workers together for formal presentation of the award and give their families a tour of the production facilities. Fintec won its first Queen's Award in 2006 and has gained its second accolade for achieving sales growth of around 300% over the last three years. Econ

Doosan Infracore's European subsidiary, DIEU, has acquired Norwegian ADT builder Moxy. The deal is worth €55 million and forms part of Doosan's plan to become a world leader in the construction equipment market. Moxy is located in Molde along Norway's west coast and builds a line of ADTs with payloads in the 23-46tonne range. Moxy has some 61 dealers in Europe and North America, in addition to local sales corporations and R&D centres in the US and the UK. This deal is significant as the world ADT market has

SBM Mineral Processing's "new engineering concept for tracked crushing and screening equipment" is proving itself with many customers, according to the company. During development of the remax MAXI 12 great importance was attached to minimising the non-productive activities, for example set-up times, and optimising components. The dimensions of the equipment have been designed for ease of transport, and the remax ECO (plant without a screening unit) can be retrofitted onto a remax MAXI which can be operated

The APOLLO Plus crusher from award-winning Italian crusher company OM (Officine Meccaniche) is said to be the only mobile jaw crusher managed by hydraulic pressure through a PLC, and it incorporates OM's Non-Stop System (NSS) which won the Samoter show's Technical Innovation Award for 2008. The NSS is an innovative machine management system capable of ensuring high productivity. A series of sensors on the machine are used for hydraulic drive monitoring, hydraulic pressure monitoring, ultrasonic level contro

Simex, which produces attachments for the earthmoving machines market, has increased its product range with the launch of a new bucket crusher model. Federico Tamburri, Simex's general manager assistant, said the company had now completed its CB bucket crusher range, launched in 2007, with the introduction of the CB3500, the ninth in the range with standard bucket weights (at full load) ranging from 800kg up to 3,500kg on the new model. "With the CB3500 and the CB2500 (launched at the end of 2007) we are lo

Volvo has released upgraded C-series versions of its EC460 and EC700 excavators, which the company claims offer improved fuel efficiency and reliability. The EC460CL weighs in at between 45.6 and 48.3tonnes depending on the specification and is aimed at the in general contracting, quarrying, large scale bulk earthmoving and pipe laying markets. The machine can also be specified with various undercarriage options, the largest of which places the machine in the 51tonne weight class. According to Volvo, simila

Komatsu has extended its articulated dump truck range for the European market downwards with the addition of the 25tonne HM250-2. According to a statement from the company, the new model has been launched to meet the demand from the market for 25tonne ADTs. The design of the HM250-2 is based on the concept of Komatsu's HM300-2 which the company claims offers a good top speed and manoeuvrability, as well as a shorter front clearance. The machine also features forced oil cooled multiple disc brakes. The new A

Increasing global demand for articulated dump trucks has led to Bell Equipment announcing that it is expanding its South African facilities. The company plans to build a new production line at its Richards Bay site in KawZulu-Natal and a distribution centre in Gauteng near Jahannesburg. According to Bell CEO Gary Bell, the new production facilities will increase production capacity by 60% taking the site from its current 2500 unit per year limit to 4000 units. The development is expected to cost ZAR120milli

Italian crushing equipment specialist OM is experiencing continued growth in demand for its product range, aided by a need for machines that can cope with tough recycling applications. According to the firm's Gerardo Piccolo, "For us this year is fantastic. For the first time the German market has been bigger for us than the Italian market." The firm's 30tonne Argo model is a particularly strong seller in Germany although Piccolo has high hopes for the 35tonne Ulysses model launched recently. OM's growing p

HRH The Duke of Gloucester has presented JCB with its 23rd Queen's Award at a special ceremony on 25th September. The award was presented to JCB CEO Matthew Taylor on behalf of JCB Service during the event at the JCB World Parts Centre at Uttoxeter. The company's division won the accolade for achieving a 36% growth in exports between 2004 and 2006. The company's backhoe loader business also won a Queen's Awards this year which was presented in June.

Israel Celli has been appointed as Case Construction Equipment's new vice president of sales and marketing for the European region and will report directly to CEO Jim McCullough. Celli has previously worked for Case for five years earlier in his career when he was responsible for the Latin American and Caribbean division. He started his career with IBM Corporation then joined Clark Equipment's sales and distribution team before taking on his previous role with Case. Most recently Celli has worked for JLG as

Komatsu has taken a stand against counterfeit parts and has launched a hologram hallmarking system for its genuine parts. According to the company, the system will help protect customers against fake parts that may be of inferior quality that could lead to premature wear and tear. The company has said that worldwide sales of counterfeit parts are rising and China is a major production base but such parts are shipped worldwide.

Olof Persson has been announced as successor to Tony Helsham as president at Volvo Construction Equipment. Persson will take over the role on 1 November 2008 when Helsham steps down although he will remain part of the executive committee and take on responsibility for the group's 'soft' products. Persson is currently president of Volvo Aero and joined the company in 2006 after holding senior positions in Bombardier and Daimler-Chrysler.