Construction Equipment articles from January 2007

Construction Equipment archives from January 2007

Onward Optimistically.
January 1, 2007... By Rod Sutton, Editor in Chief This past year has been a solid one for nearly everyone who uses construction equipment, whether highway contractor, mining company, or one of the various other vocations we include in Construction...

Lodging, Hospitals Fuel Nonres Growth.
January 1, 2007... By Jim Haughey, Director of Economics, Reed Business Information Nonresidential construction's expansion will offset the gradual downturn on the residential side, allowing overall spending in 2007 to match the growth registered in 2006....

Bandwagon's Filling Up.
January 1, 2007... By Rod Sutton, Editor in Chief More contractors jumped aboard last year. Although conservative, cautious and patient, contractors seem to believe that business will continue to build through 2007. That's in spite of the fact that 2006 fell...

Vocationally Diverse.
January 1, 2007... Staff For nonconstruction fleets, 2006 was mixed. Strong performance by utility and mining fleets overshadowed the materials producers' slowdown. Even so, all three vocations tracked by Construction Equipment were within range of...

Budget Growth Remains Flat.
January 1, 2007... Staff Government fleet funding leveled off overall in 2006, but it's too soon to say whether or not the slide has been stopped altogether. About 29 percent of fleets reported increases in funding for their fleet operations, but 20 percent...

Rental Rolls.
January 1, 2007... Staff Rental is on a roll. Although falling a bit short of expectations, rental dealers scored a "very good" 2006. This year, another "very good" prediction. In our survey of members of the American Rental Association, rental dealers...

Three Great Years.
January 1, 2007... Staff Equipment distributors have enjoyed three solid years, one of which was recorded as "excellent," and met their expectations in 2006. For next year, a slight weakening is forecast, dropping from "very good" to "good." The...

Paver Makers Refine Controls, Width Changes and Reliability.
January 1, 2007... By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor Each concrete-paver model addresses these three keys to success, but different manufacturers emphasize different keys The confines of the concrete-paver market -- where only seven manufacturers...

Buying File Gallery.
January 1, 2007... By Staff GOMACO Larry Stewart Tapers Slab Width Automatically GOMACO's new auto-width-adjustment option provides sensor control of paving-width changes on the go. String line is set to follow the desired taper of the...

Single-Engine Komatsu PC2000 Packs More Power.
January 1, 2007... By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor Single-Engine Komatsu PC2000 Packs More PowerKomatsu replaced a twin-engine excavator/shovel with 50 more horsepower; simpler systems; and smarter, quieter operation At the opening ceremonies of its...

What? Can't Hear You!
January 1, 2007... Rod Sutton, Editor in Chief As we drive to and from work these days, we're often caught gawking at the equipment used to widen and reconfigure the tollway around our offices. Even though the phrase "gaper's block" enters the mind, it's...

The Elusive Benchmark.
January 1, 2007... By Mike Vorster, Contributing Editor Understand then meet the challenges behind setting benchmarks and performing against them We all seek the elusive benchmark that we can compare with others and improve our performance. Benchmarks...

How to Choose Asset-Tracking Systems.
January 1, 2007... By G.C. Skipper, Contributing Editor It's all about knowing where the machines are and what they're doing One of the most challenging facets of managing a fleet is keeping up with the machines and knowing what they are doing -- or not...

Barriere Battles Back.
January 1, 2007... By Preston Ingalls, Contributing Editor Rapid growth, Katrina cause maintenance efficiencies to slide, but Fleet Master returns to excellence Barriere Construction won the 2004 Fleet Masters Award for its remarkable improvement in...

Spicer Deflation Device Gives Trucks Go-Ability.
January 1, 2007... By Tom Berg, Truck Editor Bleeding air from tires eases travel over deep sand, and some customers now ask for delivery by "tire truck" Got sand? They do in east-central Minnesota, where glacial lakes and rivers many thousands of years...

Cleveland Trencher.
January 1, 2007... By Keith Haddock, Contributing Editor "Baby Digger" helped change ditch digging from back-breaking labor to high-speed operation During the 1920s, trench digging was transformed from back-aching hand labor to mechanized continuous...

Link-Belt TCC-450 Telescopic Crawler Crane Rated at 45 Tons.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor This new model merges the capabilities of rough-terrain and crawler cranes The new Link-Belt TCC-450 telescopic crane, with a rated lift capacity of 45 tons, is designed to combine the lifting flexibility...

Secure Booms Without Damage.
January 1, 2007... Staff With all of the weight that's in the base of telescopic- and articulating-boom aerial-work platforms, the only safe point to secure them is at the tie-down lugs. Make sure the boom's turntable is locked before transporting (and...

GM Extends Car and Light-Truck Warranty to 100,000 Miles.
January 1, 2007... Staff To bolster its reliability image, General Motors stretched the standard warranty to cover its entire 2007 car and light-duty truck lineup in the United States and Canada up to 100,000 miles or five years. The new warranty is a fully...

UpRight to Give Away A Shelby Cobra.
January 1, 2007... Staff To celebrate its revival in the United States, UpRight is throwing a VIP bash at the ARA Show in Atlanta next month, and all invited guests will have the opportunity to win a brand new Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 Mustang. The...

TMT and Qualcomm Integrate.
January 1, 2007... Staff Qualcomm and TMTsoft-ware created an automatic solution for managing the entire fleet-maintenance process when they integrated TMT's TRANSMAN program with Qualcomm's Global-TRACS and OmniTRACS mobile systems. With the integration,...

International to Use More 'Star' Names, MaxxForce Diesels for New Trucks.
January 1, 2007... Tom Berg International Truck and Engine has prepared a series of cleaner-burning MaxxForce diesels to power its vehicles starting in January, and will give most trucks and tractors "Star"-suffixed names like the PayStar label now being...

Rental-Fleet Spending Growth Slows.
January 1, 2007... Staff The drop in percentage of rental Giants who increase fleet spending is not likely to be quite as precipitous as this graph suggests. Seventy-five percent and 88 percent forecast increased spending in 2004 and 2005, respectively, so...

Status and Forecast.
January 1, 2007... By Jim Haughey, Director of Economics Total Construction Spending Jim Haughey Total spending declined 3 percent in the six months ending in October as declines in single-family construction more than offset rising spending in all...

Exclusive: GOMACO Paves Curb and Gutter Via Remote.
January 1, 2007... By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor Wireless handset puts the operator in the best, safest place to pour quality curb and gutter GOMACO is introducing a curb-and-gutter paver without a mounted control console. The three-tracked GT-3400...

Two Milling Machines Make Their Debut.
January 1, 2007... By Katie Weiler, Managing Editor Ingersoll Rand reenters the milling-machine market with two new models and four more planned down the road Construction editors were recently given the "red-carpet" treatment in Shippensburg, Pa., as...

One on One with Phil Christman.
January 1, 2007... By Rod Sutton, Editor in Chief International Truck exec discusses truck engineering and design, and the 2010 round of engine changes Over-the-road truck manufacturers have had to deal with substantial changes with the new engine...

Smarter Grip, Less Slip.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor Volvo says Automatic Traction Control for its articulated haulers simplifies driving chores and saves on operating costs In an effort to reduce operating costs for its articulated haulers, Volvo...

Hobart.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The Handler 187 MIG welder from Hobart uses a "seven-tap" voltage-selection control designed to assist the operator in making arc adjustments in finer increments. It also features "enhanced magnetics with...

Lincoln Electric.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor Vantage 400 from Lincoln Electric is a compact, 400-amp welder/generator using Lincoln's Chopper Technology, which is designed to deliver easy starts and a smooth arc for stick, downhill-pipe, TIG or wire...

Miller Electric.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor Miller Electric's new Spectrum 375 X-TREME plasma cutter weighs just 18 pounds and can connect to any single-phase 115V-230V power source. The user need only select the correct (115V, 15A or 230V, 50A)...

Multiquip.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The DLW-300ES welder/generator from Multiquip is a 300-amp welder and a 10-kilowatt generator with a 100-percent duty cycle at 280 amps. Designed for fuel efficiency, the machine's Kubota diesel engine uses...

Thermadyne.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The TurboTorch TTV-100-cpt is a portable medium-duty oxy-fuel cutting and brazing package that includes a medium-duty handle, cutting attachment, Rosebud heating tip, cutting tip, two nozzles, tank key,...

Broco.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The Goweld portable welder is a portable machine (using two or three 12-volt batteries) that features an on-board computer and proprietary software aimed at simplifying the welding process. The unit features...

Goss.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The WeldPro cutting and welding torch kit from Goss uses forged regulator bodies with stainless-steel needle valves and contains an EO-50 Oxy regulator and an EA-50-P (or EA-50-C) fuel regulator. The package...

Burco.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor The 72-pound Burco MPM 165 welder/generator uses a 7.2-hp Honda engine and features a 60-percent duty cycle at 150 amps. The unit's DC/CC welding range is from 40 to 150 amps. The MPM 165's digital signal...

Welding Equipment.
January 1, 2007... By Walt Moore, Senior Editor Hobart Walt Moore The Handler 187 MIG welder from Hobart uses a "seven-tap" voltage-selection control designed to assist the operator in making arc adjustments in finer increments. It also features...

Sneak Peek.
January 1, 2007... Staff World of Concrete will be held Jan. 23 to 26, 2007. The following pages feature a sampling of what you'll find exhibited at the Las Vegas Convention Center Case Staff To mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of...