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Dig A Crusher Broadens Attachment Range

Dig A Crusher, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of specialist attachments for the construction, demolition, waste and recycling industries, has been awarded the UK distributorship for the entire Rotar range that includes shears, grabs and pulverisers.

Dig A Crusher, the Cheshire-based company that pioneered the use of excavator-mounted crushing and screening buckets in the UK, has significantly extended its product offering by becoming the exclusive UK distributor for the Dutch-built Rotar range of attachments.

With immediate effect, Dig A Crusher will become the UK’s only source for the Rotar range of grabs, pulverisers and shears. The Rotar attachments range has an excellent reputation for power, durability and reliability across Europe and Dig A Crusher managing director Sean Heron believes they will complement his company’s existing product line-up superbly.

“Since we started Dig A Crusher, we have prided ourselves on offering only the very best attachments in a specific product category,” Heron says.

“That is the way we established the reputation with the Dig A Crusher and Dig A Crusher brands, how we extended the range with the REMU products, and why we have now chosen to work with Rotar.”

Extensive Range With its striking red livery, the Rotar range comprises several key product families including:

RDC Series – Four model range of combi shears with operating weights from 1,800 to 4,100 kg. RDP Series – Four model range of pulverisers suitable for excavators in the 15 to 65 tonne operating weight range. RPG Series – Six model range of five-tine grabs with capacities from 600 to 1,000 litres. RSG Series – Full range of grabs for a variety of handling and rehandling duties; suitable for carriers in the 2.0 to 45 tonne operating weight range. RSS Series – Scrap shears suitable for excavators in the 25 to 30 tonne operating weight class.

Having spent several years seeking a suitable supplier of complimentary attachments to supplement his company’s product offering, Sean Heron says that Rotar is the perfect solution.

“We have worked hard to establish a reputation for top quality specialist products for applications across the construction, demolition, waste and recycling sectors. The addition of the Rotar products to our range cements that reputation,” Sean Heron concludes.

“Our customers can now satisfy all their attachment needs from a single, reliable and highly experienced source that understands their business and its specific demands.”

This article has been taken from the Hub-4.com website

Balfour Beatty acquires HSW

UK-based Balfour Beatty has bought US contractor Howard S Wright (HSW) for US$ 93 million - the company's second acquisition of a US-based contractor in a month. The all-cash deal was sealed by Balfour Beatty Construction US, which is expanding its footprint in North America. HSW provides pre-construction, general contracting and construction management services and has offices in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, California and Phoenix, Arizona. HSW generated revenues of US$ 401 million and gross profits of US$ 22.7 million in the year ended 30 September 2010, while its order book at 31 May 2011 was US$ 675 million. The company will retain its senior management team and trade under the name "Howard S Wright - a Balfour Beatty Company". Balfour Beatty chief executive Ian Tyler said, "HSW is an excellent geographic and strategic fit with our existing US capabilities, and the acquisition extends Balfour Beatty's skill base and reach in Northern California and the US Pacific Northwest, a significant growth market that is emerging from the downturn." Beatty Construction US said that the combination of the two companies would create the third largest construction services provider in the US general building market, based on 2010 figures. The news came after Balfour Beatty's acquisition of US water and wastewater infrastructure subsidiary Fru Con earlier this month from Bilfinger Berger for US$ 20 million. This article was taken from the KHL Website

Asia remains in sharp focus, commits new president

Volvo Construction Equipment’s new CEO Pat Olney has used his first major press conference to underscore the company’s continued commitment to developing its Asia activities and customer base.

Speaking at his inaugural press conference as Volvo Construction Equipment’s president and CEO, Pat Olney has outlined the company’s ambitious growth strategy for China and the wider Asian region. He also used the occasion to reassure the market that there will be no radical departure from the existing and highly successful Asian strategy promoted under his predecessor’s leadership team, of which he was a senior figure.

Mr. Olney was speaking in Shanghai on May 17th to Chinese journalists from leading trade and business titles, where he highlighted a package of initiatives destined to expand the company’s operations and increase its customer base in Asia. It was no coincidence that China was chosen as Mr. Olney’s first major speech as president, given the importance of the country and the wider region. The company saw revenues in the region double during 2010, making Asia its largest sales area.

“Volvo is well positioned, both in China and the rest of Asia, to capitalize on the huge market opportunity and growth potential,” commented Mr. Olney. “Our dual brand approach (Volvo and SDLG) offers a unique advantage to meet the needs of a much wider customer base. We will support this approach with products dedicated to this market, using local Chinese knowledge and leveraging an expanded Asian manufacturing and distribution footprint. These products will offer superior safety, quality and environmental care, as well as offering best-in-class fuel efficiency.”

Manufacturing, distribution & product expansion in Asia
Volvo Construction Equipment has maintained a heavy investment commitment in recent years. The company recently announced the introduction of its new Volvo F-Series articulated haulers, G-Series wheel loaders and a China localized EC200B crawler excavator. These come on top of a four model range of China-specific excavators – made and marketed by Volvo’s joint venture partner in China, Lingong, under the SDLG brand.

Soft product and service offerings have also constantly evolved to better meet customer needs. The "Volvo Hose Service" is yet another initiative from Volvo aimed at improving machine availability for customers by allowing faster hose replacements on the machines thereby reducing the machine downtime and cut hose cost by up to 30% of the current level. As part of the Volvo Hose Service initiative all Volvo dealers in China would be equipped by state of the art Volvo approved hose making equipment.

In terms of design and manufacturing, investments in China include the creation of a $30 million Volvo Technology Center in Jinan and an $88 million expansion and investment of the company’s Linyi facilities. This comes on top of the $30 million investments made in the Volvo excavator facility in Shanghai since 2003. These initiatives are joined by an ambitious programme to expand the company’s distribution network in China.

“Volvo is committed to supporting the capacity, distribution and product offering in China and throughout Asia,” concluded Mr. Olney. “We will achieve this by a comprehensive programme of investments in our Asian industrial operations, a strengthening of our dealer network and an expansion of Volvo and SDLG branded products that are more closely tailored to the specific needs of customers in this region.”

This article was taken from the Volvo website

AppleRed Plant gets the Twitter bug

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CAT cleared to buy Bucyrus

The United States Department of Justice has given the go-ahead for Caterpillar to acquire mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International, concluding the antitrust review process in the US.

The clearance by the DOJ will allow the acquisition, valued at approximately $8.6 billion (including net debt), to proceed as soon as all other conditions to closing have been satisfied. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2011.

The acquisition is based on Caterpillar's key strategic imperative to expand its leadership in the mining equipment industry.

"We were very pleased to hear this positive news from the Department of Justice about this strategic acquisition," said Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman. “Since we announced our plan to acquire Bucyrus last November, we have continued to hear from our customers that this complementary expansion of our mining product range is what they have been looking for from Caterpillar. This will position us to better serve the increasingly complex requirements of those customers."

"This is a critical and important step as we move toward closing this historic transaction that will deliver tremendous value to all the Bucyrus stakeholders,” said Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of Oak Creek, Wisconsin-based Bucyrus.

Caterpillar will fund the acquisition through a combination of cash from its balance sheet and debt. It does not plan to issue equity to help pay for the acquisition.

This article was taken from the Acheiving Business Excellence website