Construction Machinery ME

ISSUE 17 3 MARCH 201

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

goINg rENtAl

Al-Bahar and Cat to pounce

HEAvy rollErs

AlE lifting expectations

AuCtIoN CoMplIANt

sharia’a auctions coming to the region

lAHOuD ON ExPANsION

MACHINE MINDED CMC gears up for MENA Plus: ACROss THE INDusTRY

* NEWs & VIEWs * ACCEss PlATFORMs * TRENDs FOR 2013 * AND MORE

Contents

48 IS S U E 1 7 13 MARCH 20

04

Editorial Operators are brand-conscious too.

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NEws What’s happening across the region in construction machinery?

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Time to be positive about the machinery market in 2013, according to Zacks’ latest report.

page 48 HEAVY ROLLERS

Jonathon Savill meets ALE in Abu Dhabi, a heavy lift specialist: “A normal driver would get into those trucks and rip the diff right out.”

NEws aNalysis

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wHEN CMME MEt CMC Joe Lahoud explains how the trader at the bottom of the runway is about to take off.

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tiME to pay tHE rENt Al-Bahar and Caterpillar on the switch to rental in the Middle East region.

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19

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BEaCHCoMBEr iNCoMiNG CMME magazine talks to the contractor building Dubai’s first ever tramway.

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islaMiC auCtioNEEriNG CMME looks at a way to stay Sharia’a compliant in the world of auctioneering.

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30

Raw power

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39 NEW RELEASE ROUND UP What’s hot in new machinery this month? Page 41 TOP TEN TRENDS FOR 2013 What’s in store for the equipment industry this year? Page 44 SECTOR ANALYSIS: ACCESSS PLATFORMS Your guide to latest tech hitting the Middle East market. Page 48 ABU DHABI AWESOME Jonathon Savill meets ALE, Abu Dhabi’s heavy lift specialists? Page 58 THE Page

LAST WORD Doosan mobilises on a dam project in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley.

Editor’s Letter

PubliSher Dominic De SouSa GrOuP COO naDeem HooD ManaGinG DireCtOr RicHaRD JuDD eDiToRiaL GrOuP eDitOr STepHen wHiTe stephen@cpidubai.com +971 55 795 8740 DePuty eDitOr GaVin DaViDS gavin@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9118 COntributinG eDitOrS Jonathon Savill maRKeTinG & aDVeRTiSinG

Proof the marques work?

I

got the opportunity to see a rare construction machineryrelated social experiment last month at a dealer day I was covering. It may have been definitive proof that badges matter.

Because of sensitivity over branding I will refrain from naming whose machine it happened to. I digress.

Typically at these events if you are invited you dress in a jacket or a suit, if you’re part of the manufacturing team you wear your marketing department’s favourite t-shirt merchandiser’s newest poloneckTM. Replete with corporate machinery logo.

Occasionally operators are invited and they usually stand on the side in coveralls, looking uncomfortable but interested.

During a demonstration of equipment which involved some adhoc benchmarking with Manufacturer-X showing its machine up against an array of kit; including a certain ‘famous’ backhoe, a prowling wheeloader and a compact skidsteer we’ll call Panther (actually don’t they make that in China?), there was a moment pause.

It was like a marketing manager’s dream and an organiser’s nightmare the operators broke out of their side spot and drifted over to their favoured machine...the Panther.

They crowded around it like someone had spotted a hole right through the planet. Next to it, sitting pretty and lonely was the ‘Manufacturer X’ own skid steer. A great machine in its own right with its own set of design features. That’s not me being diplomatic. It’s true. It may just lack a certain... caché. If such a thing exists for our everyday workhorses.

Here in this region people are often disparaging about whether the operator’s are fully trained, knowledgeable and capable, as if they’re never really interested in the kit in the first place. But what I saw at that moment was a set of guys who couldn’t wait to take a look at equipment they had seen but had never had a chance to have a look at.

The scene would not have looked out of place at a Ferrari or Aston Martin launch and it was the sort of thing that would make people who believe in brand capital blush. And it also should stand as a notice to those that are blasé about the aspirations or requirements of operators.

It’s not just plant owners or managers that keep an eye on your equipment. Maybe they should be flying to Bauma too?

PubliShinG DireCtOr RaZ iSLam raz@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9129 COMMerCial DireCtOr micHaeL STanSFieLD michael@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9128 MarKetinG ManaGer caRoLe mccaRTHY carolem@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9157 DeSiGn SeniOr GraPhiC DeSiGner ReBecca Teece rebecca@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9168 JuniOr GraPhiC DeSiGner peRciVaL manaLaYSaY percival@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9121 ciRcuLaTion & pRoDucTion CirCulatiOn anD DiStributiOn ManaGer RocHeLLe aLmeiDa rochelle@cpidubai.com +971 4 368 1670 DatabaSe anD CirCulatiOn ManaGer RaJeeSH m rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 PrODuCtiOn ManaGer JameS p THaRian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 DiGiTaL www.constructionmachineryme.com DiGital ServiCeS ManaGer TRiSTan TRoY maaGma Web DevelOPer JoeL aZcuna online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100 puBLiSHeD BY

Registered at impZ po Box 13700 Dubai, uae Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 pRinTeD BY printwell printing press LLc © copyright 2013 cpi all rights reserved while the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

ISSUE 17 MARCH 2013

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

goINg rENtAl

Al-Bahar and Cat to pounce

HEAvy rollErs

AlE lifting expectations

AuCtIoN CoMplIANt

sharia’a auctions coming to the region

lAHOuD ON ExPANsION

Stephen White, Group Editor, CMME

2

CONSTRUCTION

MIDDLE EAST

March 2013

MACHINE MINDED CMC gears up for MENA Plus: ACROss THE INDusTRY

* NEWs & VIEWs * ACCEss PlATFORMs * TRENDs FOR 2013 * AND MORE

nOW Online You can now catch the online edition every month at: www.constructionmachineryme.com

News Round-Up

NEWS New machines, new offices, new projects, new initiatives – we look around the region at what’s new this month.

OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW A Volvo wheel loader moves towards a mobile crane which is working in tandem with a Potain tower outside CMME HQ this month. Dubai has seen a pick up in activity since the turn of the year.

Gasparri takes control of cnH equipment Fiat-owned CNH has appointed Mario Gasparri as head of its CNH Construction Equipment business in the newly restructured Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region.

Gasparri is already one of the most important executives at the company and was appointed brand president of Case Construction and New Holland Construction last November inside Fiat Industrial’s new organisation.

Gasparri has served as general manager of CNH International since September 2010 with responsibility for CNH’s agricultural and construction brands in Africa, the Middle East, CIS, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, with a special focus on China, Turkey,

India and Japan. He has held a variety of roles in several Fiat companies for the past 24 years, including the positions of managing director of New Holland India and the Asia Pacific markets and vice president of Agricultural Equipment Commercial Operations, CNH International.

Komatsu’s CEO drops into Galadari GTHE only tells its own newspaper about it, reveals why it moved offices

O

ne of the most powerful executives in the construction industry dropped into the Middle East last month. If you didn’t hear about it, that’s probably because you don’t read the Khaleej Times.

A delegation from Komatsu, led by president Kunio Noji, paid a courtesy visit to their partners in the UAE, Galadari Trucks and Heavy Equipment (GTHE) last month. Noji was joined Hidetaka Kita, executive office president of its Aftermarket Business Division, Takehiko Yoshioka, general manager — Overseas Marketing, and Hisataka Takao, managing director — Middle East. The line-up represented a pretty heavyweight selection of Komatsu’s executive and they met with Khaled Soliman, group CEO of the Galadari Bros, and other members of the UAE conglomerate. Unfortunately because they only sent out a press release

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via Galadari Brothers Group’s own Khaleej Times newspaper, CMME missed the opportunity to ask what else was discussed other than it was a celebration of the 30 years of collaboration. Soliman said that GTHE was greatly honored by “this courtesy visit”. He added that it “underscores the key role our partnership with Komatsu has played in the development of the UAE’s construction industry over the past years.

“As the UAE embarks on a new and long-term phase of development, Komatsu’s role continues to grow in importance in making the UAE one of the most attractive countries in the world in terms of investment opportunities.”

According to the Khaleej Times report, GTHE is preparing to modernise its existing facilities in the UAE. GTHE has begun this process by opening new

branches in the Western region and Fujairah. The report/release adds: “With an impressive product portfolio, GTHE is seen as launching itself to meet most of the market needs. So is Komatsu. As a leading construction and earthmoving equipment manufacturer, Komatsu has a round-the-clock support system to keep the operations running smoothly.

Komatsu’s immediate plans are to set up a regional training center for the Middle East and to augment an already extensive product/after sales parts availability throughout the region.”

It goes on to report that: “Beginning this year, GTHE decided to shift its head office to Abu Dhabi to better cope with the market situation.

The market for heavy equipment is considered more promising in the Western region owing to its proximity to the oilfields. Most of the top management of GTHE now sit in the UAE capital, which also helps the company foster a closer relationship with its customers.”

In the absence of a photograph, here’s a picture of two Komatsu machines.

Company intelligenCe Kanoo Machinery has been been given the title of Dp World’s Vendor. general manager the company was presented with the award at a special ceremony held at DP WorlD-Jebel ali in Dubai.the accolade was awarded to Kanoo machinery in recognition of its exemplary performance and contribution towards Dp World Uae’s regional success in the year 2012. a survey revealed that Kanoo machinery was the premier dupplier in terms of total transactions; the second supplier in terms of total value of business done in terms of Dp World’s purchases in 2012; and the fourth highest supplier in terms of overall evaluation.

Dubai-based cMc – construction Machinery centre – has been appointed the authorised distributor for terex Construction equipment in the Uae. CmC, provides equipment sales, applications expertise, and service and parts support for the full range of terex Construction equipment used in construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining and recycling industries. “the United arab emirates have always been a very important market to terex construction,” said nicolas grand, middle east Sales and marketing director for terex Construction. two JCB excavators are helping to complete the final stages of a brand new subway line in milan. civil engineering firM tagliabue sPa is one of the contractors appointed to build the new m5 (or purple line) which will run from Bignami to San Siro. the company has used a Jcb Js220 anD a Js145W for grounDWorKs on the section approaching the new San Siro Stadium subway terminal which serves the iconic aC milan and internazionale football stadium.

tenDer UpDateS

1

the oMani governMent, represented by the Ministry of transport and communications, has floated a tender for a feasibility study for a causeWay bridge linking Masirah islanD anD the city of shanna on the mainland. the study will assess the financial costs associated with the execution of the project, as well as the ‘ramifications for socio-economic development on the island’, the ministry said. interested bidders have till april 1, 2013 to submit their offers for the consultancy services contract.

2

naKheel Will invite contractors to biD for the construction of its $680Mn naKheel Mall before the first half of 2013, the developer’s chairman said last month. scheduled to be completed by 2016, the property company will begin to lease the first zone in the Mall by the end of the month, company officials said. nakheel will begin by leasing the centrepoint zone in the mall, which is divided into four zones of about 270,000 square feet each.

SITECH SETS UP IN SAUDI Trimble Australia has announced that a SITECH Technology Dealer has been established to serve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SITECH KSA is now part of the premier network of SITECH dealerships, a fully dedicated global distribution network offering a comprehensive portfolio of construction technology systems to heavy civil construction contractors.

SITECH Technology Dealers represent Trimble and Caterpillar machine control systems for the contractor’s entire fleet of heavy equipment regardless of machine brand, along with Trimble’s portfolio of Connected Site solutions comprising of site positioning systems, construction asset

management services, software and powerful wireless and Internet-based site communications infrastructure.

Every SITECH Technology Dealership is staffed by experienced construction professionals who can advise contractors on the appropriate construction technology solutions to utilise, and can provide high-quality local customer service, personalised training and technical support.

As authorised dealers for Trimble site-wide solutions and Caterpillar’s machine control systems, the SITECH Technology Dealers understand how to apply innovative construction technology to help solve various construction challenges for contractors.

According to SITECH, contractors can leverage this technology to gain greater insight into their operations, enabling them to lower operating costs, improve accuracy, safety and productivity, and bid more competitively on projects.

Trimble is in the process of establishing a SITECH Technology Dealer network in the Americas, Europe and Asia/ Pacific regions. SITECH KSA will serve heavy civil construction contractors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia involved in a range of earthmoving applications such as the construction of roads, highways, railways and airports as well as site prep for large commercial, industrial and residential projects.

Saraya Bandar JiSSah SignS earthworkS contract with nagarJuna Saraya Bandar Jissah, the company developing an integrated residential and leisure development in Muscat, has signed a contract with Nagarjuna Construction Company International, for advanced earthworks on the project.

The contract marks the next stage of progress for the project, which has residential units, two five-star beach front hotels, diverse community services and recreational facilities. Nagarjuna will provide the foundations for the

site development, including bulk earthworks, the lagoon structure and platforms for roads and transport networks.

Set to take place over the next 18 months, the contract will help prepare the Saraya Bandar Jissah site for the next stage of its development, which would include infrastructure and building works.

“We are pleased to start the first stage of the development of the Saraya Bandar Jissah project. This is an important step which will position the project and see it take its

founding shape in this stunning location,” said Sheikh Hamood bin Sultan al Hosni, CEO of Saraya Bandar Jissah, in a report by Times of Oman.

Halcrow Middle East was appointed to oversee the engineering design for the project.

Bhaskar Reddy, director of operations of Nagarjuna Construction Company said: “This is a significant addition to our portfolio in Oman’s tourism and leisure sector. We are pleased to be able to play a part in this project.”

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55

News Round-Up

CAT PLANS BIG BAUMA LAUNCH

Zahid TracTor Takes on infor Infor has announced that Zahid Tractor & Heavy Machinery, the Saudi Arabian Caterpillar dealer as well as the Volvo and Renault Truck dealer, will be the first Zahid Group company to implement Infor M3 for Equipment in a two year roll out.

The Infor M3 solution, composed of scalable applications critical to the equipment industry including Supply Chain Execution, Warehouse Mobility, Sales Management and Financial Accounting, is expected to help Zahid increase visibility of critical business information, support the smooth flow of data between departments and streamline business processes across 40 sites. The contract was signed and will be implemented by Infor with the participation of Accentia Middle East, Infor’s M3 partner for the Middle East and North Africa.

Zahid conducted an exhaustive review of other solutions available to Caterpillar dealers worldwide.

Infor M3 was deemed the best application, and both Infor and Accentia were selected because of their extensive industry expertise and longstanding history working with equipment organizations.

The two year implementation, replacing an older system, will help empower 400 users at 40 sites across Saudi Arabia including diverse divisions for construction machinery, commercial vehicles, machine and power rental, as well as the CAT Rental Store.

Zahid chose Infor and Accentia as together they have demonstrated the fullest understanding of the company’s business model and its commitment to supporting its future growth.

Infor M3 for Equipment will streamline key information across all 40 sites from sales, service, warranty, finance, and rental departments within a single, central business system.

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Having one source of information will help to reduce costs whilst providing better customer service through a realtime flow of accurate information.

Additionally, Zahid is taking advantage of the Infor for M3 Equipment system’s use of Caterpillarspecific interfaces for automating service, parts ordering, parts shipment sales, and warranty.

The two year project embraces numerous group companies: Zahid Tractor & Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd (including its 3 divisions; Construction Machinery, Commercial Vehicles and Rental); Arabian Vehicles and Trucks Industry; TAMGO; Zahid Industries Ltd and Al Taaqa Alternative Solutions Ltd. “Our business divisions have seen major growth over the last four years.

But our legacy systems proved too difficult to maintain and cope with the continuously changing and growing requirements coming both from our suppliers and our internal and external customers,” said Joseph Hrawi, director ERP for the Zahid Group.

“We found in the M3, Infor and Accentia combination a best fit for a Heavy Equipment dealer and Power Rental company like ours. We were looking for a completely integrated system capable of helping us with our ambitious growth plans and we believe we’ve found it.”

“Equipment dealers operate in an extremely competitive and challenging market, and so Infor has created a true value-added community by establishing an equipment center of excellence in Sweden and a CAT community where dealers like Zahid can collaborate with similar dealers round the world,” said Samir Alwani, CEO & president, Accentia.

“This community and the strength of the Infor M3 application for equipment can really help dealers operate more strategically and profitably in the years ahead.”

Caterpillar has revealed that it will launch over 70 new products at April’s Bauma show, including a re-vamp of its road laying range.

Developers blackmail officials for construction contracts Chinese authorities have fired ten officials caught in a blackmail scandal in Chongqing, the former district of disgraced former politician, Bo Xilai, state media have reported.

Another report by the UK’s Guardian newspaper, construction developers hired women to have sex with the officials, then secretly filmed the meetings and used the videos to blackmail them into signing off on lucrative construction deals in the south-western city.

Tall sTory EC Harris and Mace have been appointed as a joint venture to project manage the construction of the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Diesel power Saudi Diesel hosts an open day for contractors in Dammam, Saudi Arabia last month.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said that police had broken up the criminal ring responsible for the blackmail, however China’s foreign ministry has refused to comment on the matter, the paper said. The scandal is the latest in a string of allegations over corruption and abuse of power in the city.

The case first hit the headlines in November 2012, when clips of a 54-year old district

party chief with an 18 year old woman went viral. Lei Zhengfu was sacked within 63 hours of the video’s appearance and now ten more of his colleagues in the city have been ousted, Xinhua said.

Former politician, Bo Xilai has been implicated in a number of scandals, including the cover up of his wife’s murder of British businessman, Neil Heywood.

China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, has vowed to clean up the country’s corruption problems, and has repeatedly claimed to be ready to tackle official misbehaviour at all levels. Experts have said that the swift action in the blackmail cases is a result of this determination to clean up the system.

Liu Shanying, a politics researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Guardian that the blackmail cases hinted at the widespread nature of official misbehaviour.

News Round-Up

Qatar construction industry facing soaring costs

KSA lendS PhiliPPineS $99.9mn for roAdS The Saudi Arabian government has made a first payment of $20 million of an expected $100 million loan for various road projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), according to an official in the Philippines.

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong Jr, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, confirmed that the loan was awarded to a Mindanaobased construction company to implement the project in the second quarter of this year.

In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Adiong Jr thanked the Saudi government for the financial assistance. He said it will help economic development in ARMM, especially in building proper

Qatar’s construction industry could be faced with soaring costs as preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup step up, a special report on the Gulf country has found.

According to the Tender Price Index for Qatar, prepared by MEED Cost Indices, construction costs in 2017 will be 18% higher than current price levels.

This rise in costs will put a strain on Qatar’s supply chain and will ultimately have an impact on the value of contract awards from 2013 onwards, reaching a peak of $40 billion in 2017, the report added.

However, the report pointed out that

the Qatari government had already taken steps to mitigate the rise in costs, with organisations such as Qatar Primary Materials Company securing imports by signing supply contracts with quarries in the UAE and Oman. Furthermore, supplies of basic construction materials have also be secured.

As a result, with these measures in place, and with a port capable of handling and processing the supplies, Qatar should be able to ensure that contractors working to deliver infrastructure for the Cup, would not experience shortages or drastic price increases.

infrastructure and boosting the agriculture sector. Adiong Jr added the amount will bankroll vital road projects in the south, particularly in the seat of the ARMM government. It will be implemented by the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The road projects funded by the Saudi government include the East Diversion Road, Lake Lanao Circumferential Road from Marawi City to Bayang, Lake Lanao Circumferential Road from Bayang to Ganassion, Basilan Circumferential Road from Tumahubong to Isabela, and the Basilan Circumferential Road from Isabela to Sumisip. These are scheduled to be completed in May 2014.

Baghdad Elevated Train engineering contract award for Alstom The Baghdad elevated Train (BeT) project looks set to finally get off the ground after french transport specialist Alstom was awarded a $40 million engineering contract.

The BeT project was first launched in 2010 and has been budgeted at $600 million. Alstom Transport, which is currently working on the Al Sufouh tramway in dubai, first signed a memorandum of

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Understanding (moU) with the local government of Baghdad in January 2011.

Since then Alstom has been involved in a number of projects in the region and provided the trams for the Casablanca tramway that opened in december last year. The company said is that signed a contract for the engineering phase of the BeT project after mutual discussion.

The $40 million study phase contract will cover civil works, electromechanical studies, ground analysis, infrastructure and topography. The french transport specialist estimates that the phase will last “about ten months.”

The objective for Alstom is to pursue with the construction phase expected to last about five years.

News Round-Up

Equipment leads Saudi-Germany trade Machinery and equipment are the leading items traded between Saudi Arabia and Germany, the delegation of German Industry and Commerce for Saudi Arabia has revealed.

Andreas Hergenrther, delegate of German Industry and Commerce of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, told Arab News that infrastructure developments “offer

massive investment opportunities for German companies”.

“The expected value of Saudi-German commercial deals in 2013 is around $13 billion,” Hergenrther told Arab News.

Hergenrther added that the value of commercial transactions between KSA and Germany has remained consistent for the past five years.

The volume of bilateral commercial deals increased by 47% last year with German exports to Saudi Arabia during the first 11 months jumping by 71%.

Meanwhile Saudi exports to Germany increased by about 27.5%. The total volume of Saudi exports to Germany is less than the German exports to Saudi Arabia, which mostly includes hydro chemical products and petrochemicals.

New equIPMeNT fINANCING fROM SHuAA SHUAA Capital has announced the establishment of Gulf Installments Company. Shuaa’s subsidiary Gulf Finance Corporation has been active in the UAE for some time, Gulf Installments Company, the new Saudi-based installment company will be focused on providing installment and lease financing to businesses across a variety of sectors while assets will be operated by Gulf Finance under a management contract with SHUAA. His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum, executive chairman of SHUAA Capital and chairman of Gulf Finance, said: “We are excited about the establishment of Gulf Installments in Saudi Arabia. This is an important

strategic milestone for our Credit business that we announced in October 2012, and represents an enormous opportunity for SHUAA to build out a successful business in the largest regional economy. Our investment in Gulf Installments is an investment in the success story of Saudi Arabia, and underscores our confidence in the growing private sector in the Kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the GCC, with a nominal GDP of $435 billion, and is expected to grow by 4.5% in 2013. Even though Saudi SMEs account for 90% of Saudi businesses and 24.7% of total employment, they represent only 2% of the Saudi banks’ lending market. With

Tender floated for design of Omani National Railway Network A long-awaited tender for the preliminary design of Oman’s National Railway Network has been floated in Muscat, paving the way for the beginning of the estimated $15.5 billion project, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has announced.

The ministry is overseeing the execution of the scheme, which will add a rail component to the country’s multimodal transportation system for the first time. The nation-

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wide network will also be integrated with the proposed GCC railway system, a report by the Oman Daily Observer said.

Tender 4/2013 invites qualified international consultants to bid for the provision of consultancy services to the Ministry of Transport for the preliminary design of the National Railway Project. According to the paper, the tender process is not limited to the five consortiums that were prequalified to bid for

the previously shelved design engineering package floated by Omani authorities. This was scrapped following a comprehensive review of the rail project. As a result, design consultancies that did not take part in the original tender process, will be able to participate this time around.

In addition, a tender package for the Project Management Consultancy Package, which is due within the next two or three months, is expected to be open to fresh bids.

over 220,000 SMEs in the Kingdom, many of which are underserved, credit demand outpaces supply.

Dr Sabah al-Binali, chairman of Gulf Installments, and vice chairman of its operator Gulf Finance, said: “Our move into Saudi Arabia is a perfect opportunity to extend SHUAA’s reach into a new and dynamic market place. We have exceptional expertise within the SME space and through Gulf Installments, we are now able to offer the Saudi business community a wide range of credit solutions. These solutions are in demand by a large number of clients which paves the way for building significant market share.”

Gulf Installments offers lease financing for a wide range of fixed assets. Lease periods are available from one to four years and can be tailored to suit the needs of each individual client based on the term, down payment and rental plan.

Strategic alliances have already been negotiated with two of the top five heavy equipment vendors in the Kingdom, which will underpin the business and ensure immediate traction.

This in turn will capitalise on the significant growth within Saudi Arabia’s construction industry which awarded $71 billion of contracts in 2011 up 155% on 2010. Gulf Installments is based in Jeddah and will be expanding across the Kingdom over the course of the next few years.

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News Analysis

Positive sales pitch Zacks puts positive spin on machinery industry outlook for 2013

D

efying ongoing depression in global markets, Zacks Equity Research says the world economic recovery, as witnessed from equity market improvements of the lows experienced since the 2008 global crisis, has been quite impressive.

The journey was difficult with ever-present headwinds hindering growth, the most recent of which was the Eurozone debt crisis that significantly slowed down the overall growth pace in 2011 and 2012. According to the World Economic Outlook Update published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January, the world economy is projected to grow 3.5% in 2013 (versus 3.6% projected in October 2012) and 4.1% in 2014. Growth in advanced economies and emerging and developing countries are projected at 1.4% (versus 1.5% expected earlier) and 5.5% (versus 5.6% expected earlier) in 2013, respectively. In 2014, advanced economies are projected to grow 2.2% and emerging markets 5.9%.

Zacks points out that obstacles still persist.

“As can be deduced from an unstable European economy and slowly reviving advanced countries that in turn are affecting emerging markets and developing economies,” it says.

The overall growth picture may not materially deteriorate from the IMF’s January 2013 forecast.

According to Zacks, “demand for the machinery industry is correlated to increasing economic activity, which stimulates demand

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for industrial products, thereby increasing the need for new/advanced machinery. The major end-markets for the machinery industry include agriculture, construction, mining and energy industries, among others.”

The IMF expects the US economy to grow 2% in 2013, a minor adjustment from the 2.1% expected earlier, as growth has slowed in the country with evidences of weak consumptions and employment levels. The 2014 is marginally better at 3.0%.

Despite this slump, Zacks argues the machinery industry is one of the most attractive industries in the US with “growth prospects for the industry deduced from the indicators to the performances in the recent past.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, industrial production in the United States rose by an annual rate of 1.0% while manufacturing output increased by 0.2%.”

Despite ongoing rivalries with Europe, Japan and China, the US remains a major force in manufacturing. According to the US Census Bureau report published in January 2013, machinery shipments in 2012 through November increased 9.6% year over year while new machinery orders witnessed a 3.1% decline in the same period.

Machinery order backlogs at the end of the quarter also plummeted 7.8%. Shipments for construction and industrial machinery rose by 37.6% and 13.0%, respectively. Shipments for mining equipment were up 6.0% while farm

ZackS’ VErdict on 2013 Fiscal government expenditures play a countercyclical role curbing the ill effects of slower economic developments and a tight credit market. China’s structural stimulus package, government spending on social welfare, construction of low-cost housing, completion of infrastructure projects on agriculture, forestry and water resources received special attention.

Also, the US Congress had a stimulus package designed in 2009 that had money flowing into infrastructure spending. Also, The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act will boost spending in the infrastructure projects.

Approximately $260 billion will be allocated to fund roads, bridges and highway projects over five years. We remain wary of the rising raw material costs of some of the major players of the machinery industry. Steel prices along with energy, especially coal and fuel prices, remain the prime causes of concern.

R&D costs are on the rise for machine makers in their pursuit of manufacturing more sophisticated and technologically advanced machinery. Availability of funds remains difficult as some major nations are still struggling to bring stability to their own economies.

Despite the prevailing global uncertainties, rising needs of better infrastructure, modernized methods of agriculture and growing complexity of mining/manufacturing methods will boost demand for technologically advanced equipment in these industries. Moreover, looking ahead on the growth path, the emerging and developing nations will inevitably be an attractive destination for machine makers worldwide.

machinery shipments decreased by 13.8%.

International demand for technologically advanced construction and agriculture equipment is improving. The US-Russia trade bill will boost the U.S.’s export of construction equipment to Russia – the 11th largest export market for U.S. construction equipment.

According to an earlier report published by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the US’ construction equipment exports rose 24% while agricultural equipment exports registered a 29% increase in the first half of 2012. According to the latest report published

by Japan’s Cabinet Office, on a monthly basis, core machinery order in November 2012 grew 3.9%, up from a 2.6% increase recorded in October and 4.3% fall in September.

Recovery in capital spending and higher orders from the chemical industry were the main drivers.

Also, overseas demand for machinery grew a whopping 17.0% in November, indicating prospects of solid demand growth in the months ahead.

According to the IMF, the Japanese economy is projected to grow 1.2% in 2013 and 0.7% in 2014.

China and India, the two major emerging/ developing nations, are expected to show signs of tangible growth in the years ahead. However, nearterm conditions in these economies are weak.

According to the IMF, the Chinese economy is projected to grow 8.2% in 2013 as against 8.5% expected earlier in 2013 and 8.5% in 2014.

Looser fiscal and monetary measures by the Chinese authorities – efforts of increasing fixed asset investment along the lines of interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank – are expected to offset some of the recent weaknesses in economic data. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flow into the country has slowed and exports have weakened, especially due to a slowing global economy while a lack of domestic demand for construction, mining and textile machinery contracted imports.

Industrial production in India has been weak in recent months with the released data showing a 0.1% annual decline in November 2012. Poor performances by manufacturing, mining and capital goods sectors clearly reflect that weak domestic demand and exports were hurt largely by the European debt crisis. According to the IMF, the country is projected to grow 5.9% in

2013 as against 6.0% expected earlier and 6.4% in 2014.Korea’s industrial production recorded a monthly gain of 2.3% in November, according to the latest data released by Statistics Korea. The country seems to be recovering from the impacts of weak exports due to global uncertainties, especially the Eurozone crisis.

Upcoming sporting events to be held in Brazil, rising government spending to improve the country’s infrastructure, growing trade relations with other economies, as well as huge foreign direct investments -- all these bode well for the economy.

According to the IMF, Brazil is expected to grow 3.5% in 2013 (versus 4.0% expected earlier) and 4.0% in 2014.

South Africa is also making progress and is expected to grow 2.8% (versus 3.0% expected earlier) in 2013 and 4.1% in 2014, as projected by the IMF. The government is focused on improving its mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

Moreover, huge public investments in the infrastructure development programs remain in the forefront.

The Eurozone debt crisis has slowed down the overall growth pace in the region as well as of the global economy.

According to a report published by Eurostat in January 2013, industrial production (excluding construction), on a monthly basis, in the Eurozone fell by 0.3% in November.

On a year-over-year basis, industrial production in November dropped 3.7%, including a 7.6% fall in Italy, 7.2% in Spain and 6.6% in Ireland.

Construction output, on a monthly basis, fell 0.4% in November 2012. On an annual basis, production dropped 4.7% in November, including a 20.4% decline in Slovenia, 17.9% in Portugal and Italy, and 13.1% in Slovakia.

According to the VDMA machine makers’ association, German machine tool orders in November 2012 plummeted 3.0% year over year, with domestic orders down by 2% and international orders sliding by 4%.

Russia, which became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member in 2012, will open the gates for companies worldwide to benefit from the growing needs for modernizing the agricultural, transport and infrastructure sectors of the economy.

September 2011 March 2013

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13 13

Heavy Hitters

Not aN average Joe

CMC has been a major player in Dubai for decades. With Terex now safely under its stewardship, general manager Joe Lahoud says the company’s transformation and regional expansion is all systems go

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J

oe Lahoud begins by neatly summarising the current air of optimism in the market.

“I think the worst is over,” says the general manager at Construction Machinery Center or CMC. “You can see some activity returning to the market. Some big projects being activated and people keeping busy. But everyone has smaller expectations than before.”

He pauses then dispenses some advice for those wanting to keep their finger on the pulse of a changing market: “Just don’t read Gulf News.”

As head of CMC, Lahoud now has an enviable selection of equipment. Long-standing relationships with (among many others) Germany’s Wacker Neuson and Schwing-Stetter, and Italy’s Pramac, have recently been complemented with HC forklifts from China (“HC is our first Chinese brand, we had to do a lot of research to find a really quality one”) and global player Terex’ range of ADTs, rigid frame trucks and backhoes.

Having started in 1973 as the equipment arm of the Al-Habtoor Group, CMC celebrates its 40th year of operation in 2013. While its headquarters are next door to one of Habtoor Leighton Group’s offices, he explains that the company is now an entirely independent entity, even if it shares a chairman with the famous construction company. “We are under the private ownership of the chairman of HLG, Riad Al Sadek,” he explains.

Lahoud says that his chairman has been spending more and more time at the offices of CMC as the company continues to develop. Last month marked Lahoud’s third year in charge and you get the impression that he is only just getting started.

“I took over in February 2010 and we have been going through a major restructuring, rebuilding and re-organising exercise where the mission was to take the company from being a conventional dealer to being a regional machinery and capital equipment solution provider. We want to be a major player.”

It has spent four decades as a fixture in the UAE market, but taking Terex on board has also given it extra clout in the heavy equipment sector. In fact the company which is based at the end of the runway at Dubai International – to use a bad pun – is on the brink of taking off on international expansion.

In three years, Lahoud has transformed the way CMC conducts itself in the market. This has involved a roots up process of asking some difficult questions about how it operates and how it can catch-up and surpass other companies already embarking on regional programmes of growth.

While much of the effort expended has been on internal changes, the first step he says was an external one, turning Construction Machinery Centre into the more upwardly mobile CMC acronym.

A history of CMC Established in 1973, CMC occupies a leading position in the UAE supplying and servicing equipment to a diverse range of industries and commercial undertakings covering the construction civil engineering, industrial manufacturing, oil and

gas, landscaping, mining and warehousing sectors.

Operating through three main branches across UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain) and a newly established branch in Iraq (Al Basra), the company supplies premium

machinery solutions such as construction machinery, concrete equipment, crushing plants, concrete batching plants, material handling equipment, oil field equipment, industrial air compressors, agriculture equipment, telehandlers,

airport equipment and power generators.

CMC has been the sole distributor in UAE for suppliers such as Schwing, Stetter, Wacker-Neuosn, Silla, Pramac, Irmair, Chicago Pneumatic, and Komptech.

“The first thing I did was the re-branding,” he explains. “I don’t want people to think of us as somebody who only supplies construction machinery. We’ve diversified our portfolio into other industries and sectors such as logistics, industry, catering, airports and even agriculture. If we only concentrate on construction machinery, then when that segment goes down, we go down with it.”

When he adds that CMC is now providing lighting, he doesn’t mean temporary site lighting, he means street lighting and airport lighting: “We’ve got the exclusive deal for Hella. They are a long-standing German company who invented the headlamp. So this is a new business line for us.”

Was it hard to convince them that a company that sells construction equipment could sell lights to commercial interior designers? He laughs: “It took a year and a half.”

To manage that brand he is recruiting a dedicated product specialist. It’s illustrative of how he has re-organised the company following its reorganisation. A consultant was brought in to do

“I DoN’T WANT PEoPLE To THINk oF US AS

SoMEBoDY WHo oNLY SUPPLIES MACHINERY.” March 2013

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Heavy Hitters

a complete budgeting exercise for the company and then another was brought in to help CMC earn ISO accreditation.

“I didn’t just want a certificate on the wall. It was a vehicle to map out all the processes in the company and what processes we should have. We achieved ISO last year,” he explains. “For oil and gas companies, government organisations, you need to be certified.

Yes we need it for those people, but the main purpose was for the restructuring.”

Restructuring inevitably means the loss of jobs in an organisation. Lahoud says in this case it was an organic process rather than an overnight shedding of personnel. “We had to layoff outdated people who couldn’t contribute to our set strategy, but we did it slowly. Most companies build up a culture and you have to be really careful how you tackle it. You cannot rock the boat from day one.”

He continues: “CMC was like any conventional equipment dealer in the UAE and lots of family companies. One sales person can handle all the products for the company and become untouchable.

Some nationalities don’t really teach or relay information, because they are afraid if they teach you they might become dispensible.”

To tackle this culture within his own organisation he has created structue with heads for each division of its major areas of operation including: concrete machinery, material handling, construction, power

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and air solutions, lighting, rental. Reaching over to grab an organisational chart, it becomes clear that it is a flat structure designed to allow him to have direct access to each element of CMC. “I can liaise and coordinate between divisions. A contractor can probably buy from each division. Now we can be more focused on making sure they do.”

The next major step for CMC is regional expansion.

With the UAE and nearby markets crowded – and increasingly featuring its Dubai neighbours and competitors to the company – it is being pushed to further afield. With shelves of books that read like a geographical section of a library, it is one on Libya that stands out. Its use is practical he explains.

“We’re trying to focus on places that other people aren’t, like Libya,” he says. “In our business, distance doesn’t make a barrier. There are differences in markets, like regulations, brand loyalty or certain ways of doing things.

“However with the platform we now have, it can grow as we grow, even internationally. We have started a company in Basra for the Iraqi market.

We have rights for four of our products and we’re looking for others,” he says. “Iraq, in general, is still a tough market. The new equipment market is just for the government sector. Everything is else is used.

They are afraid to buy new because of the security problems. With used equipment, if someone comes at you with a gun, you won’t regret losing it. However there are opportunities with the public tenders and the oil and gas companies have requirements that aren’t as rigid as the Western Region for instance.

“The equipment we sell is global equipment.

Whatever market you are in, the dynamics are the same, whether the contractor is in the US or Iraq. The types of product we sell can go to any contractor.”

Lahoud has completed a roots up examination of CMC’s operation. The company has been re-tooled to enable a smooth transition to becoming a regional player in countries as spread out as Iraq and Libya.

“WE HAvE STARTED A COMpANY IN BASRA FOR THE IRAq MARkET.”

Country Bahrain Kuwait KSA UAE Sudan

Dealer Ahmet Mansoor Al A’Ali ICTCO Arabian Auto Agency United Al Saqer Group The Central Trading Co.

Contact Number +97317772256 +96524749312 +96626695595 +97125545900 +249187144164

Web Page www.al-aali.com www.ictcogroup.com www.aaa.com.sa www.alsaqergroup.com www.ctcgroupltd.com

Country Oman Qatar Egypt Turkey Lebanon

Dealer International Equipment & Contracting Co LLC Qatar Welding & Fabrication Supplies W.L.L Omatra Çukurova Ithalat ve Ihracat A.Ş Medevco

www.newholland.com

Contact Number +96895335107 +97466852999 +20235390051 +902163953460 +9619233550

Web Page www.suhailbahwanautogroup.com www.qfab.com.qa www.omatra.org www.cukurovaithalat.com www.medevco.me

Rental Report

Options from OEM-supported programmes such as Cat Rental are becoming more and more popular. Al-Bahar says that it is seeing demand across most equipment types in the Caterpillar range.

You’re hired!

CMME talks to Al-Bahar and Caterpillar about the rise of the rental operators in the Middle East March 2013

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M

arket analyst IBISWorld’s Heavy Construction Equipment Rental latest market report uses the words Great Recession to describe the global downturn. And as the world’s market remain depressed and uncertain, it seems likely that we will still be feeling its effects for the foreseeable future.

One of the undoubted trends of the past half decade has been the growth in popularity of rental options for equipment for contractors and other construction companies in the Middle East. However, IBISWorld’s research reveals that rental rates – on a global basis – at least have fallen since the beginning of the Great Recession.

“The heavy construction equipment rental industry’s performance is linked to the activities of major user industries, like transportation and logistics, heavy construction and oil exploration and drilling,” it says. “The range of downstream businesses that use this industry’s aircraft, railcars, ships and drilling machinery typically shelters equipment lessors from volatile fluctuations in demand from any one sector; however, the Great Recession’s momentous impact on the entire economy overwhelmed the industry’s resilience. As a result, revenue is expected to fall at an average annual rate of 2.5% to $24.9 billion over the five years to 2012.”

Another set of figures out since the start of the year suggest that it may be losing ground to the sale of equipment. In the Construction Equipment Market – Global and China Forecast, Market Share, Size, Growth and Industry Analysis, 2011 – 2017 report by Transparency, it’s noted that sales are forecasted to increase by a CAGR of 6.7%. Globally at least, rental rates are falling behind.

Regionally the picture is a lot less clearer. While rental operators like RSS, Byrne and Barloworld have been supply light equipment and temporary solutions for some time (and have attracted

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international companies such as Speedy and Nixon in recent years) the heavy side of the business has been under-served. There are some exceptions such as Oman where individuals buy equipment as investment and lease them out or offer their services as an extra pair of hands when needed, but it has taken large dealers to get in on the act to really start a shift to rent in the market.

According to Caterpillar’s Andy Grover: “Africa and the Middle East have not yet found their level of maturity. For us, some of the fastest growing territories are in the Middle East. Whether it is with Al Bahar in the Gulf or Zahid Tractor in Saudi Arabia, the customers are just gaining an idea of the rental market. This is why we are contributing resources and energy into the segment.”

UAE-based Caterpillar dealer Al-Bahar is one of the companies driving the market in the Gulf. Given Caterpillar’s domination of the Middle East market it may seem odd that is choosing to focus on leasing out equipment.

“The rental business is a segment that is growing in our territory,” says Amjad Mufti, equipment rental manager at Al-Bahar. “In general, rental performance in recent years has improved after the recession.”

According to Mufti, the reason for this growth is due to the “current financial environment and we have a lot of short term projects. Customers want to concentrate on their core business and do not want to concentrate on non-core assets, and the expenses that come with it such as maintenance and operators.”

This shift which has been stimulated by downsizing at a lot of contractors, in terms of their personnel and liquidity, has been most keenly felt with smaller contractors. Large contractors may still want to hold onto their capital assets but rental options offer smaller contractors flexibility where they can opt into shorter-term contracts without the risk of having to find a job for an excavator or loader once it’s finished.

There are now numerous rental options available to contractors. There is a strong trend towards making heavy equipment available in the market. Cat says Africa and the Middle East is one of the fastest growing in the world.

Rental profile: Byrne Byrne was founded in the UAE in the early 1990s. The motivation for Byrne’s entry into the rental business stemmed from market interest in a small fleet of basic plant and equipment, and the emergence of some aggressive growth in the marine repair, and oil and gas industries.

In 2007, a HSBC Private Equity vehicle, Byrne Investments Limited, acquired Byrne Equipment Rental businesses in the UAE, Qatar and KSA to work alongside another HSBC Private Equity company, Spacemaker (Emirates) LLC. Both are now run under a single management umbrella.

Today, Byrne is one of the longest established and well-known rental companies in the region.

Through a network of thirteen operational bases spread across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, UAE and Oman, we specialise in the provision of high-quality equipment rental solutions to a broad variety of business sectors.

Byrne specialises in the provision of high quality equipment rental solutions to a broad variety of business sectors including oil & gas, construction, marine and the leisure and tourism industries, amongst others. The company is varied in terms of the market it focuses on, and even this varies depending on the strengths of the locality in which Byrne are operating. In Dubai Byrne are heavily into sports and music events, whereas in the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia and in Qatar Byrne are much more

heavily focused on oil & gas related activity.

The growth of the leisure, sport and tourism industries in the region has developed a need for very individual and tailor made services in order to make each event more extravagant and memorable than the next. It is by meeting this need that the Events Division of the company has grown to become a key part of the overall business and continues to expand its products and services today.

The customers of this division cover a range of regional sporting and entertainment events year after year. These include golf tournaments, horse racing, tennis and motorsport, not to mention the growing numbers of visiting international concert acts, local cultural festivals and exhibitions in the region.

Byrne is continuously adding additional products/services to its fleet in order to further broaden their appeal and follow their ‘All your equipment rental solutions under one roof’ vision. It is not focused just on the existing products we offer and will add new products to meet client needs. Every company’s service can be better, including Byrne’s, but it us striving to continuously improve service to clients to take it beyond all reasonable expectations. The level of customer service provided is second to none, with one point of contact for all required rental needs, and a genuine 24 hour call centre ensuring a backup service that remains unmatched in the market today.

“AS A RenTAl pRovIdeR In THeSe TeRRIToRIeS you HAve To MAxIMISe upTIMe.” Mufti explains that rental equipment providers such as Al-Bahar perform a vital role in ensuring uptime on site. This can mean taking care of maintenance routines, including servicing to keep a contracting operation ticking over.

“Customers are looking for a solution from providers from A-Z,” says Mufti. “As a rental provider in these territories you have to maximise uptime. Most of the time we are even providing operators (about 70%).”

In terms of current demand, he says, that the company which supplies almost all of Cat’s earthmoving range via rental, is seeing demand across the light and heavy ranges including the power generator size of the business. This suggests that the popularity of renting is consistent across a wide range of applications. Re-emphasising his earlier point, he says the size of the contractor is less important when it comes to the type of machines rented than the type of job it will be deployed.

“It has something to do with the size of the contractor, but at this time I would say it is the type of project that is the most important,” AlBahar’s rental equipment manager explains. “They are mainly concerned with their budget and this is affected by what they are doing. If we’re talking short term projects, most of the time they are looking to rent and not buy.”

He adds that just because a contractor might be renting, it doesn’t neccessarily follow that they will not buy equipment for the same project.

“We are selling machines and to the same customer, on the same project, he may buy,” he continues.

When asked how Al-Bahar’s customers decide what to buy and what to rent he says that it

“depends mainly on what machine” and for how long it is needed.

“Most customers are trying to avoid capital investment,” he says. “They don’t want to pour their money into a machine they we only use for a short amount of time. If the need the machine for another project, then they will buy (most of the time).”

Al-Bahar has been providing Cat Rental solutions for a decade and Mufti says that it has had to change the type of inventory it manages over that time to ensure it can cope with larger and more demanding projects.

“We started with light equipment. The small stuff of Cat machines,” he comments. “But the market has changed. Customers are approaching us for the full range. If you look at the business, it is moving towards the big machines rather than the small ones.”

Having to support the full range places special demands on the way Al-Bahar is structured. It has learned that it needs its support workforce to be, as Mufti describes them, professional. After all the machines are owned by Al-Bahar not their customers.

“We need to make sure they can handle all the maintenance requirements of the machines and ensure uptime,” he says. “With customers hiring the operators as well, we need to make sure we also have enough skilled operators for the machines.”

Some rental companies insist that the machines are only operated by their staff. However Al-Bahar is willing to rent out their machines without, should the customer desire it.

“We want to be as flexible as possible for the customer requirement. We need to make sure we have the right operators with the right machines and have them ready when the customer needs them.”

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Special Report

Building a BeachcomBer It’s full speed ahead on the Al Sufouh tramway, CMME takes a look at how it is staying on track March 2013

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T

he Hard Rock Cafe, which had stood empty for years as Dubai grew around it, finally saw the demolition crews move in last month, opening a debate as to whether its famous leaning guitars would find another home. Even as the bulldozers moved in to take the miniature Empire State Building down, there was talk about whether the two concrete instruments could be placed somewhere else.

In a metropolis that is barely 40 years old, some residents feel even its kitschest landmarks are worth saving. It’s a small matter that they are barely old enough to go into a restaurant unaccompanied by an adult.

However things have moved on in a district that is one of the city’s unqualified successes of recent years. As the Hard Rock Cafe approaches past tense – as CMME went to press the building was on the brink of being completely taken down – its plot still lies on the dividing lines of the bulging Dubai Media City, the Marina and the popular Jumeirah Beach Residence. Between them they form a triangle that has proven as sturdy as the twin replica guitars since the economic downturn. Close-by is the Jumeirah Palm and the Disneyland-like Madinat which faces the Burj Al Arab.

While the heralded Mohammed Bin Rashid City is carefully cultivated over the next decade

“IT’S A COMPlETE TuRNkEy PROJECT FOR uS

ON A DESIgN AND BuIlD BASIS. SO WE’RE DEvElOPINg THE WHOlE PROJECT ON THE BEHAlF OF THE CuSTOMER uP TO COMPlETION AND REvENuE AND SERvICE.”

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or so, the area will remain the heart of Dubai’s tourist, residential and glamour industries. All that remains is a way to link it all up. Enter the Al Sufouh tramway, a 14.5km way to join up Dubai’s most buoyant strands.

The project was first announced by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority in April 2008 and within two months it was awarded to a consortium featuring Astom, Besix, Serco and Parsons.

Construction was planned to be divided into two phases. The first phase, which was initially planned to be open by three years later in April 2011, was budgeted at $865 million and included 11 trams which would serve 13 stations along a 9.5km stretch.

The second phase, which would add a further 14 trams and six more stations along an additional 4 km of track. However soon after the announcement, the tramway was suddenly looking precarious.

Hit by the global economic downturn, by the close of 2009 (despite the consortium’s determination to lay track down by the end of that year) it seemed it was likely to join other projects such as the Palm Jebel Ali and the Dubai Waterfront on the postponed and possibly abandoned list. Work continued to be disrupted and dogged by a lack of funding.

By November 2010, the project was officially put on hold only to resume in January, 2011 with a third of Phase I almost completed. The works remained slow.

Eventually the official government export credit agencies of Belgium (ONDD) and France (COFACE) – arguably to assist their respective contractors – stepped in to rescue the project. A year after it had restarted, a $401 million was agreed in February 2012 and carving out the route could begin in earnest once more.

LAYING DOWN ON THE RED SEA The ministerial committee for transport in Makkah province met in January to review the progress of a plan to beef up the public transport system in the province, including the cities of Jeddah and Makkah.

The meeting, chaired

by Prince Khaled AlFaisal, Emir of Makkah, and attended by the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour Bin Miteb, Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal Bin Majed, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Assaf, Acting Transport Minister Muhammad Jameel Mulla, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar, Jeddah Mayor Hani Aburas and other senior officials, reviewed detailed reports presented by the two mayoralties.

Addressing the meeting, Prince Khaled underlined the need for expediting implementation of the project, of which feasibility studies as well as the designing phase have already been completed.

Presenting the report on the Makkah transport system, Al-Bar said the project has two parts – the Makkah Metro and a network of buses, which will be based mainly on the bus rapid transit (BRT) system that provides a faster and more efficient transport service than the ordinary bus service.

The BRT network will

have 60 stations on a total length of 60 km of ring roads. There will also be a network of local buses plying between the Grand Mosque and various destinations in the city not covered by BRT. The network will cover a distance of 65 km.

There will be feeder services to pick and drop passengers at various metro stations.

Jeddah Mayor Aburas briefed the meeting on studies conducted for the public transport system for the city. The plan includes a light train network over a distance of 67 km from Makkah Road to Obhur via central Jeddah.

The three-line network will have 22 stations. A 24-km line will link King Abdulaziz International Airport to Haramain Railway Station at Sulaimaniya district in the Old Airport area. The line will have 17 stations.

Another 17-km line with seven stations will link the Haramain station with Corniche via Palestine Road.

The mayor said the public transport system also includes a network of 816 buses plying over a total length of 750 km.

Aburas said a sea transport network with 10 stations will be built along the Corniche with the aim of boosting tourism and entertainment.

The project is now heading towards its 2014 deadline at full pace. A fleet of mobile cranes are currently assembling the elevated section which runs alongside the Marina and the Sheikh Zayed Road.

Here the tramway will link to the red line of the Dubai Metro. At the other end, Besix tower cranes are constructing the depot which will house the trams and function as the maintenance and service facility. Another crane is deployed overlooking the old Hard Rock Cafe location as it builds a second facility.

Vincent Prou, project director at Alstom, explains that his company has been working with Besix (aka SixConstruct) on the civil works for the project.

“They are quite well know here, have worked on Burj Khalifa, and so on.”

He explains their relationship dates back to another Dubai project that never saw reality.

“Well it goes back to when they were planning a tramway around the Burj Khalifa tower. They had just finished on it, and we were also bidding for the tramway. So it made sense to work together.”

Alstom has been with the project from the early stage providing conceptual design for the tramway.

“It’s a complete turnkey project for us on a design and build basis. So we’re developing the whole project on the behalf of the customer up to completion and revenue and service,” he says. “It’s a complete design, installation, testing and on this project we also have an extended warranty period so we can support the customer in the early stages of the revenue service.”

As part of its turnkey responsibilities, Alstom is providing the entire system for the tramway, including the railway stock, the track, the power supply, signalling telecommunications and various other mechanical equipment such as the platform springdoors, the ticketing, the maintenance machines in the depot and the road signalling.

He dwells on the last point.

“The difference between the Dubai Metro and the tramway is that it is sharing space with road users,” he says. “With a tram you are crossing a road like a car or a bus.”

That close proximity to the city’s inhabitants has already been felt. With diversions to set up on the roads to accommodate the movement of loaders and mobiles on the 10km-long site.

Workers in a nearby office even complained they could feel their desks rumble when piling was used on parts of the route.

“This is a key point,” says Prou. “A major tramway project like this is a major exercise to insert into a city without some disturbance to neighbours and stakeholders. One of the first things we need to do is divert utilities. Everything that is below the track had to be removed.”

The popularity of the Metro and the sense a tramway will make to getting around the area disguises the fact that a tramway was never part of the masterplan when it was drawn up over a decade ago.

“No it wasn’t. So, you have to take possession of the tramway and relocate all the services. We have diverted over 50km of HV cables and 10km of drainage and irrigation pipes,” he explains.

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“Sometimes we spike 8m below the ground; that’s something that’s not very visible when you think of a tramway. You can’t just lay some track put a train on it, and that’s it!”

He adds that building a tramway still has a relatively thin impact over its length but, “once you build a platform, then you don’t access to what is 8m below.”

In total, 30 stakeholders ranging from local utility providers such as the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority to developers and landowners had to be approached and negotiated with during the early stages of the project, he explains.

“You have to manage issues of land acquisition because you need to take the land. So you need to interface and reach agreements with these private owners,” he says. “The RTA had defined a corridor at the origin, so the land acquisition had already been made. But in some cases we had to adjust the alignment and reassess the land acquisition.

“A good example of that was at the maintenance depot. At one point we faced a problem where we need to completely redesign the layout and concept of the depot so we could have a smaller footprint on the land. Being a design and build project we had the responsibility to develop the design to match the constraints of the environment. It was not like some projects where you have a consultant doing the design and engineering.”

As mentioned before, that particular site is impressive in scope and currently in activity.

However, Prou hints that it is not as large as it could potentially be. In fact Alstom has had to use the space intelligently to make the most of it. “It’s been optimised for our needs,” he adds. “We have designed a concept that manages the flow of trams coming in and out. As a contractor on a design and build project you have the risk but you also have the capability to optimise and mitigate the constraints that you are facing.”

Unsurprisingly a project on this scale comes with its limitations: “We are dealing with 3,000 nonobjection letters. This is key because if you are not getting the right permits then you’re not working.”

Al Sufouh will be the world’s first open tramway to have all stops aligned with platform screen doors, this allowing for full air conditioning of the system. Giving consistency with other RTA modes, including bus shelters, air conditioning adds to customer appeal in regular temperatures around 40°C. Another innovation is the use throughout

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of Alstom’s catenary-free APS (Alimentation Par le Sol) system for electricity ground supply to trams whilst overhead.

Although APS has been in use on sections of the Bordeaux tramway since 2003 and is specified for other French cities Angers, Reims and Orléans, this is the first total system application. As with thirdrail pick-up being specified for Dubai Metro, the authorities wished to avoid what is considered as visually intrusive overhead line equipment.

Having a clear sight-line will also help the experience for both residents and visitors heading to work or the beach. Prou believes it could lead to a more open-air experience for those normally bound to their cars.

“I think it will look great because the city will look different,” he says. “The RTA are using the tramway to regenerate the urban environment.

In JBR they have the beach development with restaurants and high end shops. Within walking distance, through nice pedestrian ways you can jump on the tram, connect with the Metro, go to the mall, etc. The whole area will become a nice pleasant areas for everyone. I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

“BEInG A DESIGn AnD BUIlD PROJECT WE

HAD TO MATCH THE COnSTRAInTS OF THE EnvIROnMEnT. IT WAS nOT lIkE SOME PROJECTS WHERE YOU HAvE A COnSUlTAnT DOInG THE DESIGn AnD EnGInEERInG.”

CASE CRAWLER EXCAVATORS

THE THINKING

MACHINE ASK ME WHY

Productivity, reliability, comfort, safety, profitability.

Without wasting a drop of fuel.

It’s not simply digging.

It’s fulfilling the highest quality standards. Award winner around the world, a champion in every jobsite.

Including mine, obviously.

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Reaching new heights in the region

Special Interview

A breAk with trAdition Europe’s largest Islamic bank looks back on its unique auction partnership with IronPlanet and how they took on the traditional auction houses

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I

slamic financing for equipment is still in its infancy when it comes to used equipment.

However a unique partnership between IronPlanet and Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), an independent UK, wholesale Sharia’a-compliant bank based in London, is forging a new way for those seeking an Islamic route to raise funding. And it’s coming to the Middle East.

Since receiving Financial Services Authority (FSA) authorisation in 2007, BLME has evolved to become the largest Islamic bank in Europe.

Led by a management team who bring together experienced bankers and leading experts in Islamic finance, BLME ensures that their services are wholly Sharia’a compliant.

In accordance with this, BLME’s policies, practices and services are based upon sustainable performance from tangible assets, and that their business is rooted in the principles of transparency, fairness, clarity and the avoidance of speculation.

“Our equipment leasing team operates in both the UK and the US, and we funded over £200 million worth of leasing deals in 2012 alone – it is a key part of our business,” says Mark Jarvis, Senior Leasing Manager at BLME. “At BLME, we fund a lot of hard assets, including heavy machinery such as mining equipment, as well as trucks, trailers and much more. Once we acquire equipment, we lease it to a client, typically for three to five years. When their lease is over, they return the equipment to us, and we then need to go through the process of remarketing it,” he expanded.

When it came to selecting the best way to remarket their used machinery and equipment, there were a number of factors that BLME had to consider carefully. First and foremost, the bank

“RESIdUAL vALUE, IS OUR PRIMARy cOncERn WHEn REMARKETIng USEd EqUIPMEnT.”

needed to ensure it always gets back what it put into a machine. “Residual value, the outstanding amount of money that is still invested in the asset, is our primary concern when remarketing used equipment. Of course, we need to guarantee that when a machine is remarketed we cover this, and make a profit too,” says Jarvis.

Furthermore, BLME needed to ensure that used machinery was remarketed fast.

“Our used machinery typically takes 6 months to remarket,” continues Jarvis. “Therefore we wanted to know that we would be able to start the process in advance, as we don’t want to be storing any equipment – we are a bank after all, not a warehouse.”

BLME were keen to pursue alternatives to landbased auctions when selling their used machinery.

“Because of the size of some of the equipment, the cost of shipping assets to a land-based auction can cost $15,000 per item – and where we have 10 such machines, the figure can reach upwards of $150,000,” explains Jarvis. “We wanted a solution that would allow us to sell the equipment where it was located, meaning we would start with a zerocost base. Therefore, an online auction was the obvious route to do this.”

BLME first started working with IronPlanet in 2007, and have used the online auction company as their sole used equipment remarketing partner since 2008. Partnering with IronPlanet was a natural choice for the bank, as Jarvis highlighted: “IronPlanet are a highly reputable company whose ethos of transparency and honesty ref lects BLME’s own culture. Their knowledgeable and friendly team always understand our needs, and respond to these by providing us with a bespoke service. It was an incredibly easy choice to partner with them.”

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Special Interview

When selling used machinery by auction, there are generally two options – a reserved or an unreserved auction.

“Due to the amount we invest in our machines, we decided early on that we wanted to use reserved auctions so we could ensure we always recoup this initial investment,” stated Jarvis. “IronPlanet allows us to put a reserve price on our machines – a minimum price that we are willing to accept for an item. We are only obligated to sell the item once the bid amount meets or exceeds the reserve price.”

Furthermore, IronPlanet us able to broker a machine on behalf of BLME. “With IronPlanet as our partner, we have access to a huge market,” says Jarvis. “Combining the reach of an online auction, which allows our machines to be remarketed anywhere in the world, with IronPlanet’s expertise in brokering, which means they will reach out to a buyer form their vast network of contacts on behalf of us, we can be confident that we have all the support and tools in place to get the best price for our machines.

IronPlanet is a truly global player.”

BLME’s partnership with IronPlanet has yielded tangible results for the bank. “Working with IronPlanet, I believe that we achieve a 20-30% uplift,” states Jarvis. “I was able to do a direct comparison with similar equipment going through a land based auction – and the equipment fetched far less than ours did with IronPlanet. In addition, selling at this land based auction also meant huge additional costs for shipping. In terms of their service offering, expertise in asset management and price, IronPlanet they are truly well ahead of the competition.”

The relationship between BLME and IronPlanet is set to be a long-term one.

“We have a regular and on-going dialogue with the IronPlanet team, planning all our upcoming

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remarketing activity,” says Jarvis. “I do not see them as merely an ‘online auction’, but as a strategic partner. We are looking to branch out from the UK and the US into Europe and the Middle East, and we are confident that IronPlanet has the coverage, reach and crucially the expertise to support us in these endeavours.

“We have had an excellent experience,” he says.

“They did just what they said they would do, and were able to get us a price just ahead of where the market is.

“I have already been happy to put my name to recommending IronPlanet to other financial institutions and companies, and look forward to continuing to work with them going forward.”

Demonstrating the flipside of the downturn, there is now a dirge of equipment that has been reclaimed from companies that have fallen into financial dispair. This has led to another partnership for IronPlanet with ERC Asset Solutions, a firm that assists financial institutions requiring help with management of problematic, non-core credit and asset exposures and their resolution. ERC Asset Solutions covers the whole value chain from policy, repossession, valuation, supplier management, inventory, control, tracking, marketing and sale.

“In our role of offering a complete end-to-end service to improve and accelerate the release of

Traditional auction houses such as Ritchie Bros and WWA are also seeing the value in going online

“TRAnSPoRTIng FRoM PoInT oF oRIgIn To

AUCTIon AnD onTo ThE BUyER, oFTEn InCURS UnnECESSARy CoSTS.”

“THEy WAnT THE mACHInERy bOuGHT quICkly, WITH nO unfORESEEn PROblEmS.” liquidity from moveable assets disposable, we cover all moveable asset classes, including trucks and specialist construction and agricultural equipment,” says Phil Gerrard, Director of ERC Asset Solutions.

“As part of this process, we look for re-marketing partners and sales channels for the assets concerned.

In our role as impartial advisors, we set up quality arrangements, ensuring we recommend to our clients only the highest quality partners,” Gerrard adds.

“We wanted to offer the option of an online auction to our clients looking to release liquidity from construction and agricultural equipment.

Whilst some clients do still prefer land-based, physical auctions, at ERC Asset Solutions we understand the benefits of online auctions, including our client not having to commit to transport costs – which can be up to 10% of the total value of the asset,” says Gerrard.

ERC Asset Solutions needed to be able to recommend an online auction company that was reliable: “We wanted a service that was quick, efficient, flexible, and wanted a well-established company with proven results.”

ERC Asset Solutions started working with IronPlanet in 2010.

Partnering with IronPlanet was a natural choice for the advisory company, Gerrard stresses: “IronPlanet are a highly reputable company, with user-friendly, strong online software, and a team

who were extremely helpful from day one.”

One of IronPlanet’s strongest selling points for ERC Asset Solutions was its ‘IronClad Assurance’.

With the IronClad Assurance, one of IronPlanet’s team of experienced inspectors personally visits the item, and conducts a visual inspection of key components, takes photographs and selected measurements, and retrieves oil and fluid samples for lab analysis.

The findings of these inspections are presented free of charge for potential buyers to review before bidding on equipment, providing assurance that a fair representation of the item’s true condition.

“Our clients highly value the ‘open and honest’ approach that the IronClad Assurance provides buyers. They want the machinery bought quickly, with no unforeseen problems – such as buyers receiving a different quality good than what they saw advertised.”

He adds: “This potential lack of transparency was the main reason why many had shied away from online auctions in the past.”

Working with IronPlanet has brought a number of key benefits for both ERC Asset Solutions and their clients. “Here at ERC Asset Solutions, we have seen real time-saving benefits when selling assets through IronPlanet – on a batch of assets, the agreement of commercial terms takes only a matter of days, a much faster and more efficient service compared with a number of other channels,” Gerrard stated. “In addition, our clients often see reduced costs – transporting equipment from their point of origin to a land-based auction, and then on to the buyer, often incurs unnecessary transportation and administration costs.”

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Welcome to Putzmeister ‌

experience the new generation of truckmounted concrete pumps - great advanced features for your construction activities.

Power show act at 1 hour intervals starting from 10:30 am - bauma hall B6. Do not miss what others will surely be talking about soon!

Hall B6 and

2831GB

outdoor area

More information: www.bauma.putzmeister-informs-u.de/en

Product Focus

Raw power EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. page41

TOP TRENDS IN 2013

What forces will be at play when it comes to the equipment industry in 2013?

page 38

BAUMA ROUND THE CORNER

page 44

SECTOR ANALYSIS

AWPs and scissor lifts in a showroom near you.

page 45

A HEIGHT ADVANTAGE

Haulotte’s newest basket case heads a list of safer, higher and faster ways to get to height.

Bauma-related releases dominate this month’s new releases in Raw Power. Pre-Bauma suggests that we could expect a bounty of new kit.

page48 AWESOME ALE

Abu Dhabi’s heavy roller talks to CMME about its operation.

page 52

AFRICAN ADVENTURE

How a fleet of eight Doosan MT41 articulated dump trucks (ADTs) is being utilised on a dam project in the Chemususu in the Rift Valley.

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New Products

Cat’s new fluid thinking Why get It? Features powerFul hydraulics, heavy-duty Front end

C

SPeCIFICAtIONS: • Net Power Rating (SAe): 82 kW • Operating Weight, Max: 17,300kg • Dig Depth, Long Stick: 6.39m • Dig Depth, Short Stick: 6m • Bkt. Cap., Pin-On: 0.80-1.09m³ • transport ht Max: 3.070m

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aterpillar’s new 318D L Series 2 hydraulic excavator features an economical Tier 2/ Stage II compliant engine, a powerful hydraulic system, ground-level service access and world class comfort levels with a highly efficient hydraulic system and exceptionally robust major structures to provide a durable, easy-toservice machine that delivers high production with low fuel consumption. With a net power rating of 82 kW and operating weights to 17 300 kg, the new model provides a choice of a boom and two sticks to best fit its application. A designed cab provides a high level of comfort, visibility and operating ease.

The 3054CA engine has a “reliable mechanical governor” and a low-pressure fuel-injection system that combines to provide trouble-free operation, ease of maintenance, and high fuel efficiency. The 318D L Series 2 consumes an estimated 3 percent less fuel than its predecessor. Fuel system reliability is further enhanced by dual filtration, including water separation in the primary filter. The engine’s economy mode balances performance and fuel economy to provide fuel savings, while maintaining high breakout forces and lift capacities.

A new compact design for the hydraulic system results in more efficient use of power by incorporating shorter hoses and tubes to reduce friction and pressure drop. The Caterpillardesigned hydraulic system employs two pumps in all operating situations, resulting in enhanced productivity and faster implement speeds. An automatic boom-swing-priority system selects the most efficient mode of operation, based on joystick movement, and eliminates the need for

operator-selected work/power modes. More than 70 percent of structural welds are robotic and achieve deeper penetration than manual welds for increased strength and durability. Robustly constructed track roller frames and a grease-lubricated track ensure long undercarriage life.

To enhance overall productivity in specific applications, a reach boom is available for the 318D L Series 2.

Also available are two reach sticks that use added reinforcement for reliable performance.

For added versatility, the 318D L Series 2 can use either of two couplers, the CW for severe application and the Center-Lock Pin Grabber.

Available hydraulic kits for field installation facilitate adapting work tools to the machine.

The new machine’s operator station is spacious, quiet and comfortable, equipped with air conditioning, suspension seat, low-effort joysticks and a large LCD monitor in 27 languages. The cab is attached with viscous rubber mounts to reduce vibration and noise, and large glass areas provide excellent, all-around visibility.

The 318D L Series 2 is equipped with S∙O∙SSM (Scheduled Oil Sampling) ports and hydraulic test ports, and a connection for the Cat Electronic Technician service tool is easily accessible behind the cab.

Most routine service points are accessible from ground level, and a right-side service door allows servicing the machine’s filters. Hydraulic filter changes are extended to 2,000 hours, and the aircleaner’s double-element design provides superior cleaning efficiency.

KAISER COuLD WALK AWAy WITh AWARD Why GET IT? ElEctronic automation for EasiEr working accEssory managEmEnt systEm Among the machines nominated for the Bauma Innovation Award, Kaiser’s updated S-line is undoubtedly the easiest to imagine being used as apart of an expedition to another planet.

It’s bit of a looker as well. Rounded bodywork, enhanced ergonomics and optimised optional equipment not only create visual harmony but also ensure a significant increase in driver comfort.

The new generation of walking mobile excavators reveals a consistent focus on dynamic and at the same time functional design of every element of the vehicle – whether it’s the cab interior, the field of vision inside and out of the cab or the positioning of the heating and airconditioning system. The cab and superstructure

form a single unit which in turn harmonises with the vehicle as a whole. The new design is based on the principle of a compact radius excavator, offering outstanding all-round visibility of the entire working zone. The driver has a direct view of each of the excavator’s pads from the cab.

Integration of the new, significantly more powerful drive and cooling system called for innovative technological concepts and presented a major challenge in the design phase. When it came to developing and designing the new walking mobile excavators, KAISER benefited from the excellent collaboration between its own development team and established industrial designers from the firm “Design Department” based in Linz, Austria.

CAT uSES PRE-BAuMA TO PAvE ThE WAy

165 TONNE uP FROM MANITOWOC Why GET IT? narrow width PlEnty of rigging oPtions

Why GET ThEM? Packing nEw tEch rangE of Emission variants

SPECIFICATIONS: • Paving widths: 1.7 m-3.2m (5’7”-10’6”).

• Extended max width: 4m • Reduced min width: 650mm • Turning radius: 1.65m (5’5”) • Travel speed: 16 km/h

Caterpillar said is going to showcase 70 new products at Bauma. The company used the PreBauma event to talk, among other things, about its expanding range of compactors and pavers.

Caterpillar Paving Products will launch three new products at bauma in Munich: the AP300D Paver and two utility compactor product lines, the CB24B and the CB34B. They will be on display in Hall B6 and in the adjoining outdoor area.

The AP300D is versatile and manoeuvrable.

It features: a hydrostatic propel system that delivers smooth control. Paving widths that are easily adjusted with standard hydraulically

extendible widths of 1.7 m-3.2 m. 4m maximum width with bolt-on extensions. A reduction attachment narrows the paving width to 650mm. A tight turning radius of 1.65m and fast travel speeds of 16 km/hr for enhanced manoeuvrability and productivity.

Both the CB24B and CB34B compactor product lines rovide increased engine power and can also meet the European Union (EU) Stage IV/United States (US) EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards.

The C1.5 and C2.2 engines are also available in markets with less stringent emission standards and meet EU Stage IIIA and U.S. EPA Tier 4 Interim emission standards.

The CB24B and CB34B feature an ecomode to provide power as needed, minimizing fuel usage; a propel system to maximize performance on grades; enhanced operator visibility and comfort, including reduced sound levels; outstanding compaction results through consistent amplitudes.

Manitowoc followers may want to get their order book out in the third quarter.

Designed for the global market, the new Manitowoc MLC165, 165 Ton Lattice Boom Crawler Crane will make its European debut at Bauma 2013 in Germany.

Manufactured in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the Manitowoc MLC165 is easy to assemble and disassemble without the help of an assist crane due to the selfrigging feature and hydraulically removable counterweights and tracks.

The crane’s maximum boom length is 84m with an optional fixed jib

of 24.4 m or luffing jib of 51.8 m. Due to the compact width of 3 m the machine is versatile, as well as easy to road and maneuver around jobsites.

The crane is available with a Cummins diesel engine.

A new open-loop hydraulic system, served by two variable displacement piston pumps, gives the MLC165 more lifting power than other cranes of its class.

The crane was designed for a variety of different applications, such as general contracting, bridge building, steel erecting, pile-driving and more.

SPECIFICATIONS • Boom length: 84m • Fixed Jib: 24.4m • Luffing jib: 51.8m • Width: 3m • Max Weight: 165t

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New Products

NEW CONCEPT FrOm LIEBhErr WhY gET ThEm? HigH performance Lower weigHt

The Liebherr Compact Loaders on display at the 2013 Bauma represent an entirely new machine concept. The L 506 C und L 508 C combine high performance with maximum safety and extreme versatility on all kinds of task. Both models are exceptionally low in height, at less than 2,500 mm. The L 508 C with its 48 kW engine is the only compact loader with centre-pivot steering in this performance category to have such a low overall height.

The excellent versatility of these models opens up many additional applications, for example in road building, drainage, forestry and agriculture and in the service of local authorities and communities.

The frequent changes of operator and workplace constraints associated with such operating tasks present no problems.

A BrEAK IN ThE rEvOLuTION

An extremely high demolition performance with a single stroke impact energy of 100 Joule combined with a good power to weight ratio – these are the facts which Wacker Neuson claims are readily available at this point in time regarding its new

The new Liebherr Compact Loader range is an addition to the existing range of stereo, medium-size and large wheel loaders. The new compact loader was designed by a renowned industry designer of DesignDepartment, Linz.

The operator’s cab is comfortably well-equipped, with an above-average window area. The operator of the Compact Loader is assured of an unobstructed view of the working attachments.

The tapered design of the liftarm improves visibility even further; the operator can react quickly to any situation arising close to the machine.

Liebherr believes this guarantees maximum possible protection for people in the vicinity, the equipment and the load.

The controls in the operator’s cab are ergonomically laid out for intuitively correct operation; they can be individually adjusted by the operator for reduced fatigue and maximum performance. This ease of operation enhances both productivity and safety. The Compact Loader’s operator can concentrate fully on the task in hand and devote full attention to working and manoeuvring movements. The Compact Loader’s reduced height automatically lowers its centre of gravity.

SPECIFICATIONS: (L506C) • Weight: 5.18t • Tipping load: 3,450kg • Bucket: 8m³ • Engine power: 45kW

demolition breaker, the EH100.

Its new demolition breaker, a world’s first within the range of demolition breaker, will be introduced to the market punctually for the Bauma 2013.

“Powerful, formidable and unique” is how Dennis Vitze, Product Manager for Demolition Technology at Wacker Neuson, describes the new demolition breaker. “Our idea was to move into a higher performance class in the demolition segment with our new demolition breaker, while remaining easy to transport and cost efficient. This goal has been definitively achieved with the EH 100.” The single stroke impact energy of 100 Joules is packed into a compact hood with an absolutely new design.

The ergonomically shaped, fully spring-mounted hood allows the operator to precisely guide the demolition breaker while maintaining visual contact with the chisel’s tip. This helps to make the demolition application extremely efficient. Plus all this is bolstered by the low hand/arm vibrations (HAV) of 5.8 m/s”.

Wacker Neuson’s proven hollow piston percussion system with striker rod is also in operation in the EH 100 and does so without wear-prone seals and gaskets.

The system also makes possible the extremely high demolition performance. Also well-known from other electric demolition breaker by Wacker Neuson is the wear-free asynchronous motor with its brushless drive.

Tel: +966 3 802 4938 Fax: +966 3 826 9894 www.ahqsons.com info@ahqsons.com

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CONCEPT: SEmITrENChLESS PIPELAYINg With Pipe Express, herrenknecht has developed a new semitrenchless method for installing pipelines.

In comparison with the open construction method, routes are considerably narrower, no groundwater lowering is necessary and there is less impact on nature.

This has a very positive effect on the grid operators’ construction costs. Because of the especially ecological and cost-efficient working method, the development of this new system is subsidised by the german Environment ministry. An expert jury has now nominated Pipe Express for the bauma Innovation Award 2013.

Pipe Express is a new mechanized method for the near-surface installation of pipelines of up to 1,000 meters in length and with diameters of 800 to 1,500 millimeters using the half-open construction method. A tunnel boring machine loosens the soil which is then directly conveyed aboveground using a milling unit which is carried along. At the same time, the pipeline is installed underground. Since earthwork is reduced to a minimum and no groundwater lowering along the

route is necessary, Pipe Express® has very little impact on the environment. This method is unique so far: For the installation of pipelines with a diameter of up to 1,500 millimeters, the soil is directly removed and not pushed aside. Pipe Express is ideal, for example, for projects in which the groundwater level is only a few centimeters below the terrain’s surface, in mainly swampy terrain or when nature protection is of special importance.

The Pipe Express faces competition from Aker Wirth’s mobile Tunnel mine The miner is very flexible and versatile. using undercutting technology it is especially efficient with tunnelling in extremely hard rock (up to max. 300 mPa).

Another feature of this tunnel boring system is its ability to cut - in addition to circular tunnels - rectangular or horseshoe-shaped cross-sections of up to 6m bore diameter, eliminating the need to backfill.

KEY FACTS:

• Pipeline length: 1km • Pipeline diameters: 800-1,500mm

Trends

Caution f o E d i s tS deSpite E h t inveStmen l a n it p o a c ade. e ave been m g on larg Erring out takin Stability h

ab al cautiouS term fiSc ng Shortill remain ti w c S a p ie n im a p S n Some com nt deciSio at importa the fact th

Equipment investment will pick up in the second half of 2013.

Equipment investment will grow this year, although the rate of growth will be hampered by fiscal uncertainty.

pent-up demand will spur investment across varied equipment types. demand for replacement equipment will drive investment in construction, agriculture and transportation categories in particular, while other equipment types will await the replacement cycle.

thE EConomy despite pressing considerations such as technological innovations and aging equipment, the economy will be the true barometer for whether or not businesses acquire new equipment in 2013.

Top 10 Equipment trends in 2013

EquipmEnt finanCing Equipment financing will help businesses preserve capital and improve expense planning in challenging economic conditions.

CMME looks at the US Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) top trends for 2013

lEasing loans and leasing to have effect. in 2013, $742 billion (55%) of the projected $1.3-trillion investment in plant, equipment and software investment in the us will be financed through loans, leases and lines of credit. seven out of 10 businesses will use at least one form of financing to acquire equipment.

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Trends

IMPACT Business size will impact equipment acquisition. Size will matter when acquiring equipment in 2013.

The gaining prominence of cloud computing will transform the way businesses pay for information technology investments. Along with changes in how companies consume software and hardware, cloud computing will spawn new financing options. Companies will look to equipment financiers for variable payment structures in the cloud.

SIzE wIll MATTER

Credit market conditions will remain favourable for long-term equipment financing. Businesses will find an improving credit supply.

Business size will im pact equip matter w ment acq hen acqu uisition. si iring equ ze will ipment in 2013.

DEPRECIATIon The one-year extension of bonus depreciation may provide incentives for businesses to acquire equipment. The continuation of the depreciation bonus will allow businesses to deduct up to 50% of the cost of new equipment purchases in 2013.

Although the value of lease financing will remain, businesses will begin to adapt their equipment acquisition strategies to comply with long-awaited changes to lease accounting standards.

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FeatureAnalysis Sector Slug

Access Accepted CMME hops inside the basket and checks the weight charts to see what’s up in access platforms and boom lifts.

U

nsurprisingly, a lot of manufacturers are keeping their cards close to their chest when it comes to new launch news ahead of Bauma.

That hasn’t stopped some access platform makers breaking out early to reveal their hand.

Among them is Snorkel. Snorkel is launching three new global products for Bauma 2013, including a compact RT scissor lift, a low-level access machine, and a self-propelled mast boom lift.

The S3970RT compact rough-terrain scissor lift is designed for working in confined spaces, such as in between buildings. Built on Snorkel’s SRT chassis, the S3970RT provides a maximum platform height of 11.5m but is only 1.77m wide.

Suitable for rough-terrain applications, the S3970RT has four-wheel drive, an articulating rear axle, 350mm of ground clearance and 30% gradeability. Standard features include automatic self-levelling stabilizers and a 1.2m extension deck for additional outreach.

The S3970RT joins two established products in the Snorkel SRT series; the S3370RT and S2770RT. Like these lifts, the S3970RT is powered by a Kubota diesel engine, but is also available powered by a petrol engine, LPG, or a petrol-LPG combination. It is also available as the S3970BE bi-energy model. This versatile drive train allows the operator to work outdoors on the diesel

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engine, then switch to an electric motor for emissions legislation compliance when working inside buildings.

Additional standard features include fork lift pockets for ease of transport and a slide-out service tray for quick and easy access to the engine.

Designed at Snorkel’s New Zealand facility for the Australasian market, the machine will be available in the rest of the world later this year.

Snorkel will also show a new self-propelled low-level access platform at Bauma. Providing a 3m maximum platform height, the battery-powered Snorkel S1030E is lightweight enough for almost any floor load-bearing restrictions and can be driven at full height, delivering increased productivity and efficiency benefits over push-around low-level access platforms.

Furthermore, Snorkel has enhanced its popular M1230E self-propelled mast lift with a 500mm rollout deck extension. This optional extra extends the platform size to 1.46m, providing additional reach without the need to move the machine. The M1230E all-electric lift can be driven through standard interior doorways and carried in passenger elevators, as well as lift two people with tools to a safe platform height of 3.6m (11.8 ft.).

The robust reverse concentric mast design gives the M1230E its excellent lift capacity of 227kg (113kg

with the deck extended) and an extremely stable work platform, even when fully elevated. It is used in a wide range of applications, from construction and maintenance to stock-picking. It is also rated for outdoor use by one person.

The M1230E is fitted with twin “saloon door-style” entry gates and the same control system also found on Snorkel’s S Series scissor lifts, providing smooth proportional controls and easy-to-use diagnostics for troubleshooting. It also has a flat steel deck floor with high grip tape, which prevents any misplaced screws or other small items falling into the machine’s works.

Meanwhile Genie has been busy with the big – see the GTH-1544 15 ton telehandler – and the small – see its range of die-cast models. However it has also found time to introduce its new Genie ZX-135/70 articulating boom. The 40m-plus boom has been significantly redesigned, with important improvements in reliability, performance, operator features, and serviceability. The Genie ZX-135/70 is already in production and available for purchase in all worldwide markets.

“The Genie ZX-135/70 is an important step toward the introduction of a new family of next generation aerials,” said Scott Krieger, senior product manager, booms and telehandlers, Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP). “Our customers will be delighted with many of the new ground-breaking designs and products that we are introducing now and in the near future.”

The ZX-135/70 offers versatility in the selfpropelled 120-135-ft. market. The boom features a maximum platform height of 40m,21m of horizontal outreach, and “an unmatched 25m of up-and-over clearance”. The ZX-135/70 features a new X-Chassis design. This design provides a wider footprint and reduces occupied floor pressure by 30%. The boom lift’s axles extend to a 5m width and retract to 2.5m, requiring no over-width highway permits.

The robust, box-section axles pivot from vertical mounting pins, it says, provides easy and reliable machine set-up, with hose and hard line protection throughout. Among its other recent additions, are its DC and bi-energy (combining the quiet, emissionfree and efficient operation of a 48V DC machine with the versatility of a diesel generator powered machine to provide a boom that is ideal for indoor and outdoor applications) battery-powered articulating boom models: Z-34/22 and Z-45/25J. The recent Rental Show in the US, saw native manufacturer JLG, revealed a raft of kit including its 340AJ articulating boomlift and the 1932RS and 3248RS scissorlifts as well as the LiftPod portable AWP. The 1932RS and 3248RS scissorlifts have platform heights of 5.7m and 9.7m and capacities of 226kg and 320kg respectively. The units are designed for hospitals, schools, libraries, office buildings and commercial construction applications.Passive pothole protection, a simplified control system, and just four hydraulic hoses, contribute to a low cost of ownership, while easy operation comes from proportional control of the drive and lift, the ability to self-load onto a rollback for easy transportation, and direct electric drive that provides, it claims, industry-leading duty cycles.

The Liftpod manlift has been refined since its release – majoring on safety and affordability – in 2008. JLG reckons the Podlift costs a quarter

Spreading the load The IPAF Safety Experience at the bauma 2013 construction show (15-21 April in Munich, Germany) will feature a walk-through learning experience on how to use powered access equipment safely and effectively. The IPAF stand N1115 in the outdoor area will highlight the “Spread the load” campaign promoting the correct use of spreader plates, share results and findings from the accident reporting database, and

provide a meeting point for members to network and discuss issues in a relaxed setting.

“When people work at height, they still tend to turn to traditional methods without first thinking if mobile elevating work platforms or mast climbing work platforms might make the job safer and more productive,” said IPAF CEO Tim Whiteman.

“Falls from height are still the single largest killer in the workplace – powered

of traditional one-fourth the cost of traditional AWPs. Despite only weighing than 68kg, it can lift 150kg, can be assembled in 30 seconds, and can be raised or lowered with a cordless 18-volt drill or optional Power Pack Kit. Haulotte unveiled a prototype of the new roughterrain telescopic boom for the HT23RTJ aerial work platform last year. It was designed by its R&D

access is a good way of solving this problem. The IPAF Safety Experience at bauma is all about showing people what powered access equipment is, what it can do and how to use it safely for the best results.”

As part of IPAF’s ongoing “Job Access” project to attract young people to the powered access industry, visitors to the stand will be invited to take a short interactive quiz. This quiz takes the audience on a

learning tour of safety themes to consider when using powered access equipment, using eyecatching graphic art and snappy phrases.

The IPAF Manufacturers’ Technical Committee will meet on 17 April 2013 at 9:00 at the IPAF stand.

The IPAF Stand Reception will also be held on 17 April at 17:00. All IPAF events around bauma, including the IPAF Press Conference, will be listed at IPAF Events.

department in close collaboration with a panel of customers to meet the needs of a range of industries working at heights up to 23m. The AWP is ideal for many applications including construction work, the shipbuilding industry, chemical and petrochemical industries, and the aviation industry. The new telescopic boom has oscillating axles as standard which gives “excellent rough-terrain ability”.

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14-17 April 2013 Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Co-located with

Saudi Building & Interiors Exhibition

The region’s largesT ConsTrUCTion

eQUiPMenT eXhiBiTion Find out more. Visit www.constructionmachineryshow.com © 2013 Corporate Publishing International. All rights reserved.

Following a successful 2012 event, the Construction Machinery Show, the largest construction machinery exhibition in the Gulf region, returns to Jeddah between 14-17 April 2013.

With the total value of awarded construction contracts reaching $72 billion in 2011 and with much more to come, the Construction Machinery Show is the ideal opportunity for buyers of construction machinery and heavy equipment to meet manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.

A total of 450 billion Saudi Riyals ($120 billion) will be spent on construction projects between 2012-2016, and much of the development is focused on turning Jeddah into a world class city, making it the perfect location for the Construction Machinery Show.

The 2012 exhibition proved that Saudi Arabia is the most dynamic country in terms of construction in the region, drawing praise from exhibitors for the quality of his attendees and the number of deals signed on the show floor.

With over 20,000 sqm of space at the Jeddah Exhibition Centre dedicated purely to construction equipment - the Construction Machinery Show in 2013 will once again stand out as an event where visitors come to buy.

We will be back in April 2013, Will you?

Special Interview

Tel: +966 3 802 4938 Fax: +966 3 826 9894 www.ahqsons.com info@ahqsons.com

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High and heavy rollers

Jonathon Savill meets ALE, a company that specialises in moving the very big to the very smallest detail

A

LE is a heavy lift company that specialises in moving abnormal loads. Loads are abnormal by virtue of volume, weight or size, and they move them by trailer, barge, crane and other specialist equipment.

Their head office is in Staffordshire UK, but they have an R&D facility in Holland. They have been in Abu Dhabi for twenty one years in June. It was started by Roger Harries, the founder of ALE, with a couple of trailers.

ALE is not a transport company, and like an iceberg much, of what they achieve is not visible to the casual observer. They are principally engineers, and much of that engineering skill goes into planning. During a busy period they execute six or eight movements a night.

They don’t just jump in the trucks and drive. Some of the bigger jobs have to be planned up to a year ahead. On a recent job they negotiated an extra hour of movement with the police, which gave them an extra few kilometres a day. It was a 260km road movement so that made a big difference.

Their Abu Dhabi office employs around twenty five engineers, a mixture of civil and mechanical. They also utilise specialist software and equipment to plan load movement.

Cameron Waugh, general manager of ALE’s Abu Dhabi branch explains: “We have software for trailer stability calculations, software for bending calculations, swept path analysis, when we are doing route simulation.

There is a lot of engineering here.”

What stands them apart from other companies is the amazing statistics of their load factor. A standard road going truck has two or three axles on both truck and trailer. The total unit will be around 60m and weigh up to 38t.

With the capacity to lift 60,000t a small job for ALE would start around a hundred tons. There are two parts to the specialist services that ALE provides.

The first is to come to terms with the terrain. Abu Dhabi, their base, is an island. Many loads come and go off by barge. This in turn engenders a need for cranes. There is a standard rule for any abnormal

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Special Interview

load travelling by road; it’s to get the load from position to port as quickly as possible. Much of the skilled planning comes into optimising, and thus reducing, that distance.

You start by applying pragmatic engineering. Firstly you limit the hours that the load will move; large loads often only work from 1am to 5am to minimise disruption to road users. Then you assess the optimum route, and what the hazards are. These can include telegraph poles, bridges roundabouts, narrow access and height limitations.

In Abu Dhabi there is sometimes a need to reinforce parts of the infrastructure of the routes, there may be damage to culverts, for example. ALE has recently had to build steel reinforcements to cross a bridge, so theirs is a combination of mechanical and civil engineering.

There are other hazards: “Sometimes, in places like Yemen or Iraq, we have to address security issues as well. The client will often request it, but we have our own set of procedures rules that are carried out regardless of whether they have been requested or not.”

The ALE plant has little in common with road going trucks, but there is one monumental key factor that unites both kinds, and it is axle weight. If you put a load onto a truck and there is too much weight on

“IN PLAcES LIkE YEMEN or IrAq, WE oFTEN

hAvE To ADDrESS SEcurITY ISSuES. WE hAvE our oWN SET oF ProcEDurES ruLES.” Tel: +966 3 802 4938 Fax: +966 3 826 9894 www.ahqsons.com info@ahqsons.com

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one axle, it can cause road fatigue because of the way it sits on the road surface. So elements of weight and distribution are key factors, and multiplied by the number of times the maximum load exceeds normal load bearing.

Waugh explains: “We have a lot of axles so it spreads the load. We can prove how much load each wheel is putting onto the road surface. We have so many permits that everything we do is monitored beyond belief. The loading we put onto the road is actually very low.”

They achieve part of this balance by using specialised modular trailers. There are two kinds, the first is SPMT or Self-Propelled Modular Transporter. These as the name suggests, are self-propelled. They are mostly used inside yards or ports but on some jobs ALE uses a mixture of trailers. They recently used an SPMT to cross a narrow bridge and then reverted to road trailers.

What both types of trailers have in common is a group of interlocking axles that can be configured to any width and length required. They can also be adjusted for camber. So if the road dips to the right they can pump up the corresponding axles and adjust individual axle height. At extreme lengths you also have to be aware of the trailers flexing and twisting and these trailers adjust to address that.

The longest configuration they have made so far is 100 metres in length.

They don’t talk about trucks, their power units are called ‘prime movers’. ALE owns 13 of them and they are highly specialised. They carry extra compressors to power the braking on the trailers, and are heavily modified. They have Scammells and ex-military MAN multi-wheel units, called 8x8s. They are mostly 660

Hard to Dodge Abu Dhabi isn’t just home to ALE’s behemoths in the UAE, it’s also the location of the world’s biggest replica truck at Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan’s Emirates National Auto Museum.

The 8:1 replica vehicle he built has four bedrooms inside the cabin. It weights over 50T, and it’s mobile.

The original Dodge Power Wagon was introduced in 1946.

It was based on the 3/4T Army truck’s chassis with a civilian cab and a purpose designed 8-foot cargo box. It had a 3,200mm wheelbase chassis

and featured the 230 cubic-inch flat head six engine, a twospeed transfer case, a 4-speed transmission with a power take off opening which would send power to the front and back of the truck for operating auxiliary equipment and large 9.00/16-8 ply tires on 16X6.50 inch 5-stud wheels. In 1961, the 230 was replaced with the 251 cubicinch flat head six. The nominal one-ton rated Power Wagon’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) was 8,700 pounds.

A two-ton W500 Power Wagon (only a chassis cab was built) was

horsepower but have a reduction gearbox, so they only do around 25km/h. Again the application of pragmatic engineering dictates different utility to most trucks. A major one is that prime movers have the ability to be linked together to provide massive drive power. Once moving this convoy stays in the same gear and can be moving as slowly as 7km/h.

ALE drivers have a specific skillset. Waugh explains: “A normal truck driver would get into these trucks and rip the diff right out.”

“They are able to drive in pairs, or in teams of up to five drivers. They need to be able to let the clutch out smoothly, and at the right time, issued instructions by radio. They also work closely with a steersman, who steers the back part, and are watched by eighteen or twenty people to make sure they are clear of obstruction. We tend to retain our drivers, we don’t hire and fire. We look after them.”

introduced in 1956 as the C3HW, and lasted through the 1971 model year. This was replaced in 1972 with the W600 (also cab and chassis only), which was produced until 1977, when all Dodge medium-duty models were discontinued. To compensate for the loss of the medium-duty W600 a new W400 chassis cab was introduced in 1977. The Power Wagon nameplate was discontinued in 1981 with the introduction of the Dodge Ram, with the four-wheel-drive models being sold under the “Power Ram” nameplate through 1993.

Waugh tells me about some of their work: “We did a job where we moved two ships called wind carriers.

From keel to bridge they were 30 metres high.”

While I am trying to picture this I ask him how big the ships were?

“They were about 40m wide, around 120m long.

There were 408 axle lines.”

“We moved them across from the yard and over a road. Actually it was a record. We are probably the only company in the Middle East that could have done the job.”

For the record the ships weighed 12,000t each.

ALE is a well-established company with a twenty year track record and one of the only companies in the Middle East to have barges, road units and cranes.

It’s clear then that they’re here for the long haul, and competing with them is not something you’d undertake lightly.

Tel: +966 3 802 4938 Fax: +966 3 826 9894 www.ahqsons.com info@ahqsons.com

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