21 minute read
NEWS
NEW MACHINES, NEW OFFICES, NEW PROJECTS, NEW INITIATIVES – WE LOOK AROUND THE REGION AT WHAT’S NEW THIS MONTH
Ritchie Bros. auction breaks five-year record
Ritchie Bros.’ recently concluded September auctions in Dubai broke a five-year site record for bidders with more than 1,289 attending the now entirely online event from 86 countries.
The global industrial auctioneers said there has been strong attendance at its auctions throughout 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with the September auctions seeing bidding registrations going up by 32% compared to the same auction a year ago. Hundreds of new bidders joined the Dubai auctions throughout 2020, added the auctioneers.
A total of 2,090 lots were sold in the September online auction that was open for bidding over several days. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Iraq were the top-five buyer countries in the Middle East. The USA, Canada, India, Netherlands and the UK were the top-five outside the region.
In terms of the sold equipment, the leading asset categories were hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, all-terrain cranes, crawler tractors and hydraulic truck cranes. Motor graders, access equipment, SUVs and other items were also sold in the company’s third Dubai auction of 2020.
Eduard Faig from Ritchie Bros Middle East said: “Our customers here in the region love the onsite auction experience, but online bidding is steadily growing here as well. With our Dubai team’s support, many customers from the region placed their first online bids and were very positive about the experience. Ritchie Bros. will hold its next Dubai auction on December 15 and 16.”
NEW HIMOINSA GENSETS FOR STATIONARY APPLICATIONS Himoinsa has introduced its new HS Stationary Range of generators from 10 to 50 kVA at 50Hz and 60Hz, with a modular design and three different canopy sizes available to house the different models depending on their power. The HS range are a new design developed with the goal of “meeting the real needs of stationary applications while fully maintaining product quality”, said Himoinsa. The range is powered by Yanmar engines, designed by Yanmar exclusively for the Himoinsa stationary range, as well as Stamford and Meccalte alternators.
Bobcat has launched a slew of new products and ventured into segments where it was not present before in pursuance of its ‘Next is Now’ corporate philosophy, which the company says will “reinvent the compact equipment industry” for the next several years.
At a special online launch event last month, held at its Europe Middle East and Africa headquarters in Dobris in the Czech Republic, Bobcat unveiled several new products together, which included a new range of small articulated loaders and a new light compaction range, while the brand also announced its first foray into the compact wheeled loader market. The company also showed off its technological innovations, smart customer solutions and future technologies.
Bobcat said in its first 60 years it “created the Global Compact Equipment Industry and changed how the world works. That was then. With ‘Next is Now’ the company is reinventing everything. In fact, Next is Now ensures what’s next for the industry is happening right now at Bobcat”.
With the new move, Bobcat said it is creating more efficient products that offer the agility, versatility and toughness that have made the brand famous, combined with significant product diversification and expansion into new markets, complemented by more intelligent, more connected technologies and services.
Gustavo Otero, president, Doosan Bobcat EMEA, said: “With Next is Now, Bobcat is empowering people to work more efficiently and to enable them to achieve more than ever before. We are advancing more powerful, more efficient and smarter equipment and technologies in an expansion that offers an enhanced, wider choice of products for our customers.”
Mammoet helps widen Dubai bridge
Mammoet has assisted the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) in the widening works for the Mirdif City Center bridge, which included lifting and installing 24 long and heavy precast concrete girders in place.
The project consisted of the construction of additional lanes between two existing two-lane bridges, converting them into one high-capacity flyover comprising six lanes. To meet the
installation challenge, main contractor Afcons Infrastructure contacted Mammoet, who took a new approach, using a tailored mobile gantry system straddling the two existing bridges. This system comprised custom-made beams with two 100t strand jacks and skidding system sitting on top of SPMT trailers. The strand jacks lifted the girders vertically, the skidding system allowed side movements, and the SPMTs transported the girders from the pick-up location to the installation spot.
Mammoet added that the mobile gantry raised each precast girder - 30m long and weighing 68t - with rigging using the strand jacks to a sufficient height for transport and carried it over the existing bridges until its setting point, where it was skidded above its final position, lowered and secured onto supports.
EMRILL’S SAFETY LANDMARK
UAE-based facilities management company, Emrill, has reached 13 million safe manhours without lost-time injury (LTI) in August, marking 243 consecutive days without an LTI across all of its sites.
NEW TADANO TELESCOPIC BOOM CRAWLER CRANE Tadano’s new telescopic boom crawler crane has a lifting capacity of 156t and a maximum load moment of 590 metre-tonnes and was developed and built by Demag in Zweibrücken, Germany, debuting in 2019. With Demag now part of the Tadano Group, the crane is being relaunched as the Tadano GTC-1800EX. It has an adjustable track width in both symmetrical and asymmetrical configurations and its 60m-long main boom can lift on inclines of up to four degrees.
DUBAI DEVELOPMENTS SELECTS FARNEK
Farnek has been awarded a three-year contract by Dubai Development to manage a range of facilities in Dubai, including four key properties within its portfolio covering retail, residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Farnek will mobilise a total of over 100 staff and technicians to deliver services encompassing technical work (MEP, HVAC and Civil), specialised systems, exterior general cleaning, and other services.
HITACHI’S NEW TECHNOLOGY ‘CONSITE MINE’ TO HELP EXTEND EQUIPMENT LIFE
Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) and its consolidated subsidiary, Wenco International Mining Systems, have jointly developed “ConSite® Mine”, a new technology platform that helps resolve problems at mine sites by remotely monitoring mining machines on a 24/7 basis through the use of IoT and AI based analysis of equipment operations data.
According to Hitachi, it has developed this technology to help customers and HCM dealers predict costly maintenance issues before they occur, such as the occurrence of cracks in excavator booms or arms, by utilising machine learning and applied analysis technologies. Detailed information from these predictive alerts are provided on the web-based ConSite Mine dashboard and other items.
Currently, Hitachi is piloting the technology in Australia, Zambia and Indonesia. “ConSite Mine” will be further modified based on customer feedback before wider commercial release in 2021.
New AMCS system a “world’s-first”
AMCS technologies has unveiled a new anti-collision solution that works between tower cranes and mobile cranes – making it the “world’s first” system of its kind.
The French crane technology and safety solutions company said the new DCS 61-S system is now available for sale internationally after several
months of development and testing in real conditions. AMCS technologies also received the Technical Innovation of the Year Award for the new product at the 2020 Tower Crane Trophies awarded at JDL in September.
Describing the new approach taken in developing the DCS 61-S system, AMCS said: “The anti-collision management of the AMCS technologies solution does not lie in the simple temporary neutralisation of areas on the site prohibiting tower cranes to work within a defined perimeter where the mobile crane could potentially be located. The new functionality of the DCS 61-S automatically detects the movements of mobile
machines and integrates the control of tower cranes.”
According to AMCS, the DCS 61-S for mobile cranes is easy to install and program, with a screen installed in the crane operator’s cabin that provides him with the information needed for operating the machine in real time. The DCS 61-S placed on tower and mobile cranes communicate their information via a radio network and constantly know the position of each of the machines thanks to geolocation antennas. When mobile cranes move and reposition themselves in a different area to work, the tower crane devices automatically know their positions and the system creates an area of interference for the machines involved.
WEG ANTI-VIRAL COATING A new antiviral coating from industrial equipment manufacturer, WEG, claims to make 99.9% of coronavirus inactive within minutes of contact with the surface. The polyurethane W-THANE APA 501 coating is recommended to protect industrial and medical equipment in high risk environments.
Yanmar announces Middle East branch
Yanmar has officially announced the establishment of its Middle East branch in Dubai, which will provide sales and service support to its dealers the region along with a parts warehouse.
The Japanese engines, power products and compact construction equipment giant said the branch, located in the Dubai Airport Free Zone, is being operated by the company’s subsidiary and Asia regional headquarters, Yanmar Asia (Singapore) Co. Ltd.
Yanmar added that the branch began preliminary operations in January last year, providing support and training in Yanmar’s marine products business in the region. From this month, a new parts warehouse will enable the rapid supply of emergency parts and strengthen relationships with customers. Ismail Nafiu, branch manager, said: “The establishment of this Middle East office and new warehouse brings us closer to our customers and lets us respond with the speed that our customers expect. These offices and facilities demonstrate Yanmar’s long term commitment to growth and expansion of business in the Middle East.”
Yanmar engines are in use in the region in the power and construction sectors and the company said it chose Dubai as the location for its Middle East presence because of its proximity to customers and also due to the city’s amenities.
KOBELCO RELAUNCHES MINI DIGGER Kobelco has made a re-launch of its SK17SR-3E mini excavator with several enhancements, design improvements and new features, incorporated based on customer and dealer feedback. The Japanese excavator giant said the updated machine, ideal for job-sites where space is restricted, combines a compact design with wide digging reach for efficient performance, excellent manoeuvrability and durability.
MBR SOLAR PARK SELECTS SHANGHAI ELECTRIC
Shanghai Electric Group (SEG) has been appointed the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the fifth phase project of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai with a capacity of 900mW.
NEW OTR TYRES
MAHANSARIA TYRES OPENS NEW PLANT FOR ASCENSO BRAND
Indian off-the-road (OTR) tyre maker Mahansaria Tyres has announced the start of production of a new brand of OTR tyres in its Gujarat, India-based facility and the acquisition of a majority stake in European Agriculture Tyre Distributors GmbH as part of its widening global outreach.
Mahansaria Tyres Private Limited (MTP) said its new brand, ASCENSO, will offer a wide range of world class OTR tyres, manufactured in its “state-of-the-art greenfield off-highway
tyre manufacturing facility in Panoli, in the western Indian state of Gujarat”.
Set up with an investment of over $100m, the plant is spread across 127 acres of land and has a capacity of 40,000 MT/annum in its first phase, said MTP. The plant will meet the growing demand in the industrial, construction and earthmoving, and agricultural applications.
The plant was inaugurated virtually by the MTP chairman Ashok Mahansaria and MD and CEO Yogesh Mahansaria.
JEKKO CELEBRATES 20 YEARS WITH 2000TH MINI CRANE Italian mini crane maker Jekko recently celebrated a double milestone, marking 20 years of building its machines with the delivery of its 2000th crane. During the JDL exhibition in France earlier this year, Jekko delivered its 2000th spider crane, an SPX650, to a French customer. Jekko mini spider cranes are also in use in the Middle East and are part of the rental fleets of companies such as the UAE’s AJI Rentals.
Bidders rise at Euro Auctions sale
Euro Auctions has reported a year-on-year increase of 63% in average lot prices at its September sale in Dubai while first-time bidder registrations rose by nearly 300%, with 20% of the new bidders placing successful winning bids.
The global machinery auctioneers said the results prove that there “is an appetite
for good used equipment in the region” and that Euro Auctions is “fast becoming the auction of choice for buyers and sellers in the Middle East for the disposal of stock to a true international audience”.
According to Euro Auctions the Dubai sale on September 28th attracted increased number of bidders, doubling the number of internet buyers, and also increasing the number of UAE vendors. The one-day sale resulted in 33% of all bids being transacted online proving the success of the marketing reach for this sale.
Bidders for the sale came from 65 countries, of which, 21 countries successfully bought on the day. Online bids came from 19 countries around the globe, with the top bidding countries being the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, the UK and Africa countries as a whole.
Derek Bleakly, general manager of Euro Auctions, Dubai, said: “In the 12 months since mid-2019, there has been a marked uptake in the Middle East market for good machinery and equipment. Contractors and rental companies in the Middle East have been buying relatively low levels of new machines for the last 4-5 years and, as a result, stocks of plant are aging. Not buying through dealerships, buyers have turned to auctions for good late-year machines as well as new unused stock.”
KOHLER LAUNCHES VIRTUAL BOOTH Kohler, has launched a new virtual outreach service to support customers and showcase its products and technologies online in a more effective way in the current global Covid-19 scenario. The service provides virtual strolls around a Kohler booth and meetings with Kohler experts and product managers.
GCC JOINT VENTURE
AQUACHEMIE DMCC TEAMS UP WITH KURITA FOR WATER TREATMENT
Japanese multinational, Kurita Water Industries, and UAEbased AquaChemie DMCC have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for water and process treatment chemicals solutions for the refinery, petrochemicals, fertiliser, power and desalination, paper and metal industries in the GCC.
The joint venture company, set up through Kurita’s subsidiary, Kurita Europe GmbH, will leverage both companies’ complementary strengths to be “the single face for customers in the wider GCC region and offer solutions based on technologically innovative Japanese programmes, fully backed by local production, resources, and prompt customer service”, said a statement from Kurita.
Kurita AquaChemie will operate two new production plants in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and in Jebel Ali, Dubai. These two production sites were commissioned in H1 2020 and are expected to have a production capacity of about 230,000 metric tons per annum in the initial phase.
An agreement to officially form the new joint venture was signed in Dubai by Lorenzo Carollo, CEO of Kurita Middle East, and Subrato Saha and V Anandkumar, directors of AquaChemie DMCC, in the presence of top JAFZA officials.
Kurita AquaChemie says its focus on optimising water and energy resources can result in savings of up to 40%, with solutions delivered over the strong AquaChemie foundation in GCC countries. LGMG’S LARGEST ELECTRIC SCISSOR
Chinese brand LGMG’s new AS1413E electric scissor lift offers a platform height of 13.8m and a maximum working height of 15.8m - the largest electric scissor in the brand’s range. The AS1413E has a 320kg capacity for two occupants in its basket. It weighs 3.5t and has a 0.9m roll extension deck. Its AC motor drive gives longer lasting performance and front wheel steer offers zero inside turning radius.
Operator rescued from high JAFZA crane
A crane operator who suffered a heart attack while at work in the cabin of a 65m high port crane in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port was rescued by Dubai Police in a daring operation, said the city’s police department.
Lieutenant Colonel Yahya Hussain Mohammad, director of the Difficult Missions Unit at Dubai Police, said that the operator was using the crane to move containers from ships at the port when he suffered the heart attack.
“Teams from Dubai Police, Civil Defence and ambulance went to the scene and rescued the operator,” the police official said in a statement.
Rescue teams climbed up to the operator’s cabin at a height
of 65m – equivalent to the height of a 13-storeybuilding - to provide first aid and stabilise his condition before transferring him to hospital.
“The most difficult challenge was bringing the man down swiftly and safely as the crane’s lift had broken down. Our teams of technicians had to repair the lift and operate it manually before we lifted the man down to the first floor where he was then placed on a stretcher and carried down to the ambulance,” Lt Col Mohammad said.
NFT RISES IN HONG KONG
Tower crane specialist NFT has supplied a fleet of five Potain tower cranes comprising two MCT 565 and three MCT 385 units in the construction of a public housing project in Hong Kong.
Nawar Al Zahlawi, business development manager at the Abu Dhabi-headquartered NFT Group, said: “We selected the MCT 565 and MCT 385 cranes for the project because the cranes offer impressive lifting performance on site, combined with easier transport and assembly on site.” Both models are from the advanced range of Potain topless cranes built in Zhangjiagang, China.
Over the years, NFT has expanded its services to supply Potain cranes to several projects around the globe and is now the largest Potain dealer in the world. The MCT 565 cranes are the latest additions to NFT’s fleet in Hong Kong and for this project they are configured with 45m of their 80m jib. This gives them a tip capacity of 13t and the ability to lift 25t at 25.5m. The MCT 385 cranes are working with 35m jibs out of their total of 75m. In this configuration they can lift 10t at a 35m radius. The Potain MCT 385 features a maximum capacity of 20t and a maximum free-standing height of 64.9m.
Potain added in a statement that the MCT 565 offers a load moment of 550tm and jib length configurations from 3080m in 5m increments. At its 80m jib end, it can handle 4t of weight. “Despite its increased size, the model stays true to the design characteristics of Potain topless cranes, with easy transport and erection combining with excellent on-site performance,” said Potain.
The manufacturer added that the MCT 565 is easy to transport as its upper section, with its full 80m jib, travels on just nine trucks “thanks to innovative, space-saving design features such as a folding cab on the slewing unit and a folding counter jib”.
75 YEARS YOUNG
WITH JCB MARKING ITS DIAMOND JUBILEE, WE RECOUNT THE BRITISH BRAND’S JOURNEY FROM GARAGE TO GLOBAL FORCE AS IT CELEBRATES THIS YEAR
WITH NEW MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
JCB was founded on October 23rd, 1945 by the late Joseph Cyril Bamford in a tiny lock-up garage in the Staffordshire market town of Uttoxeter. It was the same day as his son Anthony, now Lord Bamford, was born and as Mr Bamford remarked “being presented with a son tended to concentrate the mind and when you were starting at the bottom, there was only one way to go and that was up.”
The foundation for the growth that was to follow was the manufacture of a tipping trailer made out of war time scrap which today stands proudly in the showroom of JCB’s World HQ.
It was produced in his garage and sold for £45 at the town’s market. The buyer’s old cart was also taken in part exchange and Mr Bamford refurbished it and sold for another £45 – achieving the original asking price of the trailer.
JCB has been at the forefront of initiatives to fight against Covid-19, mobilising its production line to make ventilator casings (centre). Other landmarks of its 75-year journey are (clockwise from top left) its new HQ, the first JCB backhoe loader, the original tipping trailer built by Joseph Cyril Bamford in his shed, the JCB landspeed record Diesel Max car, and the world’s very first telehandler.
By 1947 the company was expanding and because Mr Bamford’s landlady also disapproved of his Sunday working, he moved a few miles down the road to a stable block at Crakemarsh Hall, which was owned by a Mrs Julia Cavendish, a survivor of the Titanic disaster. JCB also set on its first ever full-time employee, Arthur Harrison, who became foreman.
By 1950 JCB was on the move again, this time to the site of a former cheese factory in Rocester. The location had been identified by Bill Hirst, who revelled in the fact his workplace was now closer to home and enabled him to “spend an extra 10 minutes in bed.” Bill had joined JCB as a £1-a-week teaboy in 1947. He rose through the ranks to become Service Director. 1953 proved to be a pivotal year for new products when Mr Bamford invented the backhoe loader with the launch of the JCB Mk 1 excavator. It was the first time a single machine had been produced with a hydraulic rear excavator and front mounted shovel. This ingenuity still bears fruit today: JCB has manufactured more than 600,000 backhoes and they are now made on three continents. 1953 was also the year that the famous JCB logo - recognised the world over - was first used on a machine and it was eventually registered as a trademark five years later.
With the launch of a range of new backhoes, by the time the 1960s arrived it was clear this machine was revolutionising the building industry, increasing productivity and reducing reliance on manpower. It was in 1962 that the JCB Dancing Diggers first took a bow and JCB’s first ever overseas subsidiary in Holland was opened. A year later the JCB 3C backhoe, an acknowledged design classic, was launched. Such was the growing success of the company that in 1964, with sales up by 60% to £8 million, employees shared in a £250,000 bonus. The news made national headlines and payouts were on such a scale that some employees were able to buy their first homes with the bonus they received.
Bamford declared: “I am giving you this money because I want you to share in the success of the company you have helped make.”
In the same year, JCB exported its first ever machine to the USA – a JCB 4C backhoe loader. In 1969 JCB produced a record 4,500 machines and by now was exporting more than half of them. It was in recognition of this export success, that the company received in this year its first ever Queen’s Award – the first of 27 such accolades. It was a year for awards as Mr Bamford became a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in honour of the company’s export achievements.
As 1970 dawned JCB opened up for business in the USA, setting up a base in Whitemarsh, Baltimore to harness the huge growth opportunity North America offered. Between 1971 and 1973 turnover doubled to £40 million. In 1975 JCB’s Founder retired, telling staff in a farewell message: “Anthony faces the tough job of moving JCB forward through the next decades into a new century. This is a demanding task but he has been well trained for it and is supported by a very strong team from works staff to management.
