Conexpo Gets the Crowd Together Raising the Stakes

AS THE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY CONGREGATES FOR THE TRIENNIAL CONEXPO-CON/AGG MACHINERY SHOW, THE LEADING BRANDS ARE RAISING THE STAKES WITH THEIR NEW LAUNCHES OF MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR BOTH THE NORTH AMERICAN AND GLOBAL MARKETS.

With more than 38,000 registrations received between January 10 and 17 alone, CONEXPO-CON/ AGG, North America’s largest cons t r u c t i o n machinery show and the world’s second largest, looks to be in rude health.

The registrations came as the early-bird deadline came to a close on January 17 and set a record for total registrations received in a single week by the event.

At CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020, big iron and tech will share the stage in Las Vegas, USA, from March 10-14, with more new products, thousands of equipment and technology headliners, and hundreds of industry-driven education sessions. It is the world’s second biggest construction trade show for the asphalt, aggregates, concrete, earthmoving, lifting, mining, utilities and related industries, second only to Bauma.

“The show is shaping up to be one of the best ever; attendees and exhibitors will not be disappointed,” said Mary Erholtz, CONEXPOCON/AGG chair and vice president, Marketing, for Superior Industries “AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) and our show committees of industry leaders are working to deliver an outstanding event focused on the latest innovations, technologies and best practices to succeed in our changing world.” The event will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and nearby Festival Grounds, and its connected campus will feature multiple registration areas and hotel and intra-show shuttles.

“We’re thrilled to see this kind of energy and enthusiasm with (the) record-breaking attendee registrations,” says Dana Wuesthoff, vice president of Exhibitions at AEM, which manages the trade show.

“Overall our registrations are pacing well ahead of previous shows, indicating a continued sense of optimism from contractors as they look for new products and innovations to help them succeed in the years ahead.”

According to AEM, momentum continues to build for the 2020 show, as nearly 2,800 exhibitors are set to unveil more than 500 new products and showcase innovations for asphalt, aggregate, concrete, earthmoving, lifting, mining, utilities and more, covering more than 2.6 million net square feet of exhibition space. AEM also expects the show to take in at least 130,000 visitors.

Probably the biggest change from the 2017 edition of the event is the addition of the Festival Grounds. This year, the show campus extends to a brand-new area that will require transportation from the Las Vegas Convention

CAT LAUNCH SPREE ON HOME TURF

American giant and the world’s largest equipment maker, Caterpillar, is pulling out all the stops for its home show, with its CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 experience includes a mix of static displays, equipment demonstration area, and new services/technologies under the theme of “Your Work Matters.” The 5,574sqm exhibit is in the show’s new outdoor Festival Grounds, which includes the Operator’s Stadium, where the finals of Cat’s Global Operator Challenge and equipment demonstrations take place. Cat is investing in technology and safety features showcased in more than 30 machines on display, including nine new product introductions from the dozer, excavator, articulated truck and backhoe loader families. The display is grouped in the outdoor exhibit at stand #F4455 on the show’s Festival Grounds. Among the machines on display will be the new Cat D3 dozer, successor to the D5K2. The new earthmover’s operator cab delivers greater visibility while enhanced controls deliver easier, intuitive finish grading. Powertrain advancements improve fuel efficiency by up to 10% over

previous models. Another new model is the centre-pivot 420XE backhoe loader with seat-mounted controls for low-effort machine control to boost operator efficiency and reduce fatigue.

Inside the demo arena, the new 150 AWD motor grader will show off its all-wheel drive that assists with traction and manoeuvring, allowing the machine to work in any environment. Eco mode delivers up to 10% greater fuel efficiency without productivity loss, while the new mastless 3D Cat GRADE control system gives the moldboard a full range of motion.

The new 725 articulated truck offers new cab features, including assisted hoist, Automatic Retarder Control and Advanced Automatic Traction Control, which reduce operator actions. Performance improvements include up to 9% increased speed on grades, 8% improved acceleration and a 7% productivity increase. Cat will also introduce five new wheeled, small, medium and large hydraulic excavator models at the event. The finals of the Global Operator Challenge, the largest global campaign in Cat’s history, will take place at the Operator’s Stadium inside Cat’s outdoor exhibit #F4455. Nine regional champions remain from over 10,000 operators who took part in local challenges in 30 countries. The winners will be decided on the lowest time for individual challenges and best team performance - and the Global Operator Challenge Champion will be decided based on overall performance.

LIEBHERR MARKING A MILESTONE IN AMERICA

Liebherr is celebrating 50 years in the USA at CONEXPO-CON/AGG this year, pulling out all the stops at its booth #S84321, where it will showcase not just the journey of the brand in North America but also display new models it is launching in several segments, such as cranes and earthmoving. Among the extensive selection of earthmoving and construction equipment Liebherr is showcasing, both in its indoor boot hand at its outdoor stand #F5258 at the Festival Grounds, are hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, crawler loaders and tractors, deep foundation machines, material handlers, tower cranes, mobile and crawler cranes. Altogether, Liebherr’s products will fill more than 4,900sqm of space.

Making their American debut are Liebherr’s Generation 8 crawler excavators, made up of seven models from 22-45t: the R 922, R 924, R 926, R 930, R 934, R 938 and R 945. Two machines of the product range, R 926 and R 938, will be exhibited for the first time in America at the Liebherr booth. The highlights of the new crawler excavator generation include higher engine power, a heavier counterweight for higher bucket capacities, and minimal fuel consumption. Another feature is the optimized load curve, which yields reduced fuel consumption.

Two new cranes for the American market, the LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane and the LR 1800-1.0 crawler crane, are also making their debuts. The LTM 1650-8.1 is available with 54 and 80m telescopic

booms. In designing the new eight-axle crane, Liebherr focused on maximum load capacities. The LTM 1650-8.1 travels with an axle load of 12t complete with its 54m telescopic boom and the front supports. The LR 1800-1.0 is designed as a powerful industrial crane for jobs with a luffing jib and derrick system, such as power plant construction and the petrochemicals industry. Liebherr will also present four wheeled loaders, including an L 566 XPower with power-split travel drive. Also showcased will be the L 550 for less emission-regulated markets.

“It is right off Las Vegas Boulevard, and it’s kind of adjacent to the Circus Circus hotel,” Wuesthoff says. “It’s sort of down the street from where the Gold Lot used to be.”

The old Gold Lot is currently under construction. It previously hosted companies exhibiting cranes and aerial lifting equipment, but the Las Vegas Convention Center is building a new exhibition hall on that site. “Starting in 2023, that will be a new exhibition hall feature and part of the show campus for

Along with global and regional launches, Volvo will showcase its uptime and productivity services and reveal new concepts in autonomous, connected and electric machines. ConExpo-Con/Agg,” Wuesthoff says.

While the Festival Grounds is situated further from the Las Vegas Convention Center than the old Gold Lot, show planners have a number of transportation options for visitors to access the Festival Grounds.

“There have been a lot of questions ever since we announced this new, extended campus – mainly about the logistical things of the show,” Wuesthoff says. “Things like: Are we going to have enough buses? Are we going to have enough food outlets? Rest assured, our internal show planning teams have been hard at work for two-plus years to work on all of the different logistical things.” “We have shuttles running all over the place. You can get from your hotel to the Festival Grounds, or from your hotel to the Las Vegas Convention Center and in between and back again – wherever you may need to go.” The exhibits aren’t the only attraction at the event. According to the organisers, visitors have plenty of education options to choose from, and the Tech Experience that launched

VOLVO FULL TECH AHEAD

Volvo CE’s 5,574sqm of show space in Las Vegas will see the Swedish giant present 30 of its machines and related uptime and productivity services, including a number of global and regional launches, at its outdoor booth F3432 located on the Festival Grounds at CONEXPO 2020. Volvo CE will be joined by sister companies Volvo Penta, Volvo Trucks and Volvo Financial Services, who will be presenting the latest engine, truck and financial offers. Likewise, Volvo CE’s other equipment brands Terex Trucks and SDLG will be present at the show.

Melker Jernberg, president, Volvo CE, says: “Our presence at CONEXPO is set to be our best yet – with a fully immersive technology experience to highlight

the changing face of construction. Innovation has long been a part of our DNA, and we are especially proud to be bringing it to the mainstream with the unveiling some game-changing launches at this year’s show. We look

forward to seeing you there.” Anchoring the booth are show-stoppers from both the largest and smallest models in the Volvo range. At the compact end of the spectrum, visitors can get hands on experience operating Volvo CE’s electric compact machines, the L25H loader and ECR25 excavator. The biggest iron in the booth will be the heavy-duty EC950F crawler excavator, Volvo CE’s largest excavator which is now available globally, and the R100E rigid hauler. Volvo’s full force of excavators will be front centre in the booth, including the new EC300E hybrid excavator, now available in North America, featuring industry-first hydraulic hybrid Volvo technology. In road machinery, Volvo will debut the 8ft class P5110B tracked and P5170B wheeled pavers, which benefit from simple controls and proven technology. Volvo will also reveal two new concept models that herald where the company is taking connected, electric, and autonomous machines.

KOMATSU INTELLIGENT AND AUTONOMOUS MACHINES

Komatsu will debut several product and technology advancements for the construction, waste, forestry, energy and aggregates industries at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020. Across 40,000sqft feet of exhibit space, Komatsu’s booth N-10825 will demonstrate how technology, data, equipment and service solutions leverage digitalisation to control costs, timelines and resources. The Japanese giant plans to unveil patent-pending technology and equipment at two special events during the show.

Komatsu will display nearly 25 machines, including models new to the North American market, as well as machines that have been recently introduced. In addition to construction, this year’s booth will include focused areas of solutions for the quarry, energy, waste and forestry sectors.

New technology offerings include My Komatsu, an allinclusive digital e-commerce solution for fleet management, equipment monitoring and parts ordering, accessible from any connected device.

Among the machines featured on the floor will be D51i-24 and D61i-24 dozers configured with patent-pending proactive dozing control. This industry-first technology enables operators to

use machine control from “grass to grade”. As the machine moves, it records terrain data. Using real-time conditions and that terrain data, the system makes calculated decisions about whether to cut and carry material, spread or fill that material, or whether to perform finish grading.

Komatsu will also conduct educational training seminars at the event beginning on March 11 with the topic Equipment Operator Best Practices for quarry managers and site foremen to have a better understanding of how to maximise machine operation efficiencies. On March 13, Komatsu experts will host an educational training seminar titled Autonomous Haulage: Lessons Learned from Surface Mining, to share lessons learnt and current best practices for successful implementation of autonomous haulage technologies in varied environments.

“We really do have a stellar line-up of education – 150 sessions – and they focus on different industry issues, trends, management [and] applied technology,” Wuesthoff says. “We are fortunate to have some excellent education partners.”

The Tech Experience is yet another offering visitors can take in. It will have two locations this year – one in Silver Lot 3, with the other at the Festival Grounds. According to Wuesthoff, the Tech Experience is designed to offer visitors a few different takeaways.

“One is to inspire the younger attendees of the show. Another one is growing your business today, presenting new products and emerging technologies for the construction industry, and telling people the benefit of why you should start using this. The other is that it’s a future vision showcase, presenting a preview of emerging technologies, tools and solutions of tomorrow – things that are going to have a dramatic impact on our industry in the next five to 10 years.”

The highlight at Hitachi’s stand will be a sneak peek of new technology to provide even greater efficiency on jobs, such as the TRIAS II threepump hydraulic system for faster cycle times.

Yet another newer offering at the event is ConExpo Connect, which brings the industry together online. ConExpo Connect was launched in late 2018.

“This is a reflection of how people are getting information now,” Wuesthoff says. “We know equipment buyers are looking for multiple ways to stay informed about products and learn about what’s going on in the industry – attending trade shows, reading industry publications. Part of that is doing research online.”

HITACHI JAPANESE IRON

Hitachi will showcase a broad selection of its excavators at its booth #N12525 in CONEXPO-CON/ AGG this year. The Hitachi booth, which will be part of John Deere’s large North Hall exhibit, will also feature opportunities to meet with product experts and preview new technology. “We’re excited to show CONEXPO attendees what our iron will do,” says Jonny Spendlove, product marketing manager, excavators, Hitachi Construction Machinery – Americas. “Hitachi’s iron will allows us to create and develop the latest technology and equipment, so our customers’ iron will deliver the ultimate

efficiency, reliability and durability.” Hitachi will display a range of models including the ZX345USLC-6 and ZX245USLC-6, both reducedtail-swing excavators, which are the newest additions to the Hitachi construction line. The compact

ZX60USB-5 and standard, full-size ZX350LC-6 and ZX470LC-6 will also be showcased. Each excavator provides a unique blend of components and technology that maximizes productivity and extends uptime.

Beyond equipment, Hitachi will also be giving a sneak peek of new technology that will provide even greater efficiency on jobs. The new technology, which will roll out later this year, is another innovation in a long line of advancements, which includes Hitachi’s exclusive TRIAS II three-pump hydraulic system that provides multifunctioning performance and some of the fastest cycle times in the industry. With the ZX345USLC-6 and ZX245USLC-6 on hand at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, visitors can learn more about the three-pump system, which enables operators to maximize productivity without sacrificing fuel economy.