Capital Equipment News August 2018

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

Construction and mining equipment sales rise

Sales of construction and mining equipment continued to improve during the first quarter of 2018, with sales of new equipment reaching levels last seen in the first quarter of 2015. According to figures released by the Construction and Mining Equipment Suppliers’ Association (Conmesa), a total of 1 542 units were sold during the period, an improvement of nearly 100 machines during the same period last year. It also extends the upwards trend that has seen equipment sales rise since the beginning of last year. Lawrence Peters, Conmesa chairman, says the trend is in line with the associa- tion’s expectations and predictions at the beginning of the year. He adds that the second quarter should continue on a simi- larly positive trend, but with the uncertainty of volatile exchange rates and rising fuel costs possibly weighing against a sharper increase in sales. “The recovery has been steady, but slow due to the underlying challenges faced on both the mining and construction sides of the industry. While low commodity prices have weighed heavily on the mining sector, the sluggish sales are also because of political uncertainty, as well as unease of the mining charter and its impact on mining investment in South Africa,” he says. Fellow Conmesa board member and representative from Bell Equipment, Dale Oldridge, says the company’s figures are

Mining and construction equipment sales continued to increase in the first quarter of 2018.

better than expected in all areas with mining equipment performing particularly well. He says that internally the company is also optimistic that construction equipment sales will improve during the latter part of the year as infrastructure projects are launched close to next year’s elections. Barloworld Equipment’s Dr Samantha Swanepoel, concurs, reporting that sales are improving across all industries, but says that the sector’s improvement is off a relatively low base. She adds that factors such as the implementation of the Mining Charter,

as well as negative mining news headlines are still depressing aftersales business and margins. One supplier that has been negatively affected by the lack of road developments is Wirtgen South Africa. With a relatively small exposure to the market in compaction and roads, Wirtgen’s Calvin Fennell says since 2013 to the end of 2017, the market has been decreasing in the number of units by, on average, 10% year-on-year. This is across the roller/paver/planer/mixer market category. b

Quick coupler systems and attachments from Liebherr

There are Liebherr attachments for a diverse range of earthmoving applications.

Liebherr develops and manufactures innovative attachments and quick coupler systems to the highest quality standards. They can be used for both hydraulic excavators and material handlers from Liebherr as well as for machines from other manufacturers. The Liebherr product portfolio ranges from quick coupler systems for all applications through digging tools for the earthmoving sector to grabs for diverse applications in material handling technology. There are Liebherr attachments for a diverse range of earth- moving applications that can tackle challenges including hard rock, fine sand or bulky demolition material. Liebherr offers numerous options for road construction, civil engineering and tunnel construction, water management, gardening and landscaping, demolition and the mining industry. In addition to backhoe buckets, tilt buckets and trench clearing buckets, tilt rotators, grabs, load hooks and pallet forks are also available. The substantial product range has a modular design. Customers always have access to all relevant optional equipment in every available width of the attachment. This gives rise to countless variants for the common grabs or buckets, which can be configured to meet customer-specific requirements. b

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