Capital Equipment News February 2017

The main frame of Bell graders has been

redesigned to include an arc that allows the operator better visibility of the blade to make operation easier.

GRADING TOWARDS EASY OPERATION

T he motor grader – the heavy machinery used to flatten surfaces in construction, road main- tenance, mining, agricul- ture and more, remains a crucial piece of equipment in these industries. The earliest graders took the form of a simple steel frame with a blade, drawn by horse or oxen. With industrialisation in the early 20 th century, graders more often took the form of converted farm tractors. With continued innovation over the years, today they are completely different pieces of equipment. A motor grader remains a crucial piece of equipment, especially in road construction and mining. According to Dale Oldridge, product marketing manager at Bell Equipment, the grader market in Africa is estimated at about 900 units per year. South Africa makes up a fair share of this market with an average of 250 units per year. Miguel Angel Torres, business director for Africa at CASE Construction, tells Capital Equipment News that available industry statistics show that 199 motor graders were

One issue that continues to be the talking point whenever motor graders are the topic of discussion is the difficulty in operating them. However, innovations from several original equipment manufacturers are redefining the operability of this crucial piece of equipment, writes Munesu Shoko.

sold in South Africa during the 11 months to November 2016, compared with 347 for the full year in 2015. Elsewhere, North-East Africa accounted for 125 motor grader sales to November 2016, compared with a total of 195 unit sales for the full year in 2015. Central Africa is the smallest market, and even went down from 28 unit sales in the period to November 2016, from 42 units in 2015. West Africa, up to November 2016, accounted for 57 motor grader sales, a significant decline from the 124 units recorded during the full year of 2015. The Maghreb region is said to have accounted for 217 units by November 2016, a notable increase from the 171 units sold in 2015 as a whole. Some of the key names that come to mind as far as motor graders are concerned include Caterpillar, Bell Equipment, CASE, Hidromek,

Komatsu, New Holland and Dezzi. The value end of the market has also seen the likes of SDLG, Sany, XCMG, Shantui and LiuGong continuously improving their offerings. Despite all the technological innovations, a key issue that continues to affect motor graders is the difficulty in operating them. How best an operator can work a motor grader remains at the core of product offerings from many original equipment manufacturers. Today’s grader developments are centred on easing operation as this piece of equipment has traditionally been regarded one of the most difficult to operate, often calling for specialised final level skills. On many jobsites, it is often the case that the highest paid equipment operator is the one running the grader. The critical importance of maintaining proper grade

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2017 18