Capital Equipment News November 2016

GLOBETROTTING

EUROPE European earthmoving equipment sales (excluding telescopic handlers) reached a level of 84 000 units in the first half of 2016, the highest since 2008, and corresponding to a year-to-date growth of 14% after six months. There are various reasons for the strong performance in the earthmoving equipment sector: the demand push following bauma 2016, much stronger investment activity by the rental sector, a good performance in the civil engineering sector, but most significantly, a concurrence of positive market developments across European countries and regions, according to the Committee for European Construction Equipment.

ASIA As part of Manitowoc’s new sales

AFRICA South African based consulting firm, Thuthukani has teamed up with Fermel to design and manufacture the electric traction system for Fermel’s new 25 t electric hauler. The development of the system has led to breakthroughs in battery management and electric drive technology, and most importantly, in zero emissions mining technology. Together, Thuthukani and Fermel are playing their part in ensuring a bright future for South African mining operations. In developing a new 25 t electric hauler vehicle with applications in soft and hard rock mining, Fermel tasked Thuthukani with the design and development of the hauler’s electrical traction system, including all auxiliary systems, the battery storage system, electrical propulsion including traction control and torque vectoring, the cooling system, electrical management and the distribution system. The first working prototype is set for implementation in 2017.

organisation, the crane maker has made two senior appointments for the Asia and Middle East region. Both David Semple and Christophe Simoncelli, who have assumed the new roles, have close to 20 years of experience at Manitowoc, working primarily in sales and general management functions across the company’s product lines. The new roles have been created in alignment with Manitowoc’s recent reorganisation, which saw its tower crane activities operated independently from its mobile crane and crawler crane operations. From a regional perspective, the company’s sales and marketing activities for Asia were also combined with those of the Middle East. As a result, Simoncelli takes on the new role of vice-president, tower crane sales, Asia and the Middle East, while Semple becomes senior vice- president, mobile cranes, Asia and the Middle East.

AUSTRALIA Australian mining and heavy equipment rental giant Emeco has agreed to merge with Orionstone and Andy’s Earthmovers in a three-way transaction that also includes its recapitalisation. Based in Mackay, Queensland, Orionstone is a privately-owned heavy earthmoving equipment supplier with a fleet of over 200 machines located across the Australia. Andy’s Earthmovers is a privately-owned equipment rental business based in Bendigo, Victoria, covering mining and civil customers located in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Its fleet includes 145 machines. The combined entity, which will remain as a listed company, will seek to raise AU$20 million from investors once the deal has been approved.

PATCHY UPWARD TREND FOR CHINESE CONSTRUCTION

The industry continues to find the going tough. Against this backdrop, what technical equipment will be especially in demand in China in the years ahead? The 8 th edition of bauma China will be taking place in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) from November 22 to 25 this year. The international trade fair is a focal point for new products and what’s currently in demand in the construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment fields. Notwithstanding the unfavourable auguries, the figures for bauma China 2016 are looking positive: 2 810 exhibitors (as of September 19, 2016) have registered to date; the trade fair will again occupy the entire SNIEC site, a total of 300 000 m 2 . Ahead of bauma China 2016, whereas machinery sales in China in almost all construction machinery product sectors are significantly down, Off-Highway Research identifies a slight year-on-year increaseof Chinese construction

Ahead of bauma China 2016, machinery sales in China in almost all construction machinery product sectors are significantly down.

4% in asphalt pavers. The reason for this is the persistently high investment by the People’s Republic in infrastructure development. For example, in 2015 alone 11 000 km of new highways were built. According to Off-Highway Research, compact loaders also proved to be very stable with only a minor drop in sales. Generally, the research company sees good long-term prospects for smaller, more technically

sophisticated machines. The backdrop to this is the increasing environmental awareness in China on the one hand and on the other the imperative of solving new tasks in the technically most optimal way possible. Building maintenance is one of the country’s comparatively new challenges. For example, the 13 th Five Year Plan (2016 to 2020) envisages the renovation or construction of 20 million residential units in urban areas. b

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