5
d
&
ri
MARCH-APRIL 2014
WORLD NEWS
East meets west
ConExpo was the venue for the
announcement of an agreement
between Kocurek Excavators and
Company Wrench that will see
Kocurek booms become available
in North America on any make
of carrier.
Initially, Kocurek expects that
the demand will be for equipment
suitable for carriers in the 30-70
tonne range, with demand for
100+ tonne machines being very
limited. The two companies
will work closely together to
coordinate any required carrier
modifications, including those
that currently are outside the
experience of the UK-based
modifier. In addition, Company
Wrench personnel will be fully
trained up on the Kocurek
designs in order for them to
supply full after-sales service and
support.
Booms supplied under the
agreement will carry the Kocurek
name, with the Company Wrench
name on the carrier. Currently
there are no plans to bring the
modular concepts currently
being developed by Kocurek
with Armac in the UK and Kiesel
in Germany into the North
American continent, although
that might change in the future.
Kocurek’s Brian Carroll told
D&Ri
that the aim is to establish
acceptance of Kocurek’s modular
joint/front end demolition
solutions in North America
before bringing these concepts to
the market.
■
The Canterbury Earthquake
Recovery Authority has
reported that it has signed
off a total of 482 contracts
worth Aus$89.2 million
(US$80.6 million) in the
last four financial reporting
periods. A total of 1,497
full or partial demolitions
have been carried out since
the initial earthquake, says
CERA, with a further 167 full
or partials scheduled to be
carried out.
Demolition of the half
completed, 26 storey,
Harmon Hotel Tower in Las
Vegas has been delayed so
that further tests can be
conducted as part of an
ongoing law suit. Due for
completion in 2009, faults
were found in the concrete’s
steel reinforcement in 2008
and its construction was
stopped well short of the
planned 48-storey level.
DEMOLITION BITS
One highlight of this year’s ConExpo
exhibition for the demolition
industry was the presence on the
Kobelco stand of the company’s
SK1000 DLC high reach. This
machine weighs in at 112 tonnes
and offers a maximum reach of
38 m (124 ft). At the show, the
company said it will be bringing 19
variants of its demolition machines
into the USA, along with 12 scrap
handlers, over the next few months.
Interestingly, there are no plans to
bring these machines into Europe at
the time of writing, but Kobelco did
say that it is continuously evaluating
its options where its product
offering is concerned.
Metso and LiuGong
combine forces
A 50-50 Chinese joint
venture has been officially
established between Metso and
LiuGong that will be called
Liugong Metso Construction
Equipment (Shanghai Ltd) and
headquartered in Shanghai. The
new company is intended to
combine Metso’s track-mounted
crushing and screening business
and technology with LiuGong’s
substantial distribution and
manufacturing capability.
The new company’s initial
activities will centre around
the design and manufacture of
versions of Metso’s Lokotrack
mobile crushers and screeners,
with the first of these expected
to be available in the first half
of this year. These products will
be sold under the brand name
LiuGong Metso, and the range
may well be expanded in the
future.
According to João Ney
Colagrossi, Metso’s president,
mining and construction:
“The joint venture enables the
capture of a significant market
share of the fast growing mobile
crushing and screening market
in China. Our target is to build
a market driven technology
offering and the joint venture
with LiuGong is a major step
towards this direction. Together
with the acquisitions of the steel
foundry in Quzhou City and
Shaorui Heavy Industries Ltd.
announced last year, the joint
venture significantly strengthens
our supply capabilities for mining
and construction industries in
China.”
■
Powerscreen extends
Turkish presence
Powerscreen has announced
the appointment of SIF İş
Makinalaria as an official
distributor of its crushing and
screening equipment with the
aim of meeting the needs of that
country’s aggregate customers.
SIF, established in 1956, has
offices in Istanbul, Bursa, Adana,
Ankara, Antalya, Diyarbakir and
Trabizon, as well as 34 service
stations around the country. In
addition to meeting the sales and
rental opportunities of the market,
SIF will also provide parts, service
and warranty support provided by
factory-trained technicians.
Powerscreen’s regional sales
manager Conor Hegarty said of
the agreement: “Powerscreen
is delighted to work with SIF
İş Makinalari to support our
customers in Turkey. The
country is a fast growing market
for construction equipment
and SIF İş Makinalari is a
long established, successful
construction equipment
distributor with a strong focus on
aftersales support. We are looking
forward to building a successful
relationship with SIF and building
on our already strong presence in
Turkey.”
■
