international
construction
september 2014
58
EQUIPMENT
Manitou
■
Caterpillar
Stop& go
Manitouhas introduced a hydraulic stop and
start system, Stop&Go. Available as an option
for the 14 to18m vertical reachMT telescopic
handlers sold inEurope, the system is adapted
for onsite applicationswheremachines tend to
idle betweenhandling operations.
The Stop&Go automatically cuts the engine
after 30 secondswhen it is not being used
andwhen the hydraulic controls are not being
operated.When the operator touches the
accelerator or activates a control, the engine
starts backup.
It was jointly developedwithmanufacturer
PoclainHydraulics, based inFrance, to respond
touser cycles of telescopic handlers.
According toManitou amachine canbe in
idlingmode an average of 30% of the time.
Apart from reducing fuel consumptionby up to
-5%, the system also reduces enginewear.
As an example, anMT1840 IIIB telehandler,
based on an average use of 800hours/year, can
save up to180hours/year run time. After five
years, up to one year of engine use canbe saved,
said the company.
iC
Scrapermilestone
Caterpillar hasmarked amilestonewith the
production of its 75,000thwheeled tractor
scraper.The historicmachine, an open-bowl,
twin-engine 627K rolled off the production line
at Cat’sDecatur, Illinois, US facility.
Scrapers were one of three product families,
alongwith dozers and graders, uponwhich
Caterpillar built its business followingWorld
War II.The company said that as theUS
economy boomed and populations began
migrating from cities to suburbs, housing and
infrastructure construction exploded, spurring
demand for high-volume earthmoving tools like
thewheeled tractor scraper.
“Just about anymajor infrastructure project
undertaken in the past 70 years, anywhere in
theworld, you can bet Cat scrapers played a
role,” said Sankar Kurumbail, wheeled tractor
scraper productmanager at theCaterpillar
Decatur plant. “When it comes to high-speed,
high-volume earthmoving, it can be hard to
find amore economical option.They’re some of
themost durable products in our line, too. It’s
not unusual to see a scraper from the 1970s still
working hard today.”
The current K Seriesmodels feature automated
cycle functions, high-pressure steering, engine-
overspeed protection, fuel economymode,
payloadmonitoring and other innovations that
simplify operation, reducemaintenance and
boost fuel efficiency.
“Scraper sales have been rebounding steadily
inNorthAmerica since the last downturn,” said
Caterpillarmining products vice presidentTom
Bluth. “Andwith our newK Seriesmachines,
we’re in a great position towin business outside
NorthAmerica as construction investment
recovers.”
iC
