Construction Machine Blog

U.S. construction equipment manufacturers suffered an estimated 43 percent decline in business in 2009, according to a survey conducted by the industry trade group Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

Respondents to the survey of U.S.-based companies on average expected a 5 percent increase in business in 2010, followed by gains of 15 percent in 2011 and 14 percent in 2012, not enough to erase severe losses of both business and jobs. The outlook for the export-driven industry is only a little less dismal outside U.S. borders.

For Canada, 2009 business decreased an estimated 34-percent overall. Respondents expected a 2010 increase of 7 percent, a 14 percent increase in 2011 and an 11percent increase in 2012.

Industry business to the rest of the world was expected to close out 2009 with losses of 34 percent, followed by a 2010 gain of 7 percent and growth of 13 percent in 2011 and again in 2012, according to the AEM survey.

“Even with a modest rebound in the next few years, the construction equipment industry will still be down by double digits, and there will still be double-digit industry unemployment,” said AEM President Dennis Slater. “This is not surprising given the continued instability of the housing market and no long-term commitment to America’s roads, rail, airports, water distribution and ports to move people and goods efficiently and safely, and to compete effectively in the global marketplace.”

Survey respondents said the state of the overall economy, including credit availability, interest rates and consumer confidence levels will influence construction equipment sales in the coming years. Housing starts and highway funding levels will also play a major role in any business rebound. Other major factors are the strength of the U.S. dollar and international business, since the industry is export-intensive, said AEM.

AEM is the North-American based international trade group representing the off-road equipment manufacturing industry. Each year it surveys its construction equipment manufacturer members about expected sales of the machines that build and repair roads, bridges, houses, offices, schools and other infrastructure in America and worldwide.

FORT PIERCE — The second phase of earthquake relief for Haiti is under way as 200 tons of heavy equipment and building materials are being loaded onto a cargo ship Monday at the Port of Fort Pierce.

Once full of supplies for Samaritan’s Purse International Relief, the Caribe Star 1 is expected to set sail Monday night and arrive Friday morning at the dock of a former cement factory near Port-au-Prince.

As the supplies and equipment were being positioned at the port Monday morning, Luther Harrison, director of North American projects for Samaritan’s Purse, said the Boone, N.C.-based charity already had a team of 60 in Haiti when the earthquake hit.

Since then, he said, 19 medical personnel at the Baptist Haiti Mission Hospital in Fermathe southeast of Port-au-Prince have been treating wounds, performing surgery and caring for the sick. Also, 40 Samaritan’s Purse staffers are distributing rolls of plastic for temporary shelter, solar flashlights, blankets, community water filters and water purification packets.

“We’ve been partnering with (Fort Pierce-based) Missionary Flights International to fly in food and medicine,” he said. “Now it’s time to send in the big stuff, the stuff that’s too big to put on a plane. We’re coming out of the emergency phase and into the recovery phase. The whole infrastructure down there has been destroyed, and we have to rebuild every aspect of it.”

Dr. David Gettle, chief medical adviser for Samaritan’s Purse, said in a prepared statement that wounded and sick earthquake survivors “are coming to us by the busloads. Without the ability to transport supplies through the rubble-strewn streets, we will not be able to treat them.”

Cargo on the Caribe Star 1 will include excavators, hydraulic hammers, a bulldozer, dump trucks, a tractor-trailer, flatbed trucks, vans, pickup trucks, Bobcat loaders, plastic pipes, plastic sheeting and lumber.

Harrison said half the vehicles were bought just last week at sites as far-flung as New Jersey, Arkansas and Virginia.

Getting all the equipment to Fort Pierce in a hurry should have been a logistical nightmare for the faith-based nonprofit headed by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham.

“God has been steering us in the right channels,” Harrison said.

Ships typically located throughout the world carrying combat loads were being loaded with construction equipment bound for Haiti.
Depending on weather, the three Military Sealift Command ships – crane ship Cornhusker State and motor vessels PFC Dewayne T. Williams and Cape Ray – could be headed to Haiti Tuesday with the supplies to help clear the rubble and build temporary piers and causeways to deliver more supplies.
Already, one of the ships is slated to return to Norfolk to pick up additional supplies and make another trip to Haiti, said Lt. John Fairweather, detachment officer in charge of Command Naval Beach Group 2.
“Normally, Hampton Roads doesn’t see these ships,” Fairweather said.
Overall, he said the crews are looking forward to helping with the relief efforts.
“Not one of these people has a problem with going,” he said. “It’s a heartfelt thing.”

BEN HILL COUNTY, GA (WALB) –At 16 percent, Fitzgerald has one of the highest and longest running unemployment rates in the state.

But in the next couple months, construction will begin on a new energy plant, which will create much needed work in the area.

Ben Hill County may be a small community but many folks are dealing with a tremendous loss.

“In the last 18 months we’ve lost over 1,500 jobs and in a community of 9,000 that’s a shock,” said John Flythe, Director of Economic Development.

But In a matter of months things will change. Construction will begin on one of the first biomass plants of its type in the region…Fitzgerald Renewable Energy LLC.

“It’s a 50 megawatt power plant and they will be utilizing 600,000 tons of wood which translates into 15 million dollars worth of purchase of raw material in and around the community,” said Flythe.

Sawdust, bark and wood chips will be used to fuel the 232 million dollar project.

“I think if you looked long, and hard you couldn’t find a better site because it sits between three suppliers of raw material,” said Flythe.

The plant sits right next to Southern Veneer, which will likely supply most of the wood, and limit transportation costs.

But most importantly, the plant will create long term work in the area.

“In the tree farming community that will employ 120 to 150 employees,” said Flythe.

During the maximum construction phase up to 250 workers will be needed.

“The 250 jobs they will be renting hotel rooms, buying gas so that will help the community,” said Flythe.

The plant will also create 25 jobs.

“The 25 permanent jobs will be paid a better than average wage in the community,” said Flythe.

Right now, Alternative Energy is the main focus for city leaders and people can expect to see similar projects in the future.

“Congress passed all these incentives and when there are incentives we are going to go after them. It creates jobs and its long term jobs its not cycle jobs,” said Flythe,

Construction is slated to begin in early March.

City leaders say they are also working on getting another plant to locate in Fitzgerald. It will be a 2.1 billion dollar coal plant which will likely employ up to 1500 people during construction, which will take 3 or 4 years.

Once operational it will be one of the cleanest solid fuel power plants in the United States.

Officials expect commercial operation at the plant will begin in the next couple years.

Pavers are especially useful for small gardens. They come in different materials, from bricks to clays to natural stones. Another type is that which is made of concrete. Concrete pavers and blocks are durable, unlike clays and bricks that may crumble overtime.

Step 1
Mark the location where you will plant to put your concrete pavers by using a colored spray or landscaper’s chalk.

Step 2
Excavate or dig the area using a shovel. The depth of the area should should about 2 inches of compacted hardcore topped with about 1 to 2 inches of ballast. Do not forget to add the measurement of mortar and the thickness of paving material, so digging approximately 6 to 7 inches should work.

Step 3
Check the depth of the foundation before you lay the paving. If it is situated close to the house, make use that the paving is lower than the damp-proof course.

Step 4
Mix the concrete mortar. You can also buy pre-mixed mortar to save time. Put about five blobs of mortar where the concrete pavers will be placed. Place the blobs one at each corner of the square and one at the center.

Step 5
Cover the area with additional mortar where the concrete paving will be laid, then level the mixture.

Step 6
Position each concrete paver or slab carefully, bedding it on the mortar.

Step 7
Use a spirit-level to check that the paving is leveled. Ensure that you give the paving a slight slope so that water will flow down freely to avoid puddle formation during heavy rains. To create a slight slope, use a small wedge of wood and place under one end.

Step 8
Tap the concrete paver down further, or raise it by lifting and pacing in a little more mortar. Position the level over more than one concrete paver.

Step 9
Ensure that there is regular spacing in between the concrete pavers by using spacers of even thickness. Remove the spacers before the joints are filled with mortar. Leave it to set or dry overnight; preferably one to two days.

Step 10
Fill in the joints with mortar using a small pointing trowel. This can be used to finish off the mortar with smooth stroke to give a slight recessed to the joints. Wash off any surplus mortar before it dries to allow for an even finish.

An asphalt paver is a machine that makes roads through the process of distributing and paving asphalt. The machine has played an important part in helping to build roads and highways.
Asphalt pavers were created in 1934 by the Barber-Greene Co. Barber-Greene was founded in 1916 by Harry H. Barber and William B. Greene. This company was created to sell material handling machines in order to mechanize small manual tasks in an economical way.

Introduction

Barber-Greene was approached by members of the Chicago Testing Laboratory in 1929. The laboratory wanted to use loaders to help construct highways and streets. Barber-Greene did not go into business with Chicago Testing Laboratories but they were introduced to the asphalt business through this event.

The Great Depression

The company was barely surviving during the Great Depression, however, in 1934 Barber-Greene created the asphalt paver.
Success
After the Great Depression, Barber-Greene asphalt pavers became a huge success. They created a model of asphalt paver, the floating screed, and this paver became the standard prototype within the industry for asphalt pavers.

Modern Pavers

For more than 50 years the asphalt paver has remained relatively unchanged but currently some improved features are in use. These features include hydrostatic closed-loop systems, the ability to hydraulically change the screed width and the material transfer vehicle, which feeds asphalt to the paver when needed.

Asif Latief, marketing director at A-Plant, said: “This is a fantastic example of stolen plant being recovered and it shows that thieves cannot beat the system even when they take machines abroad.

“Over 95% of stolen A-Plant equipment protected with A-Trak is recovered, which is a remarkable statistic considering that the industry average of stolen plant recovery is only 5-10%.”

The head of PANIU, DC Ian Elliott, said: “A-Trak is an excellent system and it helps make policing so much easier when it comes to recovering stolen plant. This system makes a real difference to us and the benefits to police are significant – we are now able to pinpoint exact movements and locations of machines and actually arrest the criminals responsible.

“With A-Trak, A-Plant is able to protect their customers’ interests and save all their on-costs for the loss of equipment.”

Presently, Chinese construction machinery is mainly sold through cash, mortgage and financial leasing. The mortgage occupies about 40% while the financial leasing only takes up 20%. Nevertheless, some Chinese large and middle construction machinery manufacturers have begun to adopt the financial leasing attracted by its convenience. In recent years, Chinese government has also issued relevant policies. The prospect of the financial leasing maintains optimistic, tending to be the dominant sales mode for the construction machinery industry.

As an emerging equipment financing mode, the financial leasing develops fast in recent years thanks to its low down payment, long repayment period, wider room for maneuver and convenient operation. Many Chinese construction machinery manufacturers adopt the financial leasing to increase their product sales volume, acquiring steady and continuous cash flow. Meanwhile, clients can also achieve the use right of equipments to raise their returns based on less funds and low time cost.

Construction machinery manufacturers can establish their own financial leasing companies to facilitate the fulfillment of rights and responsibilities of participators while reducing intermediate links in the product lease and purchase process for clients. Because many construction machinery clients face the delayed payment of the construction funds, they mostly concern the financial support policies and the flexibility of product rent payment of enterprises.

Domestic and foreign investors actively carry out their layout on Chinese financial leasing market to take the initiative. In 2002, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd set up the first construction machinery financial leasing company in China. In March 2009, Zoomlion established Zoomlion Finance & Leasing (China) Co., Ltd in Hong Kong with the funds of USD 80 million. In March 2009, Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd set up Liugong International Leasing Co., Ltd. with its wholly-owned investment arm in Hong Kong. On March 21st, 2009, attracted by the optimistic prospect of the financial leasing market, Shantui Construction Machinery Co., Ltd invested RMB 180 million to set up Shantui Leasing Co., Ltd in Beijing. In 2009H1, XCMG Construction Machinery Leasing Co., Ltd of Jiangsu realized the revenue of RMB 1.5 billion. In the previous three quarters of 2009, the revenue of Liugong International Leasing Co., Ltd exceeded RMB 1 billion.

In November 2009, after releasing the Technical Specifications of Second Hand Equipment Circulation, China’s Ministry of Commerce begins to completely investigate the second hand machinery trading market again, planning to formulate the related exit mechanism to set up the standard platform for the downstream second hand trading market of the financial leasing industry.
Chinese construction machinery financial leasing market will maintain the high-speed growth in the coming years. The market scale is expected to exceed USD 10 billion in 2014.

1, Impact Crusher can effectively handle the large amount of moisture content of materials, to prevent the blockage of the phenomenon of Crusher
In dealing with excessive moisture content of materials, the counter-attack crusher feed chute and the back plate can be equipped with heating devices to prevent the bonding material. Impact Crusher is equipped with the bottom of the sieve plate do not need to be effective in preventing clogging phenomenon. The hammer crusher can not be used to prevent heating of the bonding material, and shall be equipped with the bottom of the sieve plate, increasing the possibility of clogging.
2, back-breaking not only for soft materials also applies to very large hardness of materials
Hammer Crusher board mechanical clamping structure firmly set at the rotor, when the rotor rotates, with the great moment of inertia. Relative to the hammer crusher (hammer was hanging state), back-breaking of the rotor has a greater momentum, crushing harder to adapt to the material, were also lower power consumption.
3, Impact Crusher can be easily adjustable and flexible discharge particle size, a wide range of adjustment
Impact Crusher can be adjusted through a variety of ways out of material particle size, such as the regulation of rotor speed, adjustable back plate and grinding chamber gap and so on. Gap adjustment can be mechanical or hydraulic adjustable, hydraulic-conditioning systems can be easily adopted by local operating buttons or remote controls system to complete the space adjustments. The hammer crusher discharge size adjustment can only be achieved by replacing the bottom of the sieve plate.
4, Impact Crusher wear wearing parts than the hammer crusher is small, high utilization rate of metal
Hammer Crusher wear plate only appears in the Looking material side. When the rotor speed is normal, the feed will drop to the board hammer surface (of attack), hammer on the back and side panels are not being worn. Even Looking material this side of the wear and tear would be minimal. And the bottom of the grinding rod is also very easy to replace. Back-breaking hammer the metal plate up to 45% utilization rate of -48%. The hammer crusher hammer was hanging condition, wear and tear occurred, the front and rear and side, relative to the plate hammer, hammer wear and tear is more serious, hammer metal utilization ratio is only about 25%. And the rotor body itself may be subject to wear and tear. Hammer crusher wear seriously affected by the bottom of the sieve-plate, grille should all replace, and replace the sieve of the work more complicated.
5, Impact Crusher spare parts replacement is simple, a corresponding reduction in maintenance costs
Broken rotor only counter to install six panel hammer, special tools can be easily board hammer replacement, the replacement of a board of only one frequency hammer time. The bottom of the grinding chamber grinding rod replacement also requires only several minutes, greatly reducing the repair and maintenance time and costs. The hammer crusher hammer up to more than 100, with the replacement of a hammer to spend a lot of time and manpower, repair and maintenance costs higher. The bottom of the screen plate and its replacement is also troublesome.

A Jaw Crusher is one of the main types of primary crushers in a mine or ore processing plant. The size of a jaw crusher is designated by the rectangular or square opening at the top of the jaws.Jaw Crushers are ideally suitable for primary and secondary crushing, with low power consumption and easy maintenance. Every feature of these machines has been carefully designed to provide superior quality and performance.

A jaw crusher reduces large size rocks or ore by placing the rock into compression, a fixed jaw, mounted in a “V” alignment is the stationary breaking surface, while the moveable jaw plate exerts force on the rock by forcing it against the fixed jaw plate. The space at bottom of the “V”, aligned jaw plate， is the crusher product size gap, or the size of the crushed product from the jaw crusher.

The motor drives the mobile jaw up and down through eccentric shaft. The angle between toggle plate and mobile jaw increases when mobile jaw plate moves up. So the mobile jaw plate closes up the fixed jaw plate. The stuff will be crushed in this process. The angle between toggle plate and moving jaw decreases when mobile jaw moves down. The mobile jaw plate move away from the stationary jaw plate with the pull of draw rod and spring, so the crushed stone will be discharged from the outlet. This process will repeat. The moving jaw will crush and discharge the stuff circularly.

Due to the advantage of simple structure, reliable performance, convenient maintenance and safe use, our jaw crushers of various sizes are widely used in the crushing operation in metallurgy, mining, building materials, chemical industries and cement enterprises.