45
may 2014
international
construction
Intelligent tools
UTILITIES
Volvo CE Sales Region EMEA, Per Leis, said that the utility
sector in Europe was switching away from the use of backhoe
loaders for trenching, and moving more towards the use of
compact equipment.
“This switch has put rental companies to the fore, simply
because they tend to stock compact equipment whereas they
never really carried backhoe loaders in any great volume,”
he said.
To meet this demand, Volvo CE added the ECR25D short
tail swing compact excavator top its product line up in the
summer of last year, andMr Leis said themanufacturer planned
a larger footprint on the street, generatemore noise, burnmore
fuel, have higher transportation, storage andmaintenance costs,
and leave a much larger carbon footprint, among many other
factors.These factors have driven the development of powerful,
quiet,mid-size excavation equipment.”
Mr Turner said part of the past problem with widespread
adoption of lighter excavation equipment in mid-depth utility
work – up to 4.9 m deep – was that the machines couldn’t
handle heavy steel trenchboxes thatwere developed for usewith
large excavators. Steel trenchboxes, he said,weighed about three
times asmuch as aluminium boxes.
More options
“The use of lightweight aluminium
shields in place of steel boxes has
increased dramatically over the last few
years,” he said. “With aluminium, the
contractor gains a much lighter box that
is far bettermatched to the excavators he
is using.”
Mr Turner added that the company
forecast widespread growth in demand
for aluminium trench shielding over the next five years in
theUS.
Meanwhile, utility products and attachments director for
Toro’s newDD4045 HDD rig offers 40,000 lbs (18.1 tonnes)
of thrust and pullback. For added safety on the jobsite,
the DD4045 uses a remote exit-side lockout system that
works independently, and a Zap Alert system to notify the
operator in the event of an electric line strike.
National Trench Safety forecast widespread
growth in demand for aluminium trench
shielding over the next five years in the US.
The CharlesMachineWorks (CMW) said it would be presenting
a new look for its newly acquired Trencor product line of
mechanically-driven track trenchers in 2014. Themachines
are now beingmanufactured at the CMW-owned American
Augers facility inWest Salem, Ohio, US.
Utility products and attachments director for Volvo CE Sales Region EMEA, Per
Leis, said that the utility sector in Europewas switching away from the use of
backhoe loaders to open trenches, andmore toward compact equipment.
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