Going Down John Deere Machines Dig the San Diego Pipeline Project
AEM Predicts Machine Sales Growth in 2008
NER Joins with Lexington to Catch a Thief
Case and Hyundai Heavy Form Strategic Alliance
Link-Belt Picks H&E Equipment as Its New Dealer
Going Down
John Deere Machines Dig the San Diego Pipeline Project
 Torrential downpours, raging winds whipping upward of 175 mph hour, rising flood waters. In the past five years, we have been witness to some of the most destructive natural disasters — tsunamis, hurricanes, ice storms, you name it. Now, everyone is looking at our utility infrastructure to weather the storm.
“Be prepared” is the motto for the handy Boy Scouts, and it’s also the theme for a project currently underway by officials in San Diego.
With the city of San Diego’s Water Authority in the midst of building an 11-mile pipeline (8.5 ft wide) designed to carry water from the San Vicente reservoir to a vital pumping station in San
Diego in the event of a major earthquake or other emergency, the Traylor Brothers Construction Co. called on John Deere to help out. The company purchased three John Deere 744J loaders to handle the material from the excavation once it was topside and a John Deere 332 skid steer for cleanup work on the job.
But the key equipment Traylor specifically needed was an excavator that could be lowered into the narrow 70-to-90-ft deep shafts where the boring machines deposit material. The John Deere 225C LC reduced tail swing (RTS) excavator fit the bill, given that its 5-ft, 6-in. turning radius and 7-ft, 3-in. arm can maneuver comfortably in the confines of the shaft. The tunnel is approximately 12 ft in diameter, with depth ranging between 50 and 600 ft underground.
 “The reduced tail swing excavator fits the project like a glove,” said Richard Dotson, equipment manager for the project. “It was purchased specifically for this project and was the largest machine we could lower into the shafts. It has worked perfectly for our needs.”
The $200 million Emergency Storage Project is expected to be completed by late 2008. Much work is yet to be done, but Traylor’s project manager for the pipeline isn’t worried about his equipment not performing.
“The equipment will be required to perform flawlessly as we go forward,” said Mike Jatczak. “We have every reason to believe our expectations for the Deere equipment will continue to be met.”
The San Vicente Pipeline is just one of four phases of the Emergency Storage Project — a system of reservoirs, interconnected pipelines and pumping stations designed to make water available to the San Diego region in the event of an interruption in imported water deliveries. To provide water during emergencies, the San Vicente Pipeline will function together with other Water Authority facilities and connecting pipelines near the reservoir.
AEM Predicts Machine Sales Growth in 2008
 With the slowdown in the residential construction market, some would predict doom and gloom for the construction equipment industry. But high atop its industry crow’s nest, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) sees modest growth in machine sales for 2008 on the horizon.
“Overall, we’ve seen a slowdown in the past year or so, but it comes after some very good years for the equipment manufacturing industry,” stated AEM president Dennis Slater. “The residential housing slump in the United States has sent ripples across the entire economy, not only the construction industry. However, growth in non-residential construction continues to offset losses in the housing market.
For equipment manufacturers, the continued global demand for construction machinery is also balancing the slowdown in our domestic business. Economic signals are mixed, but there is guarded optimism that our economy will remain resilient and not descend into recession.”
So why is the AEM predicting a 2.8 percent growth for the United States, a 2.9 percent growth for Canada and an 8 percent growth worldwide for 2008? Rental, for one, is a growing industry for small- and medium-size machines. With fewer and larger players, renters have more negotiating clout when dealing with companies.
The SAFETEA-LU federal transportation legislation also provides some cushioning in road building.
“Looking to the future, we see tremendous business opportunity related to these projects,” said Slater. “Clean water is, most importantly, good for the environment and people. But it is also a source of jobs where our equipment is used.”
Construction machinery manufacturing is export intensive, and the strength of the dollar against other currencies is also expected to affect business growth. Machinery makers also cited commodity shortages and prices, including steel and energy.
The AEM annual outlook forecast covers 71 whole machine product types and 23 types of attachments and components, grouped into seven general categories. AEM conducts the survey in the third quarter of the year and consolidates manufacturers’ estimates of overall business activity.
Each forecast in the AEM survey is the average of responses from companies in each product line, predicting industrywide expectations rather than individual company performance, unit sales and company profitability. The complete survey will be online at www.aem.org in the Industry Trends section.
NER Joins with Lexington to Catch a Thief
It takes a worldly man with a motive to track down a notorious burglar. Alfred Hitchcock always had dapper gents solving mysteries in films like “To Catch a Thief.” And when it comes to tracking down stolen equipment, the National Equipment Register (NER) is the Cary Grant of equipment recovery. Now, the NER is teaming up with Lexington Insurance Co. to help its clients recover stolen equipment and reduce the costs associated with construction theft.
Lexington’s contractors’ equipment policyholders that have registered their equipment on the NER HELPtech database (prior to any loss) are eligible to have policy theft deductibles up to $10,000 waived if the equipment is stolen and not recovered.
Additionally, Lexington is helping the construction
industry and law enforcement fight equipment theft by offering a reward for the arrest and conviction of persons involved in each occurrence of theft of registered and insured equipment.
“Lexington is clearly showing its understanding of the risks and costs of doing business that its insured [equipment owners] encounter and are offering their clients a way to better protect their investment and reduce the cost of doing business,” said Stacy Kaufman, sales director with NER. “This new initiative also shows its support for law enforcement by providing them with the information they need to more effectively and accurately identify the true owners of equipment.”
NER’s secure and confidential online registration of contractors’ equipment, including descriptions of construction equipment and serial numbers, is stored in a national database for the use of law enforcement officials. In addition, registrants are given a warning decal for each piece of equipment to help deter thieves.
The NER manages a national database of heavy equipment thefts and ownership records to help equipment owners, the insurance industry and law enforcement identify and recover stolen equipment. For more information, go to www.StopEquipmentTheft.com.
Case and Hyundai Heavy Form Strategic Alliance
 It’s a simple formula that you learned in elementary school — one plus one is two. And two is so much better than one; whether it’s two cookies with lunch or a pair of construction titans combining forces.
Case Construction Equipment Inc. has formed a strategic alliance with the construction equipment division of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Executives from both companies were on hand for the signing ceremony at Case headquarters in
Racine, Wis., which officially initiated a relationship that will result in the extension of the Case lineup of wheel loaders.
“The availability of higher-capacity Case machines is very beneficial for our customers,” said Jim McCullough, president, Case Construction Equipment. “The expansion of the Case lineup with larger wheel loaders, along with the heavy-range excavators, larger crawler dozers and articulated dump trucks that Case already offers, adds to the full line available through Case dealerships.”
The first new model resulting from the alliance with Hyundai Heavy Industries will debut to contractors at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG trade show in Las Vegas in 2008. Under terms of the agreement, the new model will be available in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“We’re pleased to have developed this alliance, which gives equipment users in key geographies the benefit of Case distribution and support capabilities, along with quality products resulting from our world-class manufacturing capabilities,” said J.J. Kim, executive vice president, Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Products sourced through the alliance will be fully warranted through Case and serviceable by Case dealers, with financing solutions available through the Case financing arm, CNH Capital. Case will provide parts support through the company’s global parts network.
Case currently manufactures wheel loaders in Fargo, N.D., Lecce, Italy, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The wheel loader line includes five models, ranging from 2.25 to 5.5 cu yds, with traditional Z-bar, XT tool-carrier and high-lift versions.
Link-Belt Picks H&E Equipment as Its New Dealer
A good dealer is just as important as a solid product.
 The service, support and personal relationship that a dealer builds with his customers is the basic, bottom-line face of the company. Knowing the importance of distribution channels, H&E Equipment Service Inc., as an authorized dealer, has been given the keys to Link-Belt branded excavators and forestry and material handling equipment, manufactured by LBX Co. LLC out of Lexington, Ky.
H&E Equipment is now the authorized Link-Belt dealer for: Baltimore; Arden, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, N.C.; North Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, S.C.; and Ashland, Norfolk, Roanoke and Warrenton, Va.
“Link-Belt is a first class product that doesn’t take a backseat to any manufacturer. These excavators are very well balanced and the hydraulics are remarkably smooth,” said Scott McDougle, vice president of earthmoving, H&E’s Mid-Atlantic division. “This is a product that we can take into the future with great confidence, knowing that our customers will be very satisfied.”
As a full-service dealer, H&E will provide new and used sales, rentals, service, parts and warranty service to support the Link-Belt they represent. H&E Equipment Services is one of the largest integrated equipment service companies in the United States with 62 full-service facilities throughout the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
In addition to being one of the largest U.S. Komatsu earthmoving dealers, H&E Equipment also represents Diamond Z, Doosan, Dynapac, Elliott, Finn, Gehl, Genie, Gradall, JLG, Kawasaki, Magnum, Manitex, National Crane, Sky Jack, Terex/Reedrill and Yale brands.
The Link-Belt brand name dates back to 1874. Formerly a division of the Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co., LBX Co. became a stand-alone company in 1998 representing the Link-Belt excavator and forestry and material handling equipment lines. |
