Fleet managers and professional contractors have a variety of choices when its time to replace their aging vehicles. Until recently, the Ford Transit Connect Electric utility van was not among them. Photo: Thom Blackett For ENR The Transit Connect Electric will cost some greenbacks for firms wanting to go green. Its base price is $57,400—before adding in a charging station and taking out tax incentives. Photo: Courtesy of Ford Motor Co. Developed by Ford and Azure Dynamics, the plug-in electric van promises zero emissions and lower operating costs, points being evaluated by early adopters including AT&T, the New York Power
Photo: Courtesy Bauma China 2010 China has become the new power market for heavy iron, digging into the traditional construction markets of Japan, Europe and the U.S. Likewise, last month’s Bauma China expo put Shanghai on the map as a major destination for construction equipment buyers. The biennial expo, held Nov. 23-26, attracted 150,000 people from 165 countries—more than North America’s last CONEXPO-CON/AGG show held in Las Vegas in 2008—and packed in nearly 2,000 vendors covering 2.5 million sq ft. Machine production recently has been moving this way. From 2006 to 2009, China took in 42% of the world’s crawler-tractors,
Every year, Arne Ruud has between $6 million and $10 million to spend on new construction machinery. The corporate equipment manager for Broomfield, Colo.-based Guy F. Atkinson Construction LLC says, next year, he probably will spend most of his budget, which is an unusual move in this time of thrift. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton For ENR When the recession hit in 2008, contractors scaled back dramatically on fleet spending. “In some of our areas the markets have just disintegrated,” Ruud explains. “That doesn’t give you a lot of confidence to go out and buy new iron.” Many have been fixing
IronPlanet.com has set a new record for the highest-priced item sold at one of its virtual auctions. A 2008 Gomaco GHP-2800 slipform paver belonging to transportation contractor John Carlo Inc., Clinton Township, Mich., sold to an undisclosed Louisiana buyer for $930,000 at the Oct. 21 auction, which drew 13,500 bidders from 140 countries spending a total $7.2 million. John Carlo used the auction to liquidate its fleets in Michigan and Florida. “Everything we sold at IronPlanet, including the paver, exceeded our expectations,” says Fred Peltier, John Carlo’s corporate equipment manager. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based auction company filed for a $92-million initial
J.C. Bamford Excavators Ltd. is having a busy year, but not necessarily in terms of equipment sales. As the U.K.-based manufacturer ramps up for what is expected to be a stronger economy next year, it has been busy litigating Chinese companies for allegedly copying the design of its earthmoving machines. The company also is trying hard to say as little as possible about the incidents because it has signed a confidentiality agreement as part of a recent settlement, ENR has learned. J.C. Bamford Excavators Ltd. (JBC), Staffordshire, England, settled out of court in October with an undisclosed Asian manufacturer, arguing
Sany America Inc., a China-owned construction equipment manufacturer based in Peachtree City, Ga., is developing a new generation of lattice-boom crawler cranes under the direction of veteran crane designer John Lanning.
What’s clearer than the smoke still belching out of California’s vintage earthmoving machines? The state’s “in use” air-quality rule is getting retooled. The Associated General Contractors of America and the California Air Resources Board have reached an agreement to postpone the off-road diesel rule until 2014. What happens next may very well depend on the upcoming elections. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton For ENR New data from AGC-sponsored study led to revised off-road diesel deadline. In a joint Oct. 7 announcement, Mary Nichols, CARB chairwoman, and Michael Kennedy, AGC’s general counsel, agreed to resolve technical details attached to a complex set
Case Construction Equipment is launching a new line of loader-backhoes that the Racine, Wis.-based manufacturer says will boost sales as the economy rebounds. Production of the new line was informed by a strategy of its parent firm, Fiat Group, which places a high priority on client involvement early in the design phase. Photo: Courtesy of Case Construction Equipment Case used Fiat’s product-development process to create a new line of loader-backhoes that has been designed with the customer’s needs in mind. While Case says it always has used customer feedback to guide product development, this higher level of interaction was initiated
Ford Motor Co. is the only Big Three manufacturer that currently does not offer a six-cylinder engine in a full-size pickup. For next year’s F-150, however, Ford will reintroduce a V-6 as its base-level engine; to show it is really serious about V-6 power, the company will also offer a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engine that claims to have the capability of a V-8 with the fuel economy of a V-6. Does this sound too good to be true? As with any engineering exercise, performing multiple feats becomes a balancing act. We discovered as much during a Ford-sponsored test drive this month
Ford Motor Co. says its new 2011 F-150 pickup truck, available later this year with four new engines, is targeting best-in-class fuel economy with its basic model, popular among construction fleet owners. Ford's base pickup, the 2011 F-150 XL series, will come standard with a 3.7L V-6 gasoline engine, 6-speed automatic transmission and 12-volt electric power steering that help the truck hit up to 23 mpg. Though official testing is still in the works, Ford hopes to certify its new base V-6 engine soon at 23 mpg for highway driving, says Mark Grueber, F-150 marketing manager. Across the board, Ford