SHOW REVIEW
CONEXPO a massive hit
With over 2,500 booths, there's heavy gear for every taste at this industry-leading event.
By Scott Jamieson
In case CONEXPO 2005 wasn’t big enough (it was), the 2008 edition held March 11-15 in Las Vegas, NV, was 21 percent larger and saw a significant boost in attendance to boot. Total exhibit space was over 2.4 million square feet, allowing almost 2,200 exhibitors to show their wares, alongside another 469 in the adjacent fluid power/hydraulics show (IFPE 2008).
In response, close to 145,000 industry members showed up to get a glimpse of the latest and greatest in heavy equipment and associated technology, and to wear out a good pair of shoes in the process. Much of the gear was specialized for aggregates, roadbuilding, paving and concrete, but there was also the latest in excavator, dozer, debris handling, maintenance, equipment control and fleet management gear to suit many forestry contractors or companies. CFI Magazine dropped in, and here's just a tiny fraction of what we saw.
Hands-on control
Doosan Infracore had a crowd-pleaser on its hands with its new i-Hand motion interpretation technology. Looking more video game than heavy iron, the device straps onto your hand and forearm, allowing even the greenest of operators to run heavy machinery from a remote location. More importantly, they can do so with very limited training. In the interest of space, Doosan’s young remote operators were running a mini-excavator, but the prototype technology can be used on any size machine. The company was also unveiling its new finance wing, and its brand new DX225 and DX255 excavator series. The 148- and 166-hp machines boast a new electronics communication package between engine and hydraulics for better fuel economy, easier maintenance access, and a boom overload alarm. www.dhiac.com.
Keeping gear on track
Just about every major equipment supplier put their latest real-time equipment tracking systems front and centre as a way to distinguish themselves in a crowded market, and to provide contractors with a management tool to flesh out thin margins. Systems from John Deere (JDLink), Hitachi (ZXLink), Komatsu (Komtrax), Volvo (CareTrack), Caterpillar (Product Link), and more drew crowds of fleet managers looking to stream line maintenance tracking and scheduling, track performance, downtime and fuel consumption, and identify training needs from one location. Many include downtime and failure warnings linked to a managers personal handheld devices.
 Tier 4 with fuel savings at Cummins
Owners of trucks and heavy equipment still remember the hit they took in higher purchase prices and fuel consumption from the move to Tier 3 engines. Few look forward to the move to Tier 4. Perhaps there may be pleasant surprises, such as Cummins Inc.’s new heavy-duty 16-liter QSX. This diesel will use an array of new technology from its fully-integrated air intake and XPI high pressure common rail fuel system, to its exhaust after-treatment to meet Tier 4 regs that come into play January 2011. It will do this, the engine supplier says, while boosting power output to 650 hp from 600, and peak torque by 12%. Best of all, Cummins claims a 5% improvement in fuel economy. Cummins told industry journalists at CONEXPO that it expects to have 50,000 plus field test hours on this new design before its 2011 launch. www.cummins.com.
Indexator has a n angle on production
From major earth moving to finishing touches, the Rototilt tool from Indexator is designed to boost production and reduce operator fatigue. Skilled operators were on hand at CONEXPO to show how a variety of Rototilt tools make short work of both detailed and bulk work by allowing operators to get more done with just one tool, with less re-positioning, and without the need for an extra worker on the ground, and in harm’s way. The Rototilt combines 360-degree rotation with a 40-degree tilt action, so operators can work around objects or on angles. It can quickly switch between tools. Available in Canada through Hultdins. www.indexator.com
 Deere Tier 4 not too dear
John Deere Power Systems used CONEXPO to tell contractors and other equipment manufacturers what technology it would be using to meet stringent Interim Tier 4 mobile off-road emissions regulations for its engines above 173 hp. The regs require a massive 90% drop in diesel particulate and a 50% drop in NOx from Tier 3 by 2011. Deere will do this using its Tier 3 PowerTech Plus engine platform as a base, add a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC)/diesel particulate filter (DPF - shown at right) unit for reducing particulates, and increase the percentage of cooled gas recirculation (EGR) for NOx control. The supplier has decided not to use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for NOx reduction, as it feels its path is more proven, simpler, and will lead to lower operating costs. For starters, it says this avoids the need for liquid urea required in SCR systems, the associated injection systems, and systems to prevent winter freezing. As in the past, these engines will be designed specifically for off-road use. www.deere.com.
Cat focuses on safety, sustainability
The brass at Caterpillar spoke with over 100 trade journalists to emphasize its increased focus on four key business objectives outside the standard productivity and cost sphere:
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Maximize safety throughout its product lines, with a focus on enhanced lock-out systems, operator protection, and more.
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Material efficiency: Using fewer, and more renewable, materials to make its machinery, and taking care that materials can be re-used or recycled at the end of the machine’s useful life.
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Energy efficiency: Taking advantage of new materials (lighter), technology, and control systems to reduce energy demands.
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Greenhouse gas emissions: Not only to reduce GHG emissions at Cat’s own facilities, but also those of its customers, by reducing fuel consumption and improving emission control technology.
Many companies are working on the last three items at their own facilities, but Cat stresses that by working through the tens of thousands of machines it sells to customers annually, it’s potential impact on sustainability can be massive, and global. It is targeting 20% reductions in all three over the next few years. Cat also spoke of its new D7E electric-drive dozer to be released next year, but more on that later on this site. www.cat.com.
CHETRA makes dozers, skidders, CTL gear, not coffee!
According to export director Vladimir Lukonin, Chetra Industrial Machinery sees Canada as one of the world’s largest markets for its line of forestry equipment. The supplier is one of Russia’s largest heavy machinery makers, and is perhaps best known for its rugged line of bulldozers. It also makes several models of rugged, but very simple skidding machines, and recently purchased the Silvatec line of cut-to-length logging gear. It hosted a press conference at CONEXPO to announce that it is looking for dealers in Canada to handle both its original full-tree line and the newer Silvatec CTL equipment, which is still be made in Denmark. While Silvatec harvesters and forwarders come with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern logging machine, Chetra dozers and skidders represent a more down-to-earth approach that many cash-strapped Canadian loggers may appreciate. As Lukonin summed up for the North American trade press, “Our dozers don’t brew coffee or fly – They just move earth efficiently.” www.chetra.ru.
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