Author
Global construction equipment market to expand throughout decade
The global construction equipment market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 6 percent each year through 2017, according to data the Association of Leaders in Equipment Distribution (AED) recently shared. The market currently sits at $143.6 billion but is expected to reach $192.3 billion in four years. AED sourced a report titled "Construction Equipment Market – Global and China Forecast, Market Share, Size, Growth and Industry Analysis, 2011 - 2017." The earth-moving equipment segment contributed about 43 percent to the total construction equipment market's revenue in 2012. China accounted for the majority of construction equipment consumption, with Europe at a distant second. According to AED, Asia is considered the most promising market for construction equipment worldwide due to relatively good performance of construction and mining in countries like India and China. China is the major contributor to the market and accounts for about 41 percent of the overall global sales of construction equipment. The construction equipment market in China in 2012 was about $59.2 billion. That figure is… Keep Reading
Former employee returns to Powerscreen
Powerscreen has appointed Hugh Brennan as its technical support manager. Brennan previously worked in a variety of roles over 11 years for the company. He spent the last six years in a customer support role with the Blue Machinery Group. Keep Reading
Seven metal/nonmetal mines receive November impact inspections
MSHA issued 123 citations and four orders to metal/nonmetal mines during impact inspections for the month of November. Nine coal mines received impact inspections during the same period, and MSHA collectively issued 162 citations, seven orders and two safeguards to them. "We continue to identify operators who have not gotten the message," says Joe Main, MSHA's assistant secretary of labor. "Exposure to harmful levels of respirable dust is unacceptable. Not conducting adequate examinations is unacceptable. Miners deserve better." Since April 2010, MSHA has conducted 539 impact inspections and issued 9,445 citations, 900 orders and 40 safeguards. Keep Reading
Eriez making installation, maintenance info more accessible
Eriez is offering installation, operations and maintenance manuals for more than 15 of its product lines that can be downloaded in PDF format. Manuals are available for chip and parts conveyors; coolant cleaners; lift magnets; magnetic drum separators; magnetic grates, plates and traps; roll separators; magnetic pulleys; magnetic rails; magnetic separators; magnetic sweepers; metal detectors; palletizers and depalletizers; suspended magnets; vibratory equipment; and a variety of other Eriez equipment. According to Dave Hansen, Eriez customer service manager, many of the manuals include a troubleshooting section and parts lists, depending on the type of equipment. Keep Reading
Promoting aggregates to next generations
Evan Hartley, a chemistry teacher at Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio, knew little about the aggregates industry before 2011. But Hartley gained new knowledge of aggregates two summers ago after participating in an earth and space science program designed for Ohio teachers like him. By participating, Hartley picked up new material to share with students in his chemistry classroom. The material made his students more aware of the various career opportunities available within the industry. "A lot of times students don't understand why they're learning what they're learning," Hartley says. "I constantly try to make connections between what's happening in the real world and science. But until you have a substantial knowledge base, you don't necessarily see those connections." About the program The program in which Hartley participated, Project Stone, is hosted at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, in partnership with the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association (OAIMA). Wright State has hosted the program for five consecutive years, although Bill Slattery, a Wright State associate professor… Keep Reading
Lafarge employees participate in holiday charitable projects
Lafarge North America operations across the United States organized charitable projects for the holiday season in the local communities where they reside. Several Lafarge operations in the Midwest donated toys for young children. In Davenport, Iowa, the local Lafarge plant donates toys to children in need through the Christmas Angels program each year. Lafarge’s Joliet, Ill., quarry, Cleveland Slag location and Great Lakes Market Area office, collected toys for the Toys for Tots Foundation. The Three Rivers quarry in Smithland, Ky., held a food drive from Nov. 19 through Dec. 1, collecting 1,640 lbs. of non-perishable goods. The food will be donated to the Livingston County Helping Hands Organization and distributed from there. Since 2000, the Lafarge West Slope ready mix and aggregates team visits residents of the Cross Roads Assisted Living Center in Rifle, Col. Each year, Lafarge sponsors a Christmas lights and decorating event around Thanksgiving. The volunteers wear Santa hats as they install decorations and provide lunches to the residents. Keep Reading
Vulcan facing fight from Alabama community over quarry
Vulcan Materials Co. wants to open a quarry in Gurley, Ala., but many in the local community there are opposed to the idea. According to WAAYTV, the local ABC affiliate, more than 50 people attended a town hall meeting to express their opposition to the quarry opening near their town. Those opposed argue the dust produced would aggravate the asthma of many students at a local high school. They also argue a local river could be affected. “It is less than two miles from our schools, our elementary and our high school, and it does not have a positive growth aspect unless you’re interested in industrial growth and asphalt plants and concrete,” says Cecilia Dear, an activist who years ago successfully kept M&N Materials from locating inside the city's limits. According to WAAYTV, the city's mayor presented a resolution at the meeting stating the town is opposed to the quarry. Local councilmen voted to pass the mayor's resolution. Vulcan had no representatives present. Keep Reading
Former MSHA Assistant Secretary Zeeger dies
David Zeeger, who served as Assistant Secretary for MSHA during part of the Reagan administration, died Dec. 10. He was 90. After a 30-year career in coal mining, Zeeger was named MSHA's Assistant Secretary on Nov. 18, 1983. According to an obituary published in the Lexington Herald-Ledger, coal mining deaths decreased to unprecedented levels during Zeeger's three-year tenure. Zeeger also represented the mining industry in debates with Robert Kennedy and Richard Trumpka, and he participated in MSHA Senate hearings with former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) as chair. Photo: David Zeeger Keep Reading
Major Wire names new dealer in South
Major Wire Industries Ltd. has named Paschal Associate Sales its newest aggregate and mining screen media dealer in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and eastern Tennessee. The dealership is offering all of Major Wire’s screen media products, including the Flex-Mat 3 screen media in tensioned and modular versions, as well as OptimumWire woven wire. Major Wire’s new wire weaving facility in Salisbury, N.C., is centrally located within Paschal’s territory. Keep Reading
