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Kevin Yanik

Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

Size among enhancements on John Deere’s 460E ADT

After an introduction at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2011, the John Deere 460E ADT joins the 370E and 410E as part of the E-Series. John Deere is calling the 460E its largest, most operator-friendly truck ever built. The E-Series ADTs feature a John Deere PowerTech 13.5-liter IT4 engine with three power levels based on the model – 422 net hp, 443 net hp and 481 net hp. A ZF transmission includes a high-capacity retarder, eight forward gears and four reverse gears. In addition, the new hauler axles are designed for heavy-duty applications and include on-the-fly differential locks and outboard planetaries. Each axle is independently pressure lubed and filtered. E-Series axles use internal wet disc brakes that utilize independent cooling circuits. Keep Reading

Terver, Ruiz have new roles at Holcim

Bernard Terver, president and CEO at Holcim, will join the executive committee of international parent company Holcim Ltd. Terver will also assume responsibility for the new group region of North America that includes Holcim U.S., Holcim Canada, Aggregate Industries U.S. and Aggregate Industries U.K. Filiberto Ruiz will serve as deputy CEO of Holcim U.S. and Aggregate Industries U.S. Prior to this promotion, Ruiz served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Holcim U.S. Keep Reading

New president, vice presidents at Astec

Astec Industries Inc. has promoted Norm Smith to president and COO, Ben Brock to group vice president of asphalt and Richard Dorris to group vice president of energy. Smith was promoted after J. Don Brock resigned as company president. Brock will continue to serve as CEO. Keep Reading

Metso adds distributor in New Jersey

Foley Inc. has been added as a Metso distributor, representing Metso's crushing and screening products in New Jersey. Based in Piscataway, N.J., Foley will also provide Metso customers with field and shop services, trained service technicians and a stocked parts department. Foley is the Caterpillar dealer in north and central New Jersey, as well. Keep Reading

Houston event to highlight benefits of LNG off-road vehicles

The inaugural Natural Gas for High Horsepower Summit will take place Sept. 26-28 in Houston. The event will focus on the applications in which liquefied natural gas (LNG) can replace diesel in off-road, high-horsepower applications used in mining, construction and other industries. Conference sessions will highlight case studies from around the world where LNG is being used instead of diesel to power high-horsepower applications. Speakers at the summit representing the mining and construction industries include Frank Starke, Caterpillar's global product manager for oil and gas; Robert Frayser, the vice chairman of the Utah Mining Association and general manager of Lisbon Valley Mine; David Bolderoff, Los Angeles County Sanitation District fleet administrator; and Claus Emmer, LNG system sales manager at Chart Industries. Learn more at www.hhpsummit.com. Keep Reading

Technical session, tours part of silica sand conference

Registration is now open for the Conference on the Silica Sand Resources of Minnesota and Wisconsin, presented jointly by the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Precambrian Research Center and the Twin Cities Chapter of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. The conference will be held Oct.1-3 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minn. A goal of the conference is to answer many of the questions stakeholders have raised about the development of silica sand. A welcoming banquet will be held on Monday, Oct. 1, followed by a technical session on Tuesday, Oct. 2. Wednesday, Oct. 3 will entail a full-day tour of several silica mines, processing plants and loading facilities in western and central Wisconsin. This conference is being hosted concurrently with the 57th annual Midwest Groundwater Conference, drawing groundwater scientists, professionals, and engineers from 14 states. Keep Reading

Former NSSGA executive McClure dies

Kash McClure, former NSSGA vice president of membership services, has died. McClure served the industry through the National Limestone Institute, the National Stone Association and NSSGA for 37 years. He retired in 2004 and is survived by his wife Yvonne, two children and two grandchildren. Keep Reading

Feds release nearly $500 million for transportation projects

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood announced earlier this month that the Obama administration is making $473 million available to states for infrastructure projects. Congress earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars between 2003 and 2006, but $473 million of it was never spent. DOT is allowing states to apply those dollars to any highway, transit, passenger rail or port projects already approved by the department, but states must identify the projects on which they intend to spend the rescinded funds by Oct. 1. They must obligate the money by Dec. 31. States can only use the funding amount already allocated to them, and any funding that is not obligated by the end of the year will be proportionally distributed to states that meet the deadline. According to the Charlotte Observer, Alabama is the biggest winner of the new money, with an opportunity to spend $51.5 million that had been set aside, but never used, for 33 projects. California is also a big winner, with $43.1 million to spend. Wyoming… Keep Reading

John Deere app allows users to track machinery

John Deere Construction recently extended the availability of the machine monitoring system JDLink to iPhones, iPads and Android devices. The free JDLink mobile app allows contractors to access John Deere’s system to keep tabs on a machine's location and alerts through a mobile device. Customers can use a demo function to explore the features provided before subscribing for an account. The app includes a number of interactive JDLink features, including multiple machine mapping and directions to machines. Learn more about JDLink at www.deere.com/jdlink. Keep Reading

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