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Atlas Copco names parts and service VP
Dave Pietrzykowski has been appointed vice president of parts and service for Atlas Copco. In his new role, Pietrzykowski will retain responsibility for all parts and service operations, including customer service, inventory control, logistics and procurement, warranty, service administration, training initiatives, store parts and service development, distributor business management and the technical management team. Pietrzykowski started with Atlas Copco as business line manager for rental fleet and used equipment. He later served as business line manager for rock drilling tools. He's also been a sales engineer, worldwide marketing manager and vice president of sales and marketing. Keep Reading
Report: Record-low fatality, injury rates established
MSHA released preliminary data earlier this week that indicates 2012 had the lowest fatality and injury rates in the history of U.S. mining. The fatality rate last year was 0.0107 deaths per 200,000 hours worked. The rate of reported injuries was 2.56 per 200,000 hours worked. These reductions replace the previous year’s record historical-low rates, respectively. Although the number of mines in the U.S. decreased slightly, the number of miners increased from 381,209 to 387,671. Thirty-five miners died on the job in 2012, tying the record-low number of deaths in mining set in 2009. The number of citations and orders MSHA issued fell from 157,052 in 2011 to 140,007 in 2012 – an 11 percent decrease. In metal and nonmetal mining, the record-low fatality rate was 0.0080 deaths per 200,000 hours worked. Sixteen miners died in on-the-job accidents, equaling the record low set in 2011. The reported injury rate of 2.19 per 200,000 hours worked also was a record low. Citations and orders issued dropped from 63,601 in 2011 to… Keep Reading
Lehigh Hanson plant achieves an industry first
Lehigh Hanson Inc.'s Mission Valley Rock plant in Sunol, Calif., recently became the first aggregates production site to achieve the EPA’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry. The Mission Valley Rock plant reduced its energy intensity by 12.2 percent within one year, according to Lehigh Hanson. Under the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, EPA is working with individual manufacturing sites and their parent companies to fight climate change through improvements in energy efficiency. The program's goal is to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent or more. Lehigh Hanson says its own accomplishment is equivalent to 28,987 mmBtus of annual source energy avoided and 817 metric tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions avoided. The Mission Valley Rock plant was able to reduce its energy intensity by taking a holistic approach to reducing energy consumption. Plant management, with support from personnel at the company’s technical competency center in Irving, Texas, completed a comprehensive review of the major systems at the plant, including crushers, conveyors, pumps, screens, feeders, fans, heating, air compressors and other… Keep Reading
Cat showcases track drills, hybrid excavator in Peoria
Caterpillar hosted a special event April 3-5 at the Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center in Peoria, Ill., showing off a few new products for the trade press. Among the products Cat covered were its track drills and the 336E H hybrid excavator. The 450F backhoe loader was also discussed and demonstrated. One track drill Caterpillar's Matt Jacobs and Jeff Dudley discussed is the MD5090, a non-cabbed unit that can drill more than one hole before needing to be moved to another location. Jacobs and Dudley also showed off the MD5075, which has a hydraulically operated rod changer. The next track drill Cat is taking to market is the MD5150, which has a hole diameter of up to 6 in. The ability to service the MD5150 has improved, Dudley says, because all service can be done at ground level. The unit, which Cat says is an improvement over the MD5125, eliminated about 30 lubrication points with pins and bushings. The drill itself also has remarkably fewer parts – 78 in all… Keep Reading
Crusher manufacturer expanding into U.S.
Portable crusher manufacturer Elrus Aggregates Systems, a Canadian-based company, is expanding into the United States with the opening of operations in Eloy, Ariz. The coming months will entail facility expansion, hiring and training employees with a grand opening scheduled for late summer 2013. Establishing the Eloy site is the second step of a larger expansion into the United States, according to Elrus. The manufacturing capacity in Eloy will serve demand from the U.S. and provide extra capacity to meet continued demand in Canada. Elrus is also in the process of establishing sales and service offices, and it recently acquired and opened a facility in Sumner, Wash. Keep Reading
Atlas Copco celebrating milestone anniversary
Atlas Copco CEO Ronnie Leten marked the company’s 140th anniversary by ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York’s Times Square earlier this year. The bell ringing signified the beginning of the day’s trading and the start of a yearlong anniversary celebration for Atlas Copco. Maureen Ellis, an employee celebrating more than 40 years with Atlas Copco in the United States, joined Leten at the event, along with select customers and other company management and stakeholders. Keep Reading
Non-residential building segment showing continued progress
The Dodge Momentum Index measuring the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning rose 5.9 percent in March, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The increase lifted the index to 109.4, marking the fourth gain in a row following the modest retreat that took place from August through November last year. The four straight gains suggest owners and developers now perceive the climate for construction to be improving, as shown by the rising amount of commercial and institutional building projects reaching the planning stage, McGraw-Hill Construction says. The March increase was evenly split between commercial and institutional components. Large projects that boosted the commercial segment of the planning pipeline in March included a $200 million Maui Outlet Mall in Kihei, Hawaii; a $135 million headquarters for New Balance in Brighton Mass.; and a $75 million headquarters for British Petroleum in Houston. The institutional segment was bolstered in March by the inclusion of several new amusement-related projects. The largest of these developments is the $400 million MGM/AEG Arena in Las Vegas. Keep Reading
Construction put-in-place exceeding 2012 levels
The forecast for total construction-put-in-place for 2013 continues to show an increase of 8 percent over 2012 levels with an expected expenditure topping $900 billion, according to FMI's first quarter construction outlook. Residential building is showing the most promise, with a 23 percent rise in single-family buildings. Also, commercial, lodging and office construction are starting to pick up. U.S. shale regions are particularly seeing a lot of construction activity, according to FMI. These regions are in need of housing, as well as the construction of roads, rail and pipelines to move the product from the fields to refining and distribution sites. Residential construction single-family housing put-in-place grew 19 percent in 2012, and FMI expects another 23 percent growth to reach $161 billion by the end of 2013. Multifamily construction improved 47 percent in 2012, with FMI looking for another 31 percent in 2013. Keep Reading
Q&A with NSSGA’s Gus Edwards (Part 2 of 2)
Gus Edwards steadily climbed the ranks over 16 years between the National Stone Association (NSA) and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), starting as NSA's vice president of public affairs upon joining in 1997 and continuing in roles as vice president for communications and community relations, and executive vice president after NSA and the National Aggregates Association merged in 2000. Now, more than four months into his tenure as NSSGA president and CEO, Edwards recently found time to reflect on alternatives to funding surface transportation, the association's 10-year-old alliance with MSHA and his thoughts on creating a separate office for aggregates within MSHA. P&Q: What more could NSSGA do to rally the public behind surface transportation funding? GE: NSSGA is diligently working with our coalition partners to increase widespread support for surface transportation. Our two Rally for Roads, of which NSSGA was a prime sponsor, are an example of what we should encourage at the local level. Almost every state has a transportation coalition that can hold rallies.… Keep Reading
