Walter Clough

The story of Walter Clough is not a rare one for many students that attended one of NAHETS member schools. Walter graduated from the Oklahoma College of Construction and is working for APAC in Missouri making 35/hr. He is an operator, but also doing site plans and other duties. This isn’t Walter’s first HEO job since graduation, but it’s his first full time job. 35.00/hr is very impressive for anyone, however for Walter it’s…. well…you gotta know Walter. I asked him his secret to landing this job (Apac was one of his job leads in his original packet) almost a month ago. He walked onto the jobsite, filled out an application and was hired on the spot!!! That’s it! We always encourage our graduates to not be afraid to walk on a job site and speak with a foreman/site supervisor. These guys usually know what their immediate needs are before the corporate office does. Anyway, Walter has been encouraged to do this for quite some time….he finally did it and it’s finally paying off. Congratulations to Walter!

John Deer Smackdown: Hill Climb

John Deer goes at it with other companies such as CAT, New Holland, and Bobcat to find out who’s the best.

Case Construction Launches New Website

Case Construction recently launched its new website, aiming to better suit the needs of its global audience. The site has been reconstructed into a more efficient customer tool and resource, featuring new looks, content, streamlined navigation, and more. The new website will provide support for all customer types. Paula Inda, responsible for global communications, stated, “Our goal has been to support all customers throughout their entire experience with our products, regardless of their equipment use or fleet size.” Click below to enter the site.

Case Construction New Website

Sources:

(1) Equipment Trader Insider Blog

NAHETS Visits Ukraine

Last October, NAHETS Executive Director, Mike Martens was invited, by Ukrainian businessman Igor Kotovoy, to Kyiv (Kiev), the capital city of Ukraine, to meet with representatives from a cross section of Ukrainian construction materials and road construction companies.  In addition he also was offered the opportunity to present the NAHETS OPCAT (OPerator Certification Assessment Test) program to Ukrainian government officials.

As a result of that invitation Mike flew to Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine, on October 25 and was met by Mr. Kotovoy.  After a quick auto and foot tour of Kyiv, (photos 1 & 2) Mike and Igor met with Mr. Karl-Heinz Kasch, Technical Director – Dyckerhoff Ukraine, for a discussion of the state of operator training in their Ukrainian and Russian quarry operations.  Mr. Kasch was interested in having Mike visit the Dykerhoff cement operations in Mykolayiv during his visit to Ukraine.

For the final event on Saturday Mike, Igor and Igor’s fiancé Katya took in the Swan Lake Ballet at the Ukraine State Opera House.

Monday began early with a drive to Mykolayiv and a visit to the Dyckerhoff Cement- South Operation.  After meeting with Vladimir Vegerinskiy, General Director, Mike and Igor were given an extensive tour of the quarry operations (photo 3) accompanied by Dimitry Artamonov, Head of Technical Services.  Much of the discussion during the tour focused on safety concerns, equipment operational costs and operational efficiencies required to maintain the 1 million ton-per-year production requirement.  Mr. Artamonov mentioned that they would be taking delivery of three Caterpillar 385 hydraulic shovels and would need to train the sixteen operators needed to man the three shift mining process.

Approximately 200 km south of Kyiv is the city of Uman.  Just outside of Uman the Ukrainian government is adding an eight km stretch of the newly emerging Ukrainian national freeway system.  This stretch of roadway is being built by Umanavtodor, a large Ukrainian contractor managed by Ruslan Guba, who is second from the right in photo 4.

When asked about availability of equipment operators, Mr. Guba explained that, due to a lack of vocational training schools, Umanavtodor has an internal training activity but would appreciate a source of well-trained entry-level operators that can then be oriented to the procedures and equipment unique to Umanavtodor.

Igor, and Mr. Guba also discussed the possibility of establishing a contractor’s group organized along the lines of the U.S. AGC or ABC.

Wednesday was the culmination of the Ukrainian trip as Mike and Igor met with Ms. Larysa Losiuk, Head of the State Committee of Ukraine for Technical Regulation and Consumer Policy.  Ms. Losiuk, who reports directly to Ukrainian President Victor Yushenko, and her staff were interested in discussing the details of NAHETS’ Operator Certification Assessment Test (OPCAT) as it might be utilized in Ukraine.  In addition to examination of OPCAT, Ms. Losiuk and her staff asked for an overview of the NAHETS Yellow Metal Boot Camp (YMBC) training program as Ukraine does not have, at the present time, an adult vocational training program for heavy equipment operators.  This was of particular interest as Ukraine is investing heavily in upgrading several thousand kilometers of it’s highway system country-wide and, in particular, a ring road complex around the capital city of Kyiv.  At the end of the session Mike presented Ms. Losiuk, and her staff, with a Yellow Metal Boot Camp training guide and an iPod loaded with the YMBC skidsteer video training series. (Photo 5)

The meeting concluded with a request that NAHETS return to Ukraine with the objective of discussing, in more detail, the possibility of assisting the government with a heavy equipment operator vocational training program and with helping to advise the government with developing a Ukranian system of construction equipment operator certification.

Giant Excavator

The following is a news article from the Liebherr Group (also view at Equipment Trader) about their new 800 ton mining excavator:

At the MINExpo 2008 in Las Vegas, Liebherr announced the R 9800 Mining Excava-tor. Rated at 800 tons of service weight the R 9800 provides a nominal bucket capacity of 38 to 42 m³ at a material density of 1,8 t/m³. This new flagship of Liebherr mining excavators’ range is targeting bucket loads of 75 tons in both versions, as a backhoe and a shovel execution.

Liebherr is providing for the machine two engine options, two Cummins QSK 60 with a installed power of 1,492 kW / 2,000 hp each or two MTU 12V4000 with a installed power of 1,425 kW / 1,910 hp.

Whilst the backhoe digging envelope and bucket width remain similar to the previous Liebherr flagship, the R 996, the R 9800 in backhoe configuration provides a break out force of 1,840 kN with a digging force of 1,750 kN. In shovel configuration, the machine is achieving crowd forces at ground level of 2,980 kN and breakout forces of 2,350 kN. These values ensure superior digging capabilities even in toughest mining conditions.

The first units of the new flagship are currently in the final stages of factory testing and the first machine is soon due for operation in Australia.

The Giant Excavator

To get an idea of how big this excavator is, keep in mind that most excavators range from just under 2 tons up to over 100 tons. The ones you see on the side of the road probably weigh anywhere from 5-60 tons. In more practical terms, this 800 ton excavator weighs as much as approximately 100 full grown African elephants, or as much as approximately 15 Boeing Jets!

Sources

(1) The Liebherr Group

(2) Equipment Trader

NAHETS in ‘Mining Magazine’

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) appeared in the September edition of Mining Magazine. The article focuses on the use of various training simulators in the mining and heavy equipment industries; e.g., computer-based training, visualization, and advanced equipment simulators. These simulators improve safety and operating skills by successfully representing the characteristics and behaviors of various equipment types.  Vista Training, Inc. and its cooperative, Simlog, are leading providers of the various simulators. All of the NAHETS campuses use simulators as part of their heavy equipment training programs. You can view the article in Mining Magazine…(pp.94-97).

New Site for Heavy Equipment Buyers/Sellers, Powered by Ebay

Save on Construction Equipment just announced the launch of its new website, saveonheavyequipment.com. The new site, powered by Ebay, is to offer “pre-owned heavy equipment, available online for discount prices.” Users can bid on heavy equipment regularly (Backhoe Loaders, Crawler Dozers & Loaders, Trailers, Asphalt & Concrete Pavers, Lifts, Graders, Cranes, Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Stump Grinders, Wood Chippers, etc.). In addition, there are also attachments, parts, and even manuals available to buy. There is the “bid option” and also a “buy now” option for some of the products. Click here for the original press release.

Although online auctions may not appear to be the best way to sell/purchase heavy equipment and parts, some have found it efficient and had good success. The city of Cottage Grove, MN has found that they get better trade in value through selling used equipment on Ebay than through local auctions. The city management analyst, Brian Voelker, states that they can get 200-300 users from across the United States by listing items on Ebay, compared to roughly 20 users at local auctions. Click here for the full story.

With e-commerce steadily increasing across the globe, it is vital for businesses to offer products and services online, even in the heavy equipment industry. With sites such as Save on Heavy Equipment, as well as others, you might just find the equipments or attachments you are looking for–at a competitive price!

NAHETS New Blog Location

Nahets has moved their blog to here.

Please go to new blog and subscribe.

Industrial Classifieds Introduces New and Used Heavy Equipment Buyers/Sellers

The following is an exact press release found at http://www.pr.com/press-release/92483.

New and Used Heavy Equipment Buyers and Sellers Introduced on Industrial Classifieds

The on-line B2B marketplace Industrial Classifieds, has launched a newly designed Web site specifically for construction equipment dealers, contractors and buyers of heavy construction equipment in North America and Europe.

Westborough, MA, June 28, 2008 –(PR.com)– Industrial Classifieds, an international business-to-business marketplace for the industrial and construction communities, and a division of the Industrial Leaders Group, today announced the release of its new Heavy Equipment Classifieds website at http://industrialsaver.com/classifieds/index.php/cat/2. According to Robert Huff, spokesman for the company, the site includes offerings to buy and sell a wide range of new and used heavy equipment from companies based in or serving the North American and European marketplace.

Huff said Industrial Classifieds also provides an online heavy equipment auction hosted by IndustrialSAVER. The auction allows companies and individuals to explore, bid on and offer all kinds of heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers, skid loaders, wheel loaders, tractors, heavy trucks, excavators, forklifts, cranes, dump trucks, hauling trailers, trenchers, deep hole drilling machines, graders and other new and used earth moving equipment and allied products at
http://www.industrialsaver.com/stores/construction/Construction/Heavy-Equipment-and-Trailers

“With the launch of our new heavy equipment marketplace Industrial Classifieds now provides those in the market to purchase or sell heavy equipment the opportunity to meet potential suppliers and buyers all over the world,” said Huff. He added, “Whether one is seeking to buy heavy machinery locally or just looking to liquidate their own equipment, there are numerous social networking tools and other marketing resources available on Industrial Classifieds registered users are able to access at no charge.”

According to Huff, in effort to further its global reach, Industrial Classified will soon launch a specialized trade leads program enabling companies to submit RFQ’s to heavy equipment dealers and other suppliers in domestic and international markets. Huff explained the program will be designed to help develop trading partnerships among construction buyers and sellers worldwide with emphasis on Europe and North America. Details of the program is expected to be announced by mid-July at the company’s annual cookout to celebrate the first year anniversary of the Industrial Classifieds website being launched.

About Industrial Classifieds

Industrial Classifieds connects buyers and suppliers of industrial and construction products at http://www.IndustrialSAVER.com/classifieds. Users can post and explore free ads to buy/sell all kinds of industrial and construction equipment, machinery and supplies.

Contact Information

IndustrialLeaders.com
Donald LaBelle
508-987-1947
info@industrialleaders.com
http://www.IndustrialLeaders.com

Heavy Equipment Gears Up for Investors

Some big time heavy equipment companies are making some promising investments. Deere (DE) is raising dividends, expanding stock buyback, and investing on worldwide demands. Caterpillar (CAT) allies with Navistar International (NAVZ) to build commercial trucks and forecasts big profit. Oskhosh (OSK) is close to a breakthrough on the military Humvee. But despite these growths, stocks are still trading well below their highs for this year . . .

Source: David Roeder. Chicago Sun-Times. “Heavy equipment in high gear.”