Construction Equipment | Machinery Blog

As companies look to recession proof their operations and reduce overhead, unnecessary construction equipment purchases and rentals are the first things to be removed from next quarter's purchase order. Loaders have become a cumbersome expense to most construction companies, who are beginning to realize the cost effectiveness and true versatility offered by forklift buckets. For less than it cost to rent a loader for two months, you can purchase a forklift bucket that transforms your extendable reach forklift into a material handling and loading device with greater range than standard loaders and far more adaptability to a number of mission critical applications. Everything from dumping trash into a dumpster blocked by debris piles to placing gravel on a large, flat rooftop can be quickly, safely, and be safely and quickly accomplished. Forklift buckets are commonly divided into two categories: quick tach and universal fit (slip on the forks), described in detail below.

These models are designed for "extendable-reach" forklifts for sale and allow you to place material far beyond the reach of a loader. A heavy duty hardened beveled cutting blade on both the sides and the leading edge provides durability, strength, and resistance to wear and tear. Quick-tack fork lift buckets are reinforced by scuff bars along the bottom of the unit that shield it from abrasive wear. They can be used to replace that carriage and forks that weigh between 700-100 lbs. When installed, they free up more of the forklift's load capacity so it can handle larger and heavier materials. The Quick-Tach can dump materials approximately about 1.5 ft. higher because of the shorter depth of its bucket. Quick-Tach buckets are customized to specific makes & models of forklifts, so ask one of our construction equipment specialists about buckets for your make and model.

These forklift attachments are ideal for ground level work on new construction sites. They can be used for sand and gravel loading, and they can be used for moving snow in northern climates. At the end of the day, the same forklift attachment can be used for jobsite clean-up. Consider the time this saves by switching tasks without having to switch tools and risk running into overtime. Universal Fit forklift buckets are also called "slip-on-the-forks" forklift attachment buckets. They can be used with any make and model of extendable reach forklift, so if your unit cannot be matched with a quick tach unit, we can locate a new or used Universal Fit bucket for you instead. Standard universal fork lift buckets attach to forks that are 48" long and up to 6" wide, but larger fork pockets can be ordered through an account manager upon request.

Because universal fit forklift buckets slip on to the forks directly, they stay on the machine and are less vulnerable to damage. They are also 50% deeper than quick-tach buckets. This makes them ideal for carrying irregular shaped loads such as broken up concrete, elevating roof gravel, tearing off roof trash, moving large debris piles, and backfilling behind high walls.

Smith Electric Vehicles has launched the Smith Ampere, an electric light van, at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England. Based on the Ford Transit Connect, it will be launched in the U.S. concurrently with the conventional gasoline Transit Connect that will be sold across North America.

The Ampere will be branded jointly by Ford and Smith; it was developed by Smith’s parent company Tanfield in collaboration with Ford. The Ampere is aimed at urban operators using large fleets of light vans, such as postal and courier companies, utilities and telecommunications. It has a range in excess of 160 km and a top speed of up to 112 km/h, and a payload capacity of up to 800 kg. Its new 50-kilowatt electric motor and iron phosphate lithium-ion battery pack were developed specifically for the Ampere. Tanfield also launched the Faraday Mark II, specifically aimed at North America.

Ford will supply a range of chassis for Faraday commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 13,000 kg. Tanfield will commence manufacture of the first of these new products for North America in the second half of 2008. Tanfield has reached a broad agreement with Ford to collaborate on future zero emission vehicle projects and is investigating further opportunities in sales, marketing and product development in both Europe and North America. “The launch of Ampere brings leading edge zero-emission technology to the light van sector for the first time,” said Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group. “Our relationship with Ford in North America will provide Smith with high-quality chassis that will be recognizable to, and readily accepted by American customers.

Today’s product launches will significantly increase the addressable market for our electric vehicles and are a major step towards our goal of offering a full global range of zero-emission commercial vehicles, from light vans to medium-duty trucks.”

Scott Speed is set to add more races to his stock car schedule this year, competing in eleven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for Bill Davis Racing, Red Bull Racing Team announced Tuesday.

The former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver has competed in two truck events thus far driving a Chevrolet Silverado for Morgan Dollar Motorsports, first at Atlanta and then at Martinsville, where he scored a tenth-place finish last weekend.

Red Bull Racing Team has now secured a deal to allow Speed to compete in eleven races driving the No. 24 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing. Richard 'Slugger' Labbe, who used to be Jacques Villeneuve's crew chief, will work alongside Speed.

"We're very fortunate to work with a Truck Series team as successful as BDR, and a crew chief of Slugger's credentials," said Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing Team General Manager and Vice President. "They'll both be great assets and resources for Scott through the next phase of his stock car development program."

Speed's first race with BDR will be at Kansas Speedway on April 26, and he will alternate between his ARCA RE/MAX Series commitments and his new Truck Series schedule. That means he will compete in no less than 30 stock car events this season.

Former Truck Series champion Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson will be Speed's new teammates. Skinner is currently driving the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series replacing AJ Allmendinger, who had also competed for BDR in the Trucks in 2006.

"This is a great opportunity for me to work closely with Skinner while I get my feet wet in the Truck Series," Speed said. "He knows what it takes to run well and win races, and that's a hell of a mentor for me to have. The more I can learn from him, the quicker my learning process will be in these Trucks."

Speed's next race will be the second round of the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Salem Speedway, Indiana on April 13th.

Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday its U.S. sales fell 14 percent in March as weaker sales of trucks and sport-utility vehicles more than offset gains for its new vehicles, such as the Edge crossover.

Sales of light trucks were down 16.7 percent from a year earlier, while car sales were down 9.6 percent.

The automaker said its retail sales were down 17 percent, while sales to fleet customers, including car rental agencies, were down 13 percent.

Sales of Ford's market-leading F-Series pickup trucks were down almost 24 percent. Overall, Ford sold 227,143 vehicles compared with 264,975 a year earlier.

The results were broadly in line with the expectations of industry analysts, who had forecast weak sales results across the industry in March due to the ongoing housing slump, tighter credit and more cautious consumer sentiment.

Ford was the first of the six major automakers to report monthly sales results for the U.S. market, the world's largest.

Ford reports its sales figures without adjusting for the number of sales days in the month. Other major automakers, including Toyota Motor Co, report the adjusted figures more widely tracked by analysts and investors.

There were 26 selling days in March, two fewer than a year earlier, meaning that Ford's adjusted sales decline would have been 7.6 percent.

Analysts had forecast an adjusted sales decline of up to 10 percent for Ford, now the third-largest automaker in the U.S. market behind Toyota.

Despite the overall sales decline, Ford pointed to success with its new Focus sedan, where sales rose 24 percent from a year earlier. In a statement, the company also said its Edge crossover was selling more strongly outside its strongest market in the Great Lakes region.

Ford shares were up over 2 percent at $5.85 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The largest manufacturers of heavy construction equipment are located in the United States, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Whereas the second largest and less competitive manufacturers of heavy construction equipment are found in Canada, China, Russia, Latin America, South Korea, Italy, Belgium and Sweden. Yet this position can shift easily with today's ever changing market trends and with developing countries being able to attract heavy construction equipment manufacturers by offering low material and labor costs.

The global demand of heavy construction equipment is widespread and on a large-scale of production with almost thirty percent entering the foreign market every year. This market has been defined by the major flows among the already developed countries and by the large-scale importing by the developing countries with little domestic production.

Next to the United States, Japan has been the dominant net exporter of heavy construction equipment with Germany and the United Kingdom following close behind. The United States is also a major importer of heavy construction equipment, importing in ample amounts and running a moderate sized trade surplus. In a developing world and given the variety of construction equipment prevailing in major geographic regions and even in individual countries, it's typical for heavy construction equipment to find some use by private contractors and public agencies as well. Purchasing used heavy construction equipment is also an option.

Production designs and manufacturing technology for heavy construction equipment are well established and are making advances on a regular basis. Tractors, loaders, mixers, cranes and other heavy construction equipment containing automatic transmissions, electric controls, engine monitoring systems and many can now be programmed to repeat the same cycles. Other advances to enhance operator comfort are air conditioned cabs, tilting steering wheels and noise reduction devices.

The global heavy construction equipment industry primarily consists of almost one thousand companies, with smaller businesses specializing in small equipment, e.g. parts and attachments. Some of the major manufacturers include: Caterpillar, Komatsu, Case, Volvo, Deere, New Holland and Hitachi. All heavy construction equipment manufacturers must plan strategically and decide whether their company will continue to expand and stay strong or whether their company should draw back, perhaps sell out and abandon the industry. These decisions have many companies choosing to form partnerships with other companies as an effort to flourish and continue on, as Caterpillar had fused with New Holland to form CNH, Inc. The emphasis is on cost-cutting, competitiveness and down sizing.

There is an increased emphasis on research and development, making the manufacturers of heavy construction equipment seek a competitive edge in many ways. With Caterpillar and Komatsu, for example, being two of the leading producers and spending the most on research and development by using computer design along with manufacturer systems. As technology develops, all major manufacturers of heavy construction equipment will find new and improved way to test and improve their products to stay one step ahead in the competition.