Equipment Report

Bobcat Sold to Korean Conglomerate

One of the best known American brand names has been transferred from a Bermuda-based holding company to a conglomerate based in South Korea.

Bermuda-based Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. has announced an agreement to sell its Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments business units to Doosan Infracore Co. Ltd. for approximately $4.9 billion. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The Bobcat business units make and sell compact equipment, including skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, mini-excavators and telescopic tool handlers; portable air compressors, generators, and light towers; general-purpose light construction equipment; and attachments. The businesses employ approximately 5,700 people worldwide.

The Bobcat brand has deep roots in North Dakota, and the business units have manufacturing facilities in Gwinner and Bismarck, N.D., as well as in Carrollton, Ga.; Litchfield, Minn.; Petersburg, Va.; and overseas plants in China, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland; and the United Kingdom.

"We are pleased that the Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments businesses will join a major global organization intent on expanding its participation across worldwide construction and related markets," says Herbert L. Henkel, Ingersoll-Rand’s chairman, president and CEO. "The future of these businesses remains sound as strategically important operating units of Doosan."

Doosan Infracore is part of the Doosan Group, one of South Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates, according to Bloomberg News. Doosan also bought Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery in 2005. Doosan Infracore has been building excavators and other heavy machinery for 70 years, primarily selling it into East Asian markets.

Vecoplan Fuel Systems Find Niche

Vecoplan LLC, Archdale, N.C., has recently completed the installation of its 50th Refuse Derived Fuel System at a major cement manufacturer in the southern United States.

According to the company, a Vecoplan RG62U shredder is the heart of the system. The shredder is used to reduce the size of post-industrial plastic and wood scrap to be used as fuel.

Vecoplan designs, engineers, manufactures and installs alternative fuel preparation systems for a variety of industries and applications. Now with 50 RDF systems installed in cement plants around the world, Vecoplan has become a leading vendor of this technology, according to a company news release.

The company offers a range of shredders for the universal size reduction of a wide variety of materials used as fuel, including biomass, carpet, tires and municipal solid waste.

In addition to the shredder, Vecoplan’s RDF system includes "complete conveying and material handling systems; screening and separation technologies; and . . . fuel mixing, storage and delivery systems," according to the company.

All Vecoplan Alternative Fuel Preparation and Delivery Systems "are tailored to the individual needs of the particular plant that they are designed for and then implemented with the expertise required to optimize functionality, durability and cost efficiency," the company’s news release states.

More information on Vecoplan’s RDF systems and full line of industrial shredders and size reduction and recycling systems can be obtained by visiting the company’s Web site at www.VecoplanLLC.com or e-mailing info@VecoplanLLC.com.

Appointment at Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco Construction Tools LLC, West Springfield, Mass., has appointed Rich Aaronson as its new vice president of marketing and communications.

In this new position, Aaronson will oversee and direct all advertising, public relations and marketing efforts for Atlas Copco’s Construction Tools Division in the United States.

Prior to joining Atlas Copco, Aaronson spent two years as director of marketing for fasteners at Danaher Corp. His previous industry experience also includes five years in the Netherlands with Skil Power Tools, where he served as director of marketing for the company’s European division.

More information is available online at www.atlascopco.com.

KPI-JCI Introduces Control System

KPI-JCI has introduced an automated Overload Protection System (patent applied for) as standard equipment on all Fast Trax track mounted jaw and impact crushing plants.

The Overload Protection System consistently regulates the crusher feed to prevent crusher overload and possible plugging, according to the manufacturer.

Through the use of an onboard diagnostic screen, the operator can view all the critical crusher, vibrating feeder, engine and system performance data in Spanish or English.

KPI-JCI, Astec companies, manufactures bulk handling and processing equipment, including conveyors, screening plants, pugmill plants, sand and aggregate washing/classifying systems and all types of portable and stationary rock crushers.

More information is available at the company’s Web site www.kpijci.com.

Hammel Adds to Dealer Network

Hammel New York LLC has announced that C.E. Sales Co. has become its official dealer in the Mid-Atlantic region, covering the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

Led by company president Joel A. Prince and based in Raleigh, N.C., C.E. Sales Co. is a family business that specializes in the sale and service of crushing and shredding equipment, as well as offering a complete line of parts for almost every kind of heavy equipment.

C.E. Sales Co. kicked off its partnership with Hammel by hosting a live demonstration of a VB 850 DK primary shredder, which was attended by 25 representatives of the region’s biggest names in the waste management, land clearing and demolition industries.

More information is available at the company’s Web site www.hammelny.com.

Swedish Company Expands into North American Market

Indexator AB, a company based in Vindeln, Sweden, has announced plans to expand its Rototilt line of products into the North American market.

The company has appointed Dennis Buquet as U.S. sales manager to assist in the transition from the current importer North American Hydraulics (NAHI). Since 2002, Buquet has served as Rototilt product manager for NAHI, responsible for national sales and marketing in the U.S. market. He also held the positions of service manager and executive assistant, has worked in advertising, marketing, computer systems, fluid power sales and training at NAHI for 15 years.

Buquet’s appointment coincides with the company’s launching of a new line of Rototilt complimentary attachments, including buckets, forks, grapples and asphalt cutters, as well as the opening of a manufacturing facility in Vindeln to keep up with anticipated demand in the U.S., Germany and Finland.

Gibson Machinery Announces Appointments

Gibson Machinery LLC, Cleveland, has announced the appointment of two new sales and applications specialists to the organization.

John Fleming has joined Gibson Machinery as manager of business development, Western Pennsylvania. Fleming will focus on the development of customer relationships within the Western Pennsylvania region, specifically with the Sennebogen product offering. He will also actively pursue rentals and sales of specialty material handling and demolition packages, as well as other rental items from Gibson’s equipment offering. He brings more than 30 years of equipment distributorship and customer support experience while serving all facets of the construction market.

In addition, Michael Moore has rejoined the company as a territory manager covering the Ohio counties of Medina, Summit, Wayne, Stark, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Coshocton and Harrison. Previously with Gibson from 1998 to 2000, Moore has spent the last six years on the wholesale side of the business with Genesis Shears and Processors and most recently with Jewell Specialty Demolition packages. Moore brings back to Gibson Machinery significant experience in the materials processing, specialized demolition and construction markets.

Gibson Machinery LLC is a distributor of numerous lines of equipment, including Sennebogen material handlers, Doosan excavators and wheel loaders, Dynapac compaction equipment, Moxy articulated trucks, Genesis shears and processors, Magnum demolition attachments and other lines of equipment.

More information is available at Gibson’s Web site at www.gibsonmachinery.com.