Equipment report

Case celebrates 175th anniversary

Case Construction Equipment, Racine, Wisconsin, celebrated the its 175th anniversary with a rally and luncheon attended by more than 800 employees as well as local dignitaries, elected officials and a descendant of the Case family in Racine June 7.

The company was founded in 1842 in nearby Rochester, Wisconsin, as the Racine Threshing Machine Works Co. It evolved into a manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment. Speakers included U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, the congressman representing Wisconsin’s first congressional district; Richard Tobin, CEO of CNH Industrial; and Kaleb Jerome Case, the great grandson of company founder; and Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ hall of fame member Jerome Increase (J.I.) Case.

The state of Wisconsin also awarded the company with a special citation recognizing its 175 years in business.

Dust Control Technology changes name to BossTek

Dust Control Technology, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, has changed its name to BossTek to better reflect its product lines. These include OdorBoss odor suppression technology, with its line of environmentally safe topical and airborne odor treatment agents, and KoolBoss crowd cooling technology for large outdoor events.

BossTek President Laura Stiverson says the company’s expansion into other aspects of industrial air quality has come as a result of repeated inquiries from businesses with unmet needs for solutions to their common issues.

“Over time, we began to realize that we were not simply a supplier of dust suppression equipment but rather a solutions provider with the expertise to address a much wider range of applications,” she says. “These new segments of our business are growing far beyond our initial expectations, and our updated company name more accurately reflects the firm’s commitment to the expanding needs of our customers.

J&J granted patent for ejection technology

Somerset, Pennsylvania-based J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers, a manufacturer of dump bodies, trailers, oil and gas equipment and custom transportation systems, has been awarded a patent for its horizontal ejection technology. The company’s patent, No. US 9,643,526, is designed for use in trucks treating snow and ice on roadways and in commercial paving applications.

The J&J body, called the Horizontal Ejector (HE), incorporates an ejector ram, which is installed in the bed of the truck. It is designed to eliminate the risks associated with overhead obstacles, reduce driver distraction, has a low center of gravity and is made to prevent rollovers that can occur from raising a dump body in unsafe conditions.

The HE features the J&J DynaControl hydraulic system with AutoFeed, a hydraulic double-acting high lift gate tailgate and the J&J Aware camera system. AutoFeed automatically moves the load forward when the spreader is low on material. The double acting tailgate is made to remove frozen chunks of anti-skid in snow and ice applications. In addition, the J&J Aware camera system allows operators to see the position and operation of the ejector inside the body and visibility behind the truck when operating in reverse.

Atlas Copco opens new production facility

Atlas Copco, Stockholm, Sweden, celebrated a grand opening of its new production facility in Rock Hill, South Carolina, May 17.

The company says it built the $25 million facility to enhance its support for the North American construction market. The 197,000-square-foot plant serves as the production and assembly facility for Atlas Copco’s North American construction technique division. Generators, portable compressors and other equipment are produced at the plant.

The new facility achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Construction, which began in January 2016, included lean manufacturing features to enable environmentally sustainable processes.

“This is a landmark day for Atlas Copco in the U.S.,” said Scott Carnell, Atlas Copco U.S. president. “The new facility strengthens our commitment to producing superior equipment and customer support—and it aligns perfectly with our mission of sustainable productivity.”