Equipment report

Epiroc adds Chicago Pneumatic attachments to product lineup

Epiroc, Commerce City, Colorado, has announced that hydraulic excavator attachments from Chicago Pneumatic, Rock Hill, South Carolina, are now included in its product lineup as part of the planned Epiroc split with Sweden-based Atlas Copco.

Epiroc is a new company born of the mining and rock excavation business and the hydraulic attachment tools division of Atlas Copco. The spinoff company now offers all the hydraulic attachments previously marketed under the brand names of Atlas Copco and Chicago Pneumatic, a member of the Atlas Copco Group.

The former Chicago Pneumatic hydraulic attachments that Epiroc has added include:

• 14 RX breakers for applications including demolition, landscaping, building renovation, road construction, rock excavation and quarrying;
• six RC compactors used to compact soil in trenching, ground leveling, embankment construction, driving in and pulling out posts, sheet piling and other formworks; and
• 18 CG grapples designed for demolition, rip-rap, construction and demolition debris sorting, scrap and waste handling.

All the attachments will be backed by a group of Epiroc manufacturer representative agencies and the new Epiroc Hydraulic Attachment Competency Center that combines a customer center, repair shop and configuration center, and parts and supplies warehouse.

PacWest Machinery plans new dealership

PacWest Machinery has announced the purchase of land in Spokane, Washington, for the construction of a new dealership facility. PacWest Machinery is the dealer in the Pacific Northwest for Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and other leading brands of equipment with locations in Seattle; Spokane; Portland, Oregon; and Eugene, Oregon.

Beginning in the second quarter of 2019, PacWest Machinery customers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho will be supported and serviced from the new dealership near the company’s current location.

The new 30,000-plus square-foot building will sit on approximately nine acres and include a 14-bay service center designed to accommodate a full range of equipment. There will be an expanded parts warehouse, modern showroom and enhanced service capabilities. The larger facility will enable the company to stock more equipment and host demonstrations and training sessions.

PacWest Machinery is responsible for the sales, rental and aftermarket support of the full line of Volvo CE’s general production, road machinery and compact equipment in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, the company supplies equipment from other manufacturers including Metso Minerals, Helsinki, Finland; Roadtec, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Tymco, Waco, Texas; Gomaco, Ida Grove, Iowa; Etnyre, Oregon, Illinois; Broce Broom, Dodge City, Kansas; Genesis, Superior, Wisconsin; and FRD Furukawa, Kent, Ohio.

PacWest Machinery provides equipment and aftermarket services from its four facilities, plus additional support from an extensive mobile service fleet. PacWest Machinery is owned by the Joshua Green Corp., Seattle, and by company management.

Volvo CE uses 3D printing for spare parts

Volvo CE, headquartered in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, has introduced 3D printing to quickly manufacture spare parts. The company is also investing in 3D printing methods in the research and development of its prototype machinery.

Additive manufacturing, another term for 3D printing, is the process of repeatedly layering a molten material or liquid in a specific pattern that is set by the printer’s software until it solidifies into the required three-dimensional shape. For its aftermarket service, Volvo CE commissions the creation of spare parts made of thermoplastics to send to customers who require the replacement of a part that has worn out through natural usage.

Parts can be made of any shape and size for any unit in Volvo CE’s range of off-road machinery. Typical parts Volvo currently makes through 3D printing include parts of a cabin, plastic coverings and sections of air conditioning units. The company uses its own archive of drawings, 3D models and product information to feed into the printer to produce the correct new part.

The creation of new parts using the 3D printing process can take one week. Parts made of metals may also be offered in the future through additive manufacturing.

The process is also being used by Volvo CE in building new components for prototype machinery. The company has several 3D printers for this purpose at its research and development facilities.

Eriez sees increased participation in Quick Ship program

Eriez, Erie, Pennsylvania, has reported increased participation in its Quick Ship program for vibratory equipment, particularly to aggregates processors. Through the Feeders Fast program, customers with approved credit can receive select Eriez feeder models within five days from order date.

Feeders Fast is part of Eriez’ Quick Ship stocking program that includes the company’s most popular items. All Quick Ship products are readily available for immediate needs.

Eriez designed the Feeders Fast program to include a variety of feeders that address a broad range of capacities and applications. “The program has grown continuously as customers who already trust Eriez for quality products recognize our ability to satisfy their urgent equipment needs,” Rob Yandrick, vibratory and screening product manager, says.

While Yandrick says the program has been successful overall, he notes that the aggregates industry has been especially enthusiastic. “When an aggregate plant needs a feeder to keep the plant producing, they almost always need it quickly. In these applications, time really is money,” he says.

Feeders Fast offers nearly 40 feeder models that are manufactured for a variety of industrial and process applications. The most popular Feeders Fast models for aggregates are the Hi-Vi electromagnetic heavy-duty Model B feeders and the electromagnetic bin vibrators. Eriez Hi-Vi electromagnetic heavy-duty vibratory feeders can be used to convey abrasive products and are often used to feed material out of a hopper onto a belt or feed material to a crusher or screen.

Liebherr expands Virginia headquarters

The expansion will include the construction of three new buildings on 28 acres adjacent to Liebherr’s current manufacturing facility. Once completed, the new facilities will total more than 251,000 square feet and will be occupied by Liebherr USA Co. The expansion will offer space for Liebherr USA’s new headquarters and administrative building, a production and workshop facility and a warehouse and distribution building. Construction is expected to begin in July 2018 and be completed by the summer of 2020.

“Since 1970, our continued success and commitment to customers in the United States has always been at the forefront of everything we have done and continue to do,” Torben Reher, managing director of Liebherr USA, says. “This expansion underlines our commitment and further strengthens our position in North America to deliver sustainable long-term growth and to offer exceptional and consistent experience to customers across the United States.”

The Liebherr Group says it has continually grown its operations in Newport News and throughout the U.S. since it opened in 1970. It operates 13 locations for manufacturing, sales and service across all its divisions.

Doosan adds two new authorized dealers

Doosan Infracore North America LLC, Suwanee, Georgia, has expanded its dealer network with the addition of two branches of Atlantic Coast ToyotaLift (ACT) Construction Equipment, Charlotte, North Carolina, which will serve as sales, service, parts and rental providers of Doosan equipment.

The company now offers its customers in the Wilmington and Charlotte, North Carolina, areas a range of Doosan equipment, including crawler excavators, wheel excavators, material handlers and wheel loaders.

ACT Construction Equipment has been in business since 1951, under current ownership since 1973, and in the compact equipment market since 2008. The company decided to offer Doosan equipment to complement their current compact equipment offerings.

“ACT has a lot of compact customers who also run heavy equipment who had to go elsewhere for their heavy equipment needs,” Britt Hefner, operations manager for ACT Construction Equipment, says. “ACT was looking for a heavy line that matched well with the compact equipment we already carry, and we saw it was a good match. Our core values support relationships with quality, well-supported products, which is what we found with Doosan. By carrying Doosan, we will give customers a one-stop shop for sales, parts and service.”

Screen Machine appoints new president and CEO

Shane Terblanche has recently assumed the role of president and CEO of Screen Machine Industries, Etna, Ohio.

“I find the complexity of these machines both challenging and exciting,” Terblanche, who joined Screen Machine on March 12, says. “Screen Machine has a long history of producing innovative and durable crushing and screening equipment. We have a great team here, and we are all dedicated to designing, building and manufacturing the next great generation of Screen Machine equipment.”

Before joining Screen Machine, Terblanche served as general manager of the Hybrids Drives Systems Division at Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland. The Parker Hannifin division introduced hybrid technology to bus and delivery truck manufacturers, Screen Machine says. He also led Lisle, Illinois-based Navistar’s global introduction of electrical vehicles, which included relocating all manufacturing operations to the U.S. from the U.K.

Terblanche also previously was on the leadership team of a startup for Volvo Car Corp. in Sweden and was a chief engineer for Bae Land Systems, the Arlington, Virginia-based manufacturer of mobile platforms for military weapons vehicles.

“This is a company with a proven track record of building and supporting high-performance, heavy-construction machinery,” Terblanche says. “I see enormous potential for us to build upon the partnerships we already have with our dealers and customers and to expand into new markets as well, throughout North America and around the world.”

Founded in 1966, Screen Machine manufactures portable equipment, with a focus on material crushing, recycling, screening and stockpiling. Screen Machine combines its manufacturing capabilities at its Etna, Ohio, headquarters with brand name components from companies such as Caterpillar, Peoria, Illinois, and Dodge, Auburn Hills, Michigan, to create equipment for a variety of applications.

“The potential here is incredible,” Terblanche says. “We manufacture a world-class line of products for an industry that is booming right now, and we are one of a few doing it here in the U.S. Combine that with the fact that we have performance innovation like no one else, and the future looks very bright indeed.”