April 2021 Vol. 76 No. 4
Business
Business
American Augers/Trencor Products Now Sold Through Ditch Witch Division
The Ditch Witch Division of Charles Machine Works will now offer the full product lines, parts and service for both the American Augers and Trencor brands, which will continue to be manufactured in West Salem, Ohio.
“This is a great opportunity for our Trencor and American Augers’ customers to receive all the benefits our Ditch Witch customers have been accustomed to for more than 60 years,” said Kevin Smith, general manager of the Ditch Witch Division.
“We are excited about the integration of these two brands into our organization. Our dealerships, along with the current product support expertise provided by the factory, are fully prepared to extend their outstanding services to even more customers all over the world.”
Since it began in 1970, American Augers has been a leader in large-diameter underground construction. With horizontal direction drills ranging from 110,000 to 1.1 million pounds of thrust and pullback; auger boring machines, including a 600,000-pound electric unit; mud pumps and cleaning systems; the brand is well-positioned to continue its success far into the future.
Trencor manufactures mechanically driven trenchers and rugged surface miners with upwards of 950 horsepower. Trencor has a long history of success in the industry as the brand got its start in 1945.
Ditch Witch invented the underground utility construction industry, and today designs, manufactures and markets the most complete line of directional drills, drill pipe, HDD (horizontal directional drill) tooling, Underground Awareness electronics, vacuum excavators, trenchers, surface miners, fluid recycling systems, chain, teeth and sprockets, stand-on skid steers and vibratory plows. Handcrafted in Pella, Okla., its products are supported by the Ditch Witch dealer network with over 175 locations worldwide.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ditch Witch, (800) 654-6481, ditchwitch.com
American Augers/Trencor, (800) 324-4930, americanaugers.com
Volvo Construction Equipment Invests in $4.3 Million Training Facility
Volvo Construction Equipment is making a major investment in technical training facilities and programs with the addition of a $4.3-million training center, as an extension to its Customer Center at the Shippensburg, Penn., North American headquarters.
Upon its planned opening by the end of 2022, the facility will provide space to develop and deliver in-person and virtual trainings and will be at the highest caliber of training sites in the equipment industry.
“This investment demonstrates Volvo CE’s commitment to our dealers and customers, as well as the future of the construction industry,” said Stephen Roy, president of Region North America, Volvo CE.
“Equipment and technology are constantly changing and improving. These training opportunities will help prepare new technicians for successful careers and help veteran technicians keep up with the latest developments.”
The $4.3 million expansion includes adding several new machine bays, classrooms and a virtual lab used for creating and hosting virtual trainings. Training will primarily be for Volvo dealer technicians. It will also benefit customers who visit Shippensburg by providing a holistic view of how the company supports their operations with training for operators and technicians, plant tours, the ability to interact with Volvo CE experts, and more.
The world-class training center will include technical courses on equipment, as well as productivity and uptime services, such as the Volvo Assist programs and ActiveCare Direct managed telematics program. There will also be training and demonstrations on electric machines, automation and connectivity.
The virtual lab will allow for the use of video, augmented reality and other technologies to support dynamic virtual training courses for dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Volvo Construction Equipment, (717) 532-9181, volvoce.com
The Customer Center at Volvo CE’s North American headquarters in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, will undergo a $4.3 million expansion.
CASE Wins Prestigious Design Award for “Project Zeus”
CASE Construction Equipment’s Project Zeus – the world’s first electric backhoe loader – earned a 2020 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press. The award recognizes “the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world”.
The award recognizes the matching of CASE brand heritage via a product line that originated in 1957 with sustainability anchored in both clean operation (no emissions/elimination of diesel fuel) and the sharp and clean design of the machine itself.
Project Zeus was also noted for its innovative lighting/backlighting design elements, its rugged and clean lines and contouring, a specialized metallic “Power Tan” color scheme, and a modern and intuitive user experience that combines traditional backhoe operation with specialization related to electrification.
“It is extremely practical and built around function while delivering distinctive design elements that communicate strength and progress,” said David Wilkie, head of the CNH Industrial Design Center. “From the lighting to the color and the way that the operator interacts with the machine, Project Zeus represents the sustainability and forward-thinking of our industry.”
From an operational perspective: the power and performance of the CASE 580 EV is equivalent to diesel-powered backhoes in the CASE product line and provides considerably lower daily operating costs while also producing zero emissions.
Utility and government contractors, city governments and municipalities also benefit from the elimination of emissions for working in urban environments and close to other buildings/people, as well as the reduced noise generated by the equipment. The machine has also won numerous industry awards and accolades as one of the best and most important construction equipment introductions of 2020.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CASE Construction Equipment, (262) 636-6011, casece.com
Doosan Infracore
doosanequipment.com
Doosan Infracore has expanded access to its machines, parts and service, by adding eight locations to its network, through existing dealerships, as well as new partnerships.
Doosan authorized dealer RGW Equipment opened a Lathrop, Calif., location, its third in the northern part of the state, along with Livermore and Anderson, Calif.
Equipment Incorporated, a Doosan partner since 2015, has three new dealership locations in the South: Hattiesburg, Miss.; Theodore, Al.; and Texarkana, Texas.
Partnering with ITEC 2000 Equipment, Doosan now offers northern Ontario, Canada, customers more access to equipment and parts through a new location in Roslyn. A one-stop shop with full service for heavy equipment, Roslyn now offers Doosan equipment designed to serve the local, core industries – forestry, mining and construction.
With Central Nebraska Bobcat, three new locations – in Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings – serving the construction, agriculture and landscaping industries, now offer Doosan machines sales, rental, parts and service.
ISCO
isco-pipe.com/mtdeason
ISCO Industries’ natural gas division, MTD, has earned NSF SIO 9001:2015 certification for both its Dallas and Birmingham, Al., locations.
MTD has been providing innovative, customer-focused solutions for the gas distribution market since 1982. Products and services include pipe fittings, fusion equipment and valves for both the HDPE and steel markets.
This certification, which brings MTD into ISCO’s existing quality management system, signifies commitment to safety, quality and accountability, and will provide even more value to customers.
Since 1962, ISCO Industries, a global total piping solutions provider headquartered in Louisville, Ky., has stocked and sold a wide variety of HDPE pipe and piping materials. It offers custom piping fabrication for multiple applications, such as natural gas distribution, industrial, municipal, power, marine, nuclear, oil and gas, mining, waterworks, environmental, geothermal, golf, culvert-lining and landfill. The company also rents, services and sells McElroy fusion equipment.
PPI
ppi.org
A new manual for the planning and inspection of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) water pipelines has been created and published by the Plastics Pipe Institute’s Municipal Advisory Board (MAB).
Available without charge at the PPI website, “MAB Guidelines for HDPE Pipe Inspection (MAB-06 2020)” provides project engineers and field operators with tools and best practices that lead to widespread and proper adoption of HDPE pipe in utility projects.
“With the growing use of PE 4710 HDPE pipe for potable water distribution systems, it is important that the full benefits of this material are not compromised by improper inspection and installations,” said Camille George Rubeiz, P.E., F. ASCE, co-chair of MAB and senior director of engineering for the Municipal and Industrial Division of PPI.
“We have found that the leading cause of failure is installation error followed by third-party damage. The purpose of this document is to standardize the inspection of HDPE piping, joining and installation systems,” he added.
The 45-page MAB-06 delineates the steps to take before, during and after a potable waterline is installed. Additionally, it contains forms and check lists that are easy and quick to fill out for documenting the project and recordkeeping.
Topics include system design parameters; quality control; pressure classes; pipe and fittings; training and inspection; butt fusion, saddle fusion, socket fusion, electrofusion and mechanical joining methods; plus open-cut and trenchless installation for water services (3/4 to 3 inches per AWWA C901), and water distribution and transmission (4 to 65 inches per AWWA C906).
Core & Main
coreandmain.com
Core & Main LP, a leading U.S. distributor of water, sewer and fire protection products, has closed on its previously announced agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Triple T Pipe & Supply, LLC, of Lubbock, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Triple T has an amazing team of dedicated people who consistently put their customers first,” said Jack Schaller, president of Core & Main Waterworks. “We welcome them into the Core & Main family and are excited to see what we will accomplish together.”
The team from Triple T will continue to be based in Lubbock, and will move into a new, larger facility to enhance support of existing and new customers in West Texas. Core & Main also has locations in El Paso and San Angelo to serve its customer base in West Texas.
“Our combined team will bring a level of excellence in service to West Texas that we could not have accomplished separately,” said Chuck Zappola, regional vice president of Core & Main. “West Texas offers us a big horizon and we are here to deliver.”
This acquisition is Core & Main’s 12th since becoming an independent company in 2017.
CASE
casece.com
CASE Construction Equipment dealer Sonsray Machinery is expanding into Arizona with new full-line CASE sales, rental and service operations in Phoenix and Tucson. The expansion further establishes Sonsray as the largest CASE dealer on the West Coast, with 15 locations in five states: California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.
“Sonsray embraces the unique challenges facing contractors on the West Coast and in the Southwest, and now brings its commitment to equipment support and community development to Arizona,” said Leandro Lecheta, head of CASE Construction Equipment-North America.
“CASE and Sonsray share a passion for community building, as Sonsray has actively supported our work with Team Rubicon in providing disaster relief, as well as the good work it does through the Sonsray Force-for-Good Foundation.”
CASE Construction Equipment sells and supports a full line of construction equipment around the world, including the No. 1 backhoe loaders, excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, vibratory compaction rollers, crawler dozers, skid steers, compact track loaders and rough-terrain forklifts.
John Deere
johndeere.com, riechmannbros.com
Riechmann Bros., a family-owned, multigenerational John Deere dealership serving the Illinois and Midwest area, is building a new John Deere facility a few miles from the original, 1988 location in Breese, Ill.
This 15-acre, 34,000-square-foot development provides ample space to accommodate customers, help accelerate training programs and increase employee retention.
In other news, John Deere has added four companies to its 2021 Startup Collaborator program, launched in 2019 to enhance and deepen interaction with emerging companies whose technology could add value for John Deere customers.
The year-long program provides flexibility for Deere and startup companies to test innovative technologies with customers and dealers, without a more formal business relationship.
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