Pit & Quarry, November 2012
a user in Australia who asked Wirtgen to develop a machine that would allow mining both hard and soft rock Stationary vs mobile Another highlight Wirtgen shared at Technology Days is the Wirtgen Pick Inspection WPI system which uses laser technology to grade picks and alert users when they should be replaced The system assigns a color to a particular grade in assessing picks so pick crews can more efficiently inspect and change out picks that should be replaced Technology Days participants also had the opportunity to sit in on lectures from global Technology Days drew more than 1000 people from around the world SPECIAL REPORT leaders including Bramco MPS Lee Heffley who spoke to an audience about how mobile equipment like Kleemanns is changing the way U S producers do business As Heffley notes some producers hesitate to invest in mobile equipment because they are not ready to abandon existing equipment investments The decision is a challenging one he says but slowly moving into mobile has its benefits The best way to introduce equipment is with a progressive strategy Heffley says More European producers are investing in mobile equipment as evidenced by Kleemanns sales growth over the last two years According to Kleemann it sold 53 mobile units in 2009 followed by 77 in 2010 and 112 in 2011 Thats at least 40 percent growth in sales for those two consecutive periods Kleemanns total 2011 production was about 200 mobile units We see the future in mobile Stefan Wirtgen says Traditionally weve grown with mobile technology We simply think there are advantages lower investment costs versus static systems less risk and reduced requirements than static systems Still just because Kleemann sees opportunity in mobile plants does not mean it plans to stray from stationary ones or no longer anticipates challenges selling mobile equipment The challenge with the 4200 SM is to convince potential users of the advantages of surface mining because companies in road building have been very conservative in purchasing Jürgen says They still invest in their current equipment Investing in new equipment changes logistics so thats a challenge for us A crusher chassis inside Kleemanns German manufacturing facility A Case CX370C loads one of Kleemanns Mobicat MC 125 Z jaw crusher with greywacke at Technology Days in Windhagen Germany www pitandquarry com November 2012 PIT QUARRY 33
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