world news
CASE Construction Equipment has appointed José Cuadrado as vicepresident in the EMEA( Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region for CNH Industrial’ s Construction Equipment businesses. With more than 15 years of international experience within the industrial, construction, and agricultural equipment sectors, Cuadrado brings a wealth of experience to his new role within CNH Industrial. His most recent position was vice-president of Bobcat BU EMEA, where his responsibilities included sales, product marketing, engineering, programme management, and supply chain operations.
Volvo Construction Equipment has completed the divestment of its wholly owned British dealership to SMT. The previously announced deal, signed on 4 July, was followed by a period of employee consultation, and became effective on 31 August. The sale includes the distribution rights for Volvo-branded construction equipment machines, parts, and aftersales in Great Britain, as well as Volvo Construction Equipment Great Britain’ s headquarters in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, its nationwide operations, most other assets, and the transfer of all employees. The existing management structure remains in place.
Hitachi
Hitachi unveils new oil sensors
Hitachi has unveiled an industry-leading innovation as part of its ConSite remote fleet-monitoring system— the first of its kind in the construction equipment sector, according to the company. The new technology extracts data from two advanced sensors that monitor the quality of an excavator’ s engine and hydraulic oil 24 / 7.
Designed to reduce the total cost of ownership, the new oil sensors will enhance customers’ experiences with their Hitachi construction machinery. Increased machine availability and reduced maintenance requirements— which will save owners time and money— are the key benefits of this innovative feature.
The machine transmits sensor data on a daily basis to Hitachi’ s remote fleet monitoring system. If the oil quality has deteriorated or the oil has become contaminated, the dealer will be notified via email or text and can take the necessary actions.
For example, an oil sample can be taken and then sent to a laboratory. From this, a complete analysis is generated so that the exact cause is identified. The dealer can then fix any faults quickly and conveniently on site.
The new oil sensors will reduce maintenance costs by providing a more accurate estimation of when an oil change is required. This is more efficient than a fixed oil change interval. Hitachi customers can be sure of the reliability and maximum availability of their Hitachi machine, thanks to the prevention of unscheduled downtime.
“ We are delighted to be the first manufacturer to offer our customers this new technology,” says manager service business support at Hitachi Construction Machinery( Europe) NV, Tom van Wijlandt.“ We know that reliability and machine uptime are vital to our customers, and the new oil sensors will help to enhance this further. Combined with ConSite, this unique development will also continue to improve user experiences of Hitachi construction machinery.”
The oil sensors will be installed in the ZX210-6 and ZX350-6 medium excavators as of November 2017, but Hitachi will roll them out to other models in the near future. A retrofit kit is also available from authorised Hitachi dealers for the previous generation ZX210-5 and ZX350-5 models.
Hitachi’ s new oil sensors are designed to reduce the total cost of ownership.
Sew-Eurodrive opens new offices in Tanzania, Kenya
Sew-Eurodrive
Sew-Eurodrive South Africa’ s MD, Raymond Obermeyer.
Sew-Eurodrive is opening a new office in Kenya, and commencing with a recruitment drive for Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo( DRC).
According to Sew-Eurodrive South Africa MD, Raymond Obermeyer, East Africa represents a major growth area for the company, which has its regional hub in Tanzania.“ We have managed to secure a lot of business in Africa, and I see it contributing a large percentage of our turnover going forward.”
The new Tanzanian branch, staffed by 13 people and functioning as an independent subsidiary, looks after a number of countries in East Africa, including the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
The outward focus on expansion on the continent is necessary to counter the prevailing socio-economic climate in South Africa.“ That is the determining factor. We need growth, political stability, and business confidence in order to ensure the continued sustainability of the business,” says Obermeyer.
Sew-Eurodrive remains fully committed to South Africa. The main Johannesburg manufacturing facility is relocating to a new 50 000m 2 site in an adjacent industrial business park, since South and East Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, and 14 other countries, now fall under the ambit of the South African head office.
“ At present we are looking after 22 countries in Africa from the South African operation. Therefore, the construction of the new facility will very much be in line with our expansion strategy for the continent. We will have to ensure that we are able to accommodate future growth in all of these markets. We are very confident about our prospects in Africa, and continue to do well in a lot of countries.”
While the investment for the new local manufacturing facility is being provided by the German parent company, the necessary business decisions are all being made locally, says Obermeyer. A key differentiator for Sew- Eurodrive in the local market is that it owns all of its local offices, as opposed to leasing premises, which not only represents a major investment, but is testament to Germany’ s confidence in South Africa’ s future.
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NOVEMBER 2017