Monthly Archives: January 2016

Buying excavators that save on fuel can be a good investment

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While setting up a construction company, the owner has to go through a lot of financial hurdles and often finds it difficult to sustain with the given resources. On top of that, when he sees that the heavy equipment he is using are consuming more fuel than he has anticipated that becomes more of a financial burden on him and he then seeks for ways and means to combat the issue. Well, once you already have equipment that consumes more fuel, there is hardly anything you can do to set that off. You either have to continue with the same equipment till it completely wears off or you can sell that machine and buy a new one that is reasonable and economical as far as fuel consumption is concerned. There are many branded companies who are producing equipment that match the overall needs of the client but they may be quite expensive. The next available option would be to go for brands who are not that expensive and yet reliable. If you have this specific requirement, then the best brand would be Komatsu. Komatsu is known for producing reliable machines that are not expensive and ideally fits the budget of every person in the construction arena.

Excavator is one such machine that is required for whatever big or small project you have on hand. Other than this, it is known for consuming more fuel as it has to exert more pressure on the engine to get the work done. However, Komatsu has recently launched PC290LC-11 long arm hydraulic excavator which is designed in such a way that it consumes less fuel at work. The cabin of the operator has also been modified to make things comfortable inside. This new model is a substitute of the older version which is PC290LC-10. The operating weight of the machine is anywhere between 66,359 to 68,122 pounds and in order to provide greater stability and power it is built on a large PC360 undercarriage. Something that is quite imperative in the machine is its long arm and the boom which is powered by Komatsu SAA6D107E-3 engine. The horsepower the engine can give is 196hp which suffice the power it needs to complete the task.

The engine is specially built to reduce emissions by integrating “Selective Catalyst Reduction” and by using “Diesel Exhaust Fluid”. An electronic control system has been included in the engine that has the potential to deal with the airflow rate, supervise the fuel injection, combustion parameters and after treatment functions. Komatsu has also installed a Variable Geometry Turbocharger and an Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve that checks and administers the temperature and air control.

Thick isolation dampers are installed under the excavator’s cabin to control vibration inside the cabin. The engineers have also redesigned the seat with high back and completely adaptable armrests. They have also installed a 7 inch monitor inside the cabin that will permit the operator to change the 6 working modes available in the machine.

Overall, this excavator has been produced keeping in mind many factors benefitting the customers.

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It is a good idea to promote your business on social networking websites

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We are seeing an increase in the trend where people are promoting their businesses on social media like Facebook, Twitter and stuff. They find it to be a spectacular way to reach out to a good chunk of population at a shorter pace. You can simply calculate the number of people seeing your work if you have more than 600 friends in your list. Your work will also be seen by people who are your friend’s friend to whom you perhaps do not know in person. However, they also get the chance to see your business and if needed will hire your services.

These social media sites also play a major role in the growth of the heavy equipment and construction industry. For instance, you work for a heavy equipment company and are given the role to sell machines. You can easily place your ad on LinkedIn or Facebook and check the number of people who are interested to know more about it. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is used by people for professional requirements only. So it makes more sense to have a LinkedIn account and post the ads of the machines that you have to with you sell. You can also use the logo of your company so that the prospective buyers know in advance with whom they are dealing with. That also gives them a sense of security that they are in right hands and there is not any scam involved.

Other than this, if you want to recruit any operator or engineer, you can put your requirement out there and that gets passed like fire in the wild. You will soon get messages from people who are looking for the job and that gets your job done without you having to pay a single cent for it. There are millions of LinkedIn accounts and getting someone suitable for the job will not be that difficult. You can also make use of the website to hire technicians, managers for various roles etc. It may soon happen that these social networking websites may overtake job search engines or the job search engines have to work in tandem with these websites.

Now if you already have an account that you exclusively use for your business needs, it is very important that you keep that account professional. Avoid uploading any casual snaps or pictures that you have taken in some party. Your business account is not meant to accommodate those kinds of pictures. You can make use of your personal account for that purpose. You should put pictures of some new construction equipment that your company has launched in the market or if you have some news that you can share it in advance, you can put that story in your account.

Never overstate yourself in any social media website that you use for your business. If people get to know that you have overstated or exaggerated things it will give the impression that you are there to cheat. Be true to the readers as they will be your prospective clients.

 

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Regular greasing of heavy equipment can increase its longevity

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For a heavy equipment operator or for a construction company owner, heavy equipment has been an integral part of their daily life. An operator just can’t think his life without heavy equipment and probably spends more time with the machine than with his family. In a way, the machine becomes his family for the larger duration of the day and at times he finds the lifeless thing as his best pal. Heavy equipment play a very crucial role in determining the future of a construction company. If the owner keeps the machines in order, then he simply increases the longevity of the machines. However, if he does not keep them in order, he is only messing up his own business.

One of the most important parts in keeping the machine healthy is timely applying grease to it. Heavy equipment work in tough terrain and are often prone to dust particles entering inside the interiors of the machine causing friction. If the friction is too frequent, then it can cause irreparable damage to the machine. According to Stede Granger, OEM technical manager of Shell Lubricants, we cannot just limit grease as a lubricant but it works much more than that. It works as a hurdle to contamination. However, he is also of the view to check what kind of greasing your machine requires.

All the heavy equipment has own set of requirements and may not match with the other equipment. Same goes with the greasing of the equipment. One type of grease may not be suitable for all the equipment and therefore there are different types of greases available in the market. At the same time, there are also different qualities of greases available. It depends upon how much you can afford for your machine. Ideally, it is not necessary to apply the most expensive grease as it may not suit your machine. You need to know what kind of grease goes well with your equipment.

Just in case, you do not know what kind of grease you need to apply on your machine, it is better that you consult this with some expert in your place and get to know about it. You can also join a forum and get people’s opinion. You will never find yourself short of opinions as people will always come with information to help you out.  You can also find some help in the user manual that you get from the heavy equipment manufacturing company. Those manuals can be helpful to you as well. Nevertheless, it has been found that people find the descriptions given in the user manual to be kind of vague and it ultimately does not go well with the machine. It is not that they did not follow the instructions properly, but it simply does not work on their machine. The equipment’s working environment plays a pivotal role in determining what kind of grease will the machine need. You just can’t depend on one type of grease. Your machine may need different types of greases to keep working.

Used heavy equipment for sale by owner

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After putting your heavy equipment to use for years if you feel that you have to sell it off as scrap, then you have some good news to rejoice. Heavy equipment always have some or the other value attached to it and if you want to sell your machine just because you have purchased a new one which is more advanced you can be rest assured that you will find buyers for the old one. There are always people waiting to get a good deal because not everybody can afford to buy an expensive iron to complete a project. Many people who have just been introduced in the construction domain have to take care of lot of expenses and in the midst of all these expenses they just can’t afford to spend a fortune to buy a brand new machine.

At the same time, these new guys find it difficult to get new projects leave the possibility of getting big projects and therefore considering the option to buy a new machine just does not make much sense to them. It is perhaps this bunch of people who can be the prospective buyers of your used equipment. However, the most important question is how you reach them. It is virtually not possible to find them manually and you certainly need some mechanism through which you can get hold of guys who are in hunt of used machines. We will be exploring few such options.

 

Social Media is an instrumental tool:-

One can make use of Social Media to reach out to mass people and in this way he can pervade his message to the crowd at large. Well, you can make use of the same tool to reach out to guys who are in need of used machines. All you have to do is post what you intend to do; that is click some pictures of your machine and put it out on a Social Media and state that you want to sell the stuff. Anybody who is interested to buy it can contact you. This will reach to scores of people and you might be poured with messages from people. You then have to negotiate the price with them and that is it. You find a buyer for your used equipment and the guy gets the machine at a reasonably low price.

List it on online selling site:-

In a period of a decade, there have been a lot of websites that deals with selling new as well as used heavy equipment online. This has given a much needed platform to both the parties. Initially they were hugely dependent on local newspapers but that is no longer the case as the prospect can now go on to one such website and check the machine he wants to buy. Read the description and if he is O.K. with the price, make a deal out there. This also saves your time as a seller as you do not have to run around anybody and just by listing the machine online, your job is almost done. The rest gets done once the buyer pays the money to you.

Learning heavy equipment doesn’t end for an experienced salesperson

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There is probably very little profession that is simple to do or as a matter of fact there is virtually no profession that one can find to be simple. It always gives you the scope to learn something new every day. You may come to a point where you will feel that you have probably known everything about the business you are involved in but the reality can be starker especially when it comes to the profession of being a salesperson and that too of heavy equipment. An experienced person may not find it difficult to sell heavy equipment but he may also experience a tough time during his visit with a client who knows about machines better than him. It will then be difficult for him to tackle the situation with just his ability to persuade one to buy machines. He then has to make use of the knowledge he has garnered over the years to bail him out or else the meeting will turn out to be a disaster.

The ground rule for every salesperson who is dealing with heavy equipment irrespective of him being a newbie or an experienced guy is to keep learning about machines. You have to keep yourself updated with the latest technology that comes up in the market. The upgrading of knowledge is also taken care of by the heavy equipment companies as they conduct training sessions for everyone whenever there has been a new product that is being launched in the market. So the sales guy does not have to do too much of hard work from their end. They only need to ensure that they keep on updating themselves with what is going on in the heavy equipment industry.

The heavy equipment company also expects more from a tenured guy for which they pay him dearly. They believe that the veteran will make the most sales for them as he has been in this line of business for the last many years. The high hopes that the company has from the veteran also displays the kind of confidence that the company has on the person. They will definitely want him to perform and be the best salesman in the company.

In order to come true to the hopes, he got to constantly work on learning more about the equipment. He probably had experience in selling one particular type of machine but now he is being asked to sell something else that he has not much heard of or read about. That comes as a big challenge to the veteran and this is where he has to sit with books pertaining to that machine and do his research. Browsing training videos will also help him big time. This is how he can prepare himself for the next challenge in life and prove his metal. Learning is a never ending process and when it is about a vast subject like heavy equipment, learning becomes an ocean for you. More you dive deeper, the more you will get to learn.

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Heavy equipment with modern technology will be rolled out in 2016

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Consumers are always on the look of something new, something that can simplify their task without compromising the quality of the work. This has often given companies the chance to innovate and bring something new to the world. It is exactly the same thing when it comes to heavy equipment. People are always on look of machines that are technologically advanced, simple to operate and have the potential to do things in a much simplified manner. Taking this into consideration, the companies that manufacture heavy equipment have jumped into the race of producing machines that are fitted with more gadgets and also easy to understand to put them to work.

Market analysts are of the opinion that the companies are trying to bring in those equipment that can change the very face of the construction industry. This also means that the construction companies who will own these machines will definitely have to pay lot more than what they used to for the ones that is being used now. In a nutshell, bringing in new technology will by all means be a very healthy situation for the construction industry. However, it also raises a doubt of how many guys will actually be able to afford it.

The fact that inducing modern technology in heavy equipment can go a long way and for that matter, there have been a lot of trials that were made in the last many years by different heavy equipment manufacturing companies to incorporate those technologies. This has only made the construction industry a successful business and has also led many people to join in and become a part of this business. Market experts believe that the year 2016 will be a year of integrating modern technologies while manufacturing heavy equipment and give the best to the consumers. This is why many such heavy equipment companies are hiring experienced and qualified engineers who can give the end user innovative machines.

Heavy equipment companies strongly believe that if they want to survive in this market then they have to produce things that are new and that nobody else has made it before. You just can’t steal away other’s ideas. They are not going to work long if you do so and therefore the only way to remain in a consolidated position is to make a master piece that will define your company. Companies like CAT already have their imprint in this industry but not everybody has been so successful and hence it is time that other companies also bring in machines that is built by keeping creativity into consideration.

The new mantra is producing innovative machines that have the ability to ease work for the operator, allow him to complete his work keeping safety in the forefront and also ensuring that the machine consumes less fuel. Consumption of fuel is directly related to the profits of the company and this is why it should be given lot of importance. Overall, 2016 is the year when we will see heavy equipment with the latest technology and expect it to be a great year for the entire industry.

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Top Selling Caterpillar machines

Almost every heavy equipment manufacturing company produces some kind of heavy equipment that turn out to be their best-selling machine. It is not that they have always anticipated it to be their best-selling machine but at times it just happens. However, there have been occasions where they plan the making and the advertisement of a machine in such a way where they want that stuff to be the most sold over machine for that year. Other than that, the name of a brand also matters a lot when it comes to selling heavy equipment to top construction companies. As a matter of fact, most of the biggest construction companies in US prefer heavy equipment of companies that has the name of a big brand attached with it. They will not go for machines of brand that they have not much heard about. They can be called brand loyal or brand choosy or whatever one might want to name them but they would prefer to stick to brands that are famous and are also ready to pay a high price for it.

Out of the heavy equipment producing companies Caterpillar has remained the most trusted company ever and continue to win many hearts with its continuing endeavor to provide better facility to its users.

If we check deep as to which machines of CAT has been the most sold ones in the last few years it would be their excavators and loaders. Cat is renowned for producing top notch excavators and is sold not only in the US but all over the globe and when we check the details; it speaks for all over the world. It has been seen that machines manufactured by CAT more expensive than equipment produced by other renowned companies but still prefer like to go for CAT. The reasons could be plenty but few very strong ones are that the operators have found CAT manufactured machines to be very easy to use, they are gently and user-friendly and also have a long life which means that the machine will not give problems after having been used for a couple of years. Other than that, the after sales service of this company is astounding.

You do not have to keep on following up with their officials. Once your complaint is registered, the engineers will then take charge and ensure that the problem is fixed and you are not left complaining for any kind of louse service. All these reasons have attributed for the increase in the sale of CAT excavators and loaders.

Other than this, these 2 types of machine also play an important role in the construction segment. It is simply not possible to carry on with the project for long without bringing in these machines. An excavator is perhaps the one that is needed the first followed by other machines. Many mid-east countries also vouch for products manufactured by CAT which has led to the dramatic increase in its sale.

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Boost your learning skills on heavy equipment with the help of training videos

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Learning is a continuous process and when it comes to learning heavy equipment you will find your entire life is too short to learn everything about this subject. There are so many types of heavy equipment available in the market and though every other equipment has some or the other similarities but the their mode of function and utilities are way different and which is why one needs to learn how to use them, how to keep them safe and what can be done to lengthen the life of the machine. Now there are several books available that talks in length about these subjects but if you go to read them all, you may find it too boring especially if you are the kind of guy who does not like to read much.

Well there are lots of people who like to learn things but somehow are not into the process of reading. They can’t spend their entire day reading a book trying to learn a thing about an equipment as they may have a business to take care of. So people who are indeed busy throughout the day and if they want to just learn a particular thing, going through the entire book searching for the stuff they need to know can become quite problematic. In such a situation, they can always refer to training videos on heavy equipment on the internet. In this way, they do not have to spend a lot of their time going through the book. All they need to do is just latch to the net and enter the put some keywords to search the video.

Training videos are one of the most phenomenal ways to learn things quickly. Simultaneously, one does not have to spend a good deal of time searching for what he wants to know in a book as that can be more time consuming. Though reading books can exponentially increase your knowledge pertaining to a particular subject. However, learning about heavy equipment needs a lot of practical approach to it and one may find it difficult to analyze what the diagrams are saying. On the contrary if he takes help of a training video, he may not take long to understand the stuff, how complex it may be.

Number of heavy equipment training videos is available on internet. YouTube may only have thousands of videos. The only challenge that you may encounter is to search the relevant topic. Since there are so many videos available, you may have a hard time pulling out the right one for you. Therefore, entering the correct keywords is very important. Once you key in the keywords, it will throw across all the videos in several pages. You may check the first few pages and should find the topic of your interest.

Students who are learning about heavy equipment in institutes can also make good use of these training videos. They can’t always go for a site visit to check how the machines work but they can easily do it on their laptop with just a click of a button.

Heavy equipment rentals

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Few decades ago, it was quite a difficult task to get heavy equipments on rent. It was firstly not easy to identify the giver and once the giver was located, some or the other issue used to crop up which tarnished the deal. However, that was the story which is not at all relevant in the current scenario. Today things are quite simple and are also quickly processed. No one has to wait for the newspaper classifieds to search for rental heavy equipments. All they have to do is turn on the internet and check things on google. It provides you with array of machines, some are expensive and some may fit in to your budget. However, what is more important is to understand the right heavy equipment for your project. Though the rental price matters a lot but to make the right choice is rather more imperative.

Inspecting the heavy equipment is important:-

Remember that you are dealing with stuff that you will not be able to see or feel in front of you. It is all there inside the computer and therefore merely going by the description of the equipment may not prove to be enough. What make sense is to inspect the machine personally. Once you are convinced with the description given on the listing and are confident that this is what you need for the project, you better call the party and fix a meeting. Go to his place and check the equipment that he has put up on the listing. Only when you are convinced with the quality of the equipment you should go ahead with negotiation. If you feel that the equipment is for some reason not apt to your requirement or does not have certain features that you were specifically looking for, you should refrain from any sort of negotiation. Talk it out to the giver and walk away.

Do not bug givers who are not ready to negotiate:-

Not all givers are willing to negotiate the rental price. Some may specifically mention that on the listing and if they do mention it, it is better that you take the machine at that price or leave it. It does not make any sense to bug the person to reduce the price. You may ask him for once and check if he is ready to negotiate but if he is not, then better leave it there and you take a call on what you want to do.

Agreement papers are important:-

If you decide to go for the deal, please make sure that you ask the giver to prepare necessary agreement papers which states all the points that you both have agreed upon. The guy who rents his machine for obvious reason wants to stay clean by preparing the agreement and getting it signed in front of his attorney. Have one copy of the agreement with you so that if there is any confusion in the future, you can just pull it out for reference.

Low diesel prices helping the construction industry

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Construction industry is largely dependent on heavy equipment and one the most important factor that contributes to the profit making of this industry is the low diesel prices. If heavy equipments will consume fuel that is sold at a lesser price, the construction company as a whole will be in a position of making real high profits. The price of diesel plays a major role in giving a good shape to a construction or for that matter any industry that uses heavy equipment to a larger extent. Many companies are still in the process of acquiring heavy equipment that are reliable, competent in working for long hours and also that consumes less fuel and is more productive.

So when we have machines that are designed to consume less fuel and be high on productivity, it will be an incentive to have fuel at lower prices. Companies that possess such machines can experience high profits year after year. However, the crux of the matter is that diesel prices do not remain same all the year. It tends to fluctuate quite many times in a given year and that is what comes into play and cut down the profit percentage. As long as the diesel prices are in check, things are in control and all are in a merry state of mind but once the price starts soaring, construction owners’ starts getting cold on their feet. Thus it is proven that the construction companies are at their best when the prices of diesel are low.

Boon for small construction companies:-

When the diesel prices are low, it is almost a sort of boon for the small construction companies. They can’t wish for anything more. The problem that many small construction companies experience is that they can’t afford to buy heavy equipment that consumes less fuel and is high on productivity. Such type of machines are extremely expensive and often out of their budget. Therefore they have to do with construction equipment that are either used ones or not that advanced and such type of machines tends to consumes more fuel. In a situation in this, they can’t wish for anything more than to see the diesel prices at the bottom.

Eco-friendly machines are way too expensive:-

Heavy equipment manufacturing companies are also producing machines that are eco-friendly. They call them green machines. They emit low intoxicants as compared to diesel run machines. The catch is such machines are very expensive. Since they are in their initial phase and also contribute largely towards the betterment of the environment, the manufacturing companies have decided to keep it at a higher range. Thus, such machines are not in the range of all the construction companies and only few giant companies can afford to have them. This means that the ones who can’t buy them have to work on machines that run on diesel and therefore they will find it very helpful to buy diesel at a lower price.