Category Archives: construction equipment

Sell your heavy equipment on internet

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Internet has given us all a new way of conducting business. There are millions of people who do not go out of their homes to work. All they do is turn on their computer and have their internet connection on. They do their business from that small equipment and make good profits. We can make use of the same technology to sell heavy equipment and still expect good profits. One may be forced to ponder that how somebody can buy construction machines by not even seeing it in person. Well, they can at least select the product online and then they can personally come down to check the stuff. This idea of selling heavy equipment online has been a big success throughout the globe. Be it developed economies or developing economies, all are making ample use of this technology to make their business successful.

We will be talking a bit in detail on how one can conduct this business without even stepping out from their home.

Become member of an online portal:-

There are number of online portals available that are into selling heavy equipment. Not just heavy equipment, they also sell heavy equipment accessories. An online portal is nothing but just a platform provided to both buyers and sellers to come to a common ground and do business there. So the seller simply lists the items that he wishes to sell with the price that he expect to get and if any buyer who is looking for similar stuff likes the item, he can buy it online and pay for the stuff using his credit card or through internet banking. All they have to do is become a member of the online portal to begin business on the website.

List items giving detailed description:-

When you are listing your product on the online portal, you should be aware that people are not able to personally see the machine though they can see the picture of the product but not the product itself. Therefore, you should give a detailed description of the product on the portal so that the readers get a fair idea as to what they will be dealing with. Mention every intricacy, sophistication of the heavy equipment on the listing. Viewers will want to know more about the product if you mention the intricacies. They might get attracted towards the product and might contact you so that the process can be initiated further.

Accept the payment via the portal only:-

Once you finalize the deal, please ask the buyer to pay for the equipment via the portal. It gives both the parties the required security that they are looking for in the transaction. It protects the interests of both the buyer as well as the seller. You may have to pay some amount to the online portal for listing the item and some fees if the item is sold successfully but it is really worth the security that you get from them after the deal is done.

Selling becomes easy with branded heavy equipment

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You be the one of the best seller with superb convincing skills, you will always find it difficult to sell a product that not many people have heard about. People normally like to purchase things that have a brand name attached to it or else they would be skeptic to go for it. For instance, if you check the stuff that you have in your house, there may not be a single item that does not have a brand name. You must have bought all the branded items however big or small the name of the brand must be. The same thought is applicable with people when they go for buying heavy equipment. As a matter of fact, there may not be single heavy equipment that gets sold without a known brand name attached to it. Construction companies irrespective of their size will always go for machines that at least have a reputation. They will not buy stuff whose manufacturers name has been unheard on not known to many.

Heavy equipment that is followed by a famous brand name sells like hot cake. Many sales men earn huge commission by selling machines that are known to many. However, they can earn more commission if they successfully sell brands which are not so famous amongst people. It is because the not so famous brands want to establish their presence in the domestic market for which they are ready to shell out more percentage of commission to the salesman who are able to sell their products. Salesman in turn gets lured with the high percentage of commission and they try to give it a shot.

After trying to sell heavy equipment of brands that are not so famous, it has been known that they faced serious hurdles and at times were also on the verge of losing a customer with whom they were doing business for long. It is not that the new brand is not a good enough stuff but it is just that the buyers do not have the confidence to go for it. It makes the work of the salesman tougher to sell new brands. Buyers will ask them to come up with products that they have been buying and may not show much interest to even know what the new brand is all about.

There are few salesmen who took this as a challenge and started promoting the product first and then went to sell it. It is important to first market the heavy equipment well so that people gets aware of the brand and gets known to the values of the company. After this, they can fix an appointment and straight away go for a demonstration. Only when the buyer checks out the demo that he may get convinced to buy the machine. In this entire scenario, the salesman need to play smart and try to co-relate the wants of the buyer with the features of the machine and then it will sound just perfect to the ears of the buyer.

Wanting to make a career in selling heavy equipment – Read the tips

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It is believed by many that one can have a wonderful career if he knows how to sell things. We all are sellers but very few are good sellers and only the few good sellers make the most out of anything. Selling has always been referred to an art which needs to be sharpened in order to make maximum revenue or to get utmost advantage. One such industry that pays a lot is of selling heavy equipment. The reason it pays lot is because it is not an easy job at all. Heavy equipment is in itself a complex subject and people who are into the profession of selling these complex subject needs to understand it well so that they can pitch them to the consumers with confidence and can also sell them the right stuff without misguiding them.

People who want to make their career as a salesman selling heavy equipment should for sure follow these points as it will help them big time to climb the success ladder.

Knowing the technical aspect is important:-

In order to become an ace salesman, it is crucial that you know a bit about the technical intricacies of heavy equipment. Not knowing anything about the technical aspect can cost you dearly when you start facing different types of clients and especially the ones who knows about the stuff you are dealing with. Just because you can speak well and not have much knowledge about the machine you are trying to sell will not help you to bail out from the grasp of the client who knows the in and out of the equipment. You will definitely see yourself to be trapped. Therefore spend some time to learn the stuff you are selling.

Do not try to fool the client:-

Many beginners commit the mistake of trying to play around with the client’s intelligence and thus also end up paying a heavy price for it. Trying to fool the client can have drastically adverse effect on the company for whom you work. The client will completely lose his confidence from the brand and he will feel that the brand is misguiding people to sell its product. You can’t play around with things like this. In case you do not know something that was asked to you, be strong enough to answer the truth and say that you will gather more information about it and will get back to him. The client will appreciate this and you may do well in the next meeting.

Give demo to the consumer:-

When a new product is launched in the market which the consumer has not heard of or perhaps have never experienced it, you should give a live demo of the machine to him. In this way, you attract most of his attention and can also leave a positive imprint on him. Try to explain the benefits of the equipment in his business and if he finds it worthy, he will take it for sure.

Kevin Cook Heavy Equipment Guy

Mini excavators work efficiently in small projects and smaller space

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A mini excavator or compact excavator is used for digging or demolition works in construction projects or as a part of repair and maintenance. Mini excavators are specially manufactured for comparatively smaller projects but these machineries need expert hands for flawless and safe operation. Mini excavators are available with different attachments meant for digging and demolition. A mini excavator comes with a small cab where the controller sits comfortably for driving and controlling the machine. These days, highly sophisticated electronics devices are used for maneuvering and controlling the machine. Mini excavators either have wheels or tracks.

What kinds of jobs require mini excavators?

A mini or compact excavator can accomplish a multiple of tasks, some of which are as follows:

    • Digging Holes on the ground, walls, or hills
    • Digging ponds, or reservoirs
    • Demolishing a small structure
    • Removing concrete or natural obstacles
    • Removing snow from the road or garden
    • Creating trenches
    • Removing debris
    • Digging irrigation channels
  • Cleaning drains
  • Flattening uneven landscape

 

Mini excavator models possess different benefits and they are specialized in handling different types of projects. Before, buying or hiring such machinery, the user needs to think about the availability of space, and type of job where the machine will be employed.

Types of mini excavators

Two types of mini excavators are available in the market:

Tail swing excavators – These excavators are popular for their greater lifting capacity, and arm breakout force, comfortable cabs, and easy to control option. The rear counterweight is specially designed to provide more stability to the whole system while excavating or lifting theweight. The machine requires some extra space for movement, so it is not suitable for a narrow area.

Zero-tail swing excavators – As the name suggest, this machine is just suitable for a narrow area. Its counterweight moves within the width of the excavator making it adjustable in a small space and keeping thefocus of the operator just on the job. The maintenance expenses of this excavator are also lower than tail swing excavators.

Zero-tail swing excavators have become more demanding than the traditional mini excavators as they are easily operable in urban and populated areas. As the counterweight radius is minimized within the width of the machines there remains less chance of damage to other properties.

Attachments for mini excavators

These machinery are extremely useful as the users can apply these in different works with different kinds of attachments like buckets, chuck blades, rippers, blades, grippers, grapples, and much more. Again, each of these attachments has different specifications which are used in different situations. For example, buckets have a multiple of categories like digging buckets, tilting buckets, tilting buckets, rotary tilting buckets, etc. and grapples have categories like rotating lock grapples, rock grapples, wood processing grapples, etc.

For an efficient use of a mini excavator, the operator needs to be trained on this machine. Otherwise, work hour and quality of work may be lost and damage of property or other kinds of accidents may occur. Mini excavators are optimally expert in multiple jobs where promptness and expenses matter a lot.

 

Are two-way radios still use on a construction job site?

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With the world constantly moving towards technological advancements, there is a huge tendency of users to switch over to the use of smartphones in comparison to any other old and traditional methods of communication. However, the question is, whether the smartphones are always the best choices or not, remains.

At a construction site, where there is a continuous need to communicate with each other, it becomes absolutely impossible to complete any task if the communication is hampered or hindered. Hence, proper communication methods or medium should be used to ensure constant communication between all the workers.

About Smartphone and Two-Way Radios:

Traditionally, the tool that has been loved and vastly used by most of the workers at almost every construction site is the two-way radio. It is a handy tool, something that looks like a walkie-talkie and helps the workers to stay connected at all times and with everyone in the loop. But, its usage is limited only up to communication.

As the technology is ever growing and advancing in its features and facilities, even the heavy construction equipment and machines can now be synced with smartphones and operated well. Many other machines, contacts, alarms, notifications and apps can help you to make your construction work easier with a smartphone that is the reason why many of the construction site workers as well as the leaders, managers and executives are switching towards using the smartphones as their mode of communication.

Which One is the Better?

Now that you have known about the two most popular modes of communication at a construction site, it is now a question, which one is better. There are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration then.

  • Ease of use:

 

One of the most important factors that need to be taken into consideration is the ease of use and that is great in case of the two way radios. With just a single push, you can communicate with one or more workers at the construction site at a time. The smartphones do not give the facility of communicating with every person at the construction site a single go.

  • In case of emergency:

 

There can be emergency situations when the cell towers or networks of the smartphone operators stop working or responding. The two way radios work even in such emergency situations.

  • Affordability:

 

Yet another important factor that needs to be kept in mind is the factor of affordability. Since you will be purchasing them for all the workers at a construction site or for you on-site construction workers, you need to buy something that is cost-effective. The two way radios are way cheaper than the smartphones.

Hence, it can well be said that the two way radios have a great acceptability at the construction job site and its popularity is not going to lessen any time soon. With the world famous companies such as Motorola making great two way radios for the construction job sites, you can be satisfied that the performance of these radios will be unparalleled.

Lime is a natural stabilizer: It prepares the soil for construction works

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Soil stabilizers convert apparently less bearing ground into highly suitable one for starting construction work like pavements, road beds, basement of canals, water reservoir, etc. Soil stabilizationis the method of strengthening the ground through pulverization and moisture conditioning. This job is efficiently done with different forms of lime and then compaction and trimming as necessary. This process improves the basic characteristics of soil that makes it suitable for a construction project. Lime is used in different percentage depending on the soil condition to adjust the parameters like moisture, density, plasticity, permeability, strength, etc.

Benefits of soil stabilization

Soil stabilization with lime before starting any construction work has the following benefits:

  • Apparently wet soil that is not suitable for construction work can be made suitable within one or two days.
  • Treatment with lime ensures production of long-lasting stable jobs comparable with graded aggregates.
  • The soil becomes hard wearing with greater toughness and strength that make it extremely suitable for a construction process.
  • It enables recycling ofinsitu materials and existing soil that ultimately provides financial benefits to the contractor or owner of the land. It takes less time to prepare the soil as also saves expenses in labor, transportation, and import of aggregates.
  • Soil stabilization with lime also reduces PI (Plasticity Index) of the existing soil significantly.
  • The ground gains strength significantly that is found to be more than 15% as per CBR test.
  • This process of soil stabilization is environmental-friendly too. The process requires very small quantities of other additives making less transportation of materials, less disturbance in busy areas, and lesser use of factory made binders.

 

Lime efficiently stabilizes weak soil

Use of lime as a stabilizer for road beds has been in practice over the century. Modern research works have proved behind doubt that lime can also be used for stabilizing the soil in the large construction sites. Lime is especially useful when expansive clay is present is a construction site. Expansive clays destabilize the base work and change the orientation of the concrete slabs with time. Whereas the soil treated with lime can solve the issue permanently. Lime actually performs a chemical stabilization process where the added lime compound reacts with the clay present in a ground in the following ways:

  • When lime is mixed with the soil, the clay particles come together forming stiffer silt, and reducing plasticity of the soil.
  • After the compaction job, life further reacts with the soil particles binding them firmly and increasing their strength.

Quicklime for soil stabilization in construction works

Many types of lime compounds are available, but quick lime or calcium oxide is mainly used for this work. Quicklime reacts with soil water forming calcium hydroxide which again reacts with some existing minerals like silica and alumina initiating an ionic exchange reaction forming a cement-like product naturally. In this reaction, called pozzolanic reaction, cannot retain water particles anymore and with the passage of time, it hardens like cement. Thus, quicklime provides the required stability to the soil.

 

Sell your old heavy equipment before it becomes unsellable

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It is hard to sell an asset that has been with us for many years. We get attached to it and when we think about selling it, it does pain a bit. While we use the equipment, we may not recognize the importance of it and the attachment that is getting developed with every passing day but we think about it the most on the day it is to go to the next buyer. Keeping aside your emotions, it nevertheless important to get rid of it. You can’t go along with a dead piece for long as it will after a certain point of time affect your activity. The same logic is applied in case of heavy equipment. If you have heavy equipment that is way too old and you are not able to function with it any longer, it makes no sense to drag it any further. You have to at some day or the other do away with it. But you should not take long to sell the old machine as you will not find any buyer if it gets completely redundant. You may then have to sell it as scrap and therefore might not even get a good value.

You have numerous options to sell your old heavy equipment. You can speak with people in your business circle and check if there is anybody who is looking for second hand heavy equipment. You will have a lot of buyers for second hand heavy equipment as long as it is in good condition. Nobody would like to buy a machine with defects and therefore you need to ensure that before you speak to people about selling your heavy equipment get it repaired and painted. You can then ask for a good price. Other than that, the person who is referring your machine to the next person also has certain degree of faith on you. You should keep up to his/her trust and give him/her the machine in working order.

Keeping the machine can make it unsellable:-

There are construction companies who after finding the heavy equipment outdated leave it to rot. They must be really busy with work to not get the time to sell it but if you do not sell it on time, there is a chance that it will then become an unsellable liability. You will no longer find any buyer for the machine and this is when you perhaps have to sell it as scrap. This will pinch you as you at least have not wanted that to happen. If you are neck deep busy with work, you can allot a person and give him the responsibility to get it sold. You can just appear on the final day to sign on the sale agreement and take the money.

No one works on outdated heavy equipment:-

As long as your machine is up to date, you will find buyers for it but as soon as it becomes completely outdated, getting buyers will be a challenge. You need to get rid of it before it gets too late.

Repo heavy equipment can be bought at a lower price

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Be it for business or for personal use we are often reluctant to buy expensive items as it can put us into a financial mess. In order to buy expensive equipment a lot of planning needs to be done in advance. A company needs to set up a strategy where they will allocate funds to buy items needs for business and then will spend accordingly. They will never want to move an inch away from their budget but will do so only if it really requires. It is however tough to follow a stringent budget but does small companies really have an option. The answer is no.

In the construction sector, small companies have a hard time in dealing with their finances when it comes to buying heavy equipment. Heavy equipment are expensive items and small construction companies normally have to hunt for lenders who can lend them money to buy the machines. If the business runs the way it is expected then the company can pay off the loan without any hassle. But the reality is always different from what we plan and if your business does not perform the way you have expected it to then you are encountered with more grave issues. If you are unable to pay the monthly installments of your heavy equipment in time then the lender has every right to repossess the heavy equipment from you and sell it in auction.

Having said this, there is also a flip side to the entire episode. There are definitely lenders who have lend money to plenty of small construction companies and contractors and out of the many there may be few who could not end up paying the money. Quite evidently, their heavy equipment are repossessed by the bank and this gives you the opportunity to become a part of the auction and buy the machine at a dirt cheap price. Now the challenge here is that you will not be informed about such auction via any media. It does not come in newspaper or any such media. People want to keep it as clandestine at they can so that less people turn up at the event and the ones who are there can buy more machines at a cheaper rate.

What you got to do is keep your eyes and ears open to such auctions. You can even approach one such lender whom you know deals with lending money to small construction companies. They will be in a position to tell you if they will carry any auction in the near future. The next reliable source is the guys who tow heavy equipment from the borrower. They might give you a brief idea about the venue and the date.

Heavy equipment that are repo by banks are sold at a far cheaper rate. This is done so that the banks are able to recover the money that they have lent and do not run into loss.

Sell heavy equipment using an online platform

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The advent of internet has simplified many things for us and has also made our lives easy. We can now get almost everything on the net. Whatever information we require is all available on the net. Similarly, one can also purchase and sell things on the net. This was perhaps not a possibility a couple of decades ago but now it is the trend. More and more people like to buy things from online platforms. They find it to be more convenient and hassle free. Also, your money is safe during the transaction. This means that you do not have to worry about internet frauds. Simultaneously, if the buyer does not get what he has asked for or gets the package completely damaged then he can always claim for refund or can ask to send a new one without having to pay any shipping cost. These days even the corporate sectors are buying things online. If they have to gift something to the entire staff, they just order it online and the items get delivered at the office door step.

The construction industry has also gained much from the online platform. They can now buy and sell heavy equipment using this platform. Other than that, they can also look for vital heavy equipment parts online and do not have to depend on stores to get that for them. They can get those parts at a cheaper price as compared to the price they pay to the store. Seeing the success of this new technique of selling things, many construction companies have opted to sell their used machines on the internet. They just do not want to go through the hassle of finding an agent who will search a person who would be interested to buy the item. All they have to do is list the heavy equipment on one such online platform and wait for the prospects call.

How to get started:-

In order to sell heavy equipment on its ancillary online you have to get yourself registered on one such website. Once you are registered, let the website know your desire to sell items and it will take you to the page where you can list the machines. Make sure that you have taken some good pictures of the heavy equipment that you want to sell. Upload the pictures on the page and write in detail about the machine. For instance, the overall age of the machine, any breakdowns or accidents that have recently occurred should be mentioned on the listing. Update your phone number so that viewers who are interested to buy the item can call you up and inquire about it. Do specify the shipping policy and who is going to bear the cost. Once that is done you are sorted.

Accept money first:-

If someone has shown his desire to buy the equipment they should pay you first and then you will ship the item to them. This should be the pre-requisite condition. Only once you have the money in your account that you can go ahead and ship the item.

Tips for Choosing and Renting a Water Truck

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Water trucks (WTs) are an essential tool on any construction site. These trucks usually consist of a series of spray nozzles equipped with the mechanics to pump and spray water to remove dust from the air. The construction industry uses water trucks for compaction, dust control, fire-prevention and protection. Many construction industries, start ups and first time users prefer buying heavy equipment including WTs on rental basis (used) to decrease their expenses. However, one has to careful and observant while buying rented machines.

The following are some of the tips which may be useful for the buyer while choosing and renting water trucks:

  1. Purchase equipment which is in good working condition:

Although it is second hand vehicle, buyer must take care that water truck (WT) must be in good working condition. WT which is less old and is a solid sound vehicle in good mechanical shape is an ideal option to purchase.

2.  Perform a thorough physical and mechanical inspection of the equipment:

Buyer should perform physical inspection of the WT by investing sufficient time in it and taking it around in it.

  • WT’s body should be inspected during daylight.
  • The extent of wear and tear of the vehicle can be understood by inspecting its; tires, if any cracks are present on its body, from functioning of the engine and pump, and if any leakage problem exists.
  • Serial number should be checked to know the year of manufacturing.
  • The machine’s logs and maintenance records should be checked to know the service history.

3.  Know your needs of work:

Buyer should learn about application of WT. They should know the amount of water which is to be required for their type/s of work and if it can be supplied by the purchased WT. Further, it is essential that the buyer should know the required duration of its use since it is to be mentioned in the agreement.

4.  Product specifications:

Buyer should gain knowledge of different models of WT, since each model has its own specification which determine its strength and capability. Generally WT come in variety of configurations, from 1,000 gallons to 4000 gallons with different valve and spray nozzle numbers and spray bar configurations. By referring to product manuals and to company websites, the user can learn about different types of models and choose the right type of WT model. Further, it is important to learn if the chosen model of WT is supported by the manufacturer. Since old models are unsupported and it is difficult to get spare parts.

 

5.  Cost:

Buyer should know the expenses incurred due to rents (both of machine and its additional parts), maintenance, fuel used and greasing of the parts and expenses due to hired operator.

6.  Making of an agreement:

If the buyer is satisfied then will go ahead with buying of rental WT by making a legal agreement with the rental service provider.

 

Overall, renting a water truck is helpful since is cost-effective for construction companies. Following these tips can guide buyers in purchasing appropriate water truck on rental basis and increase job’s productivity.