Tag Archives: Construction Equipment

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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Heavy equipment industry likely to grow in 2016

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The year 2016 has a lot of things in store for the heavy equipment industry. It has been predicted as the year of prosperity in the construction domain and therefore there will be an up-beat in the heavy equipment industry as well. The sale figure of heavy equipment is assumed to rise. However, it is to be seen that which company will make the most and which one will stand at the edge. The year 2015 has overall been a good year as far as the construction industry is concerned and experts have come down with the analysis that this year will be no different in spite of political uncertainties that has gripped most of the industries. It is perhaps the construction, mining and heavy equipment industry that will not bear the brunt of the uncertain and volatile market. It has more happy time to witness. Apart from minor hurdles things are expected to be well for the industries that are closely connected with the construction sector.

Since the construction industry is doing well, more such businesses are blooming and people are in the mood to buy more advanced heavy equipment. They being more concerned about the environment and hence things are gradually moving towards attaining environment friendly machines. This has given rise to an increase in the demand of heavy equipment that are low of carbon emission and does not harm the environment like the earlier versions. Countries like Germany have induced millions of dollars to produce eco-friendly heavy equipment because they feel that the future of heavy equipment is these eco-friendly machines.

Many other countries are following suit. Though they have not completely given up on producing orthodox machines, they are giving extra impetus on producing green machines. Talking about the overall heavy equipment industry, it seems that the companies in Europe have managed to rope in an increase of 19% in the total sales figure. This is quite a dramatic one as it was not so often seen in the last many years. The sales figure only suggest that on the whole the future of the construction segment is going to be terrific and people can expect to make good business. Not just the old construction house but even the newer ones are getting enough business which is indeed a very good sign for the entire business. Market experts are all happy with the way the market is performing but some are also asking companies to be a bit cautious and not overspend on buying heavy equipment.

The news headlines in the US is no longer coming up with stuffs that speaks ill about the industry. Though some companies may have suffered loses but that does not reflect the complete mood of the industry. So it seems things are better off in the US. If we check the Middle East, there are enormous growth opportunities present for the heavy equipment industry. Countries like Saudi Arabia has shown tremendous growth as far as the construction segment are concerned. This has further glorified the prospect of heavy equipment industry for the year 2016.

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2016 will be the year of heavy equipment

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Since heavy equipment industry and the construction industry are so closely interconnected with each other that they have an ever lasting impact on each other. For instance, if the construction industry is not doing well, the impact will definitely reflect on the heavy equipment industry as well. Heavy equipment companies will find it hard to sell their machines in the market as there will be no buyers for them. If the buyers are also having a hard time to deal with any crisis that comes up in the construction sector, they are most evidently not going for any more purchases of machines and will wait for the market to resurrect. Till that time, heavy equipment companies will be out of business.

However, things are better off and the year 2015 was indeed a good one for both the industries. The construction sector was at its peak and so was the heavy equipment industry. It was believed that no other sector was able to generate employment as much as the construction sector and they had given big orders to produce earth moving machines. Moreover, with the advent of Paris summit that was held last year, it was urged to many such heavy equipment producing companies to concentrate of manufacturing machines that emit less carbon. The goal is to reduce carbon footprint so that we can all make this world a livable place and are not tormented by natural calamities.

After this summit, government of various countries have asked these companies to focus on producing green machines and are simultaneously also trying to prepare a market for it. Governments are ready to waive some taxes if the construction companies are willing to go green and reduce carbon footprint. This will be a big step towards having a clean environment and may also garner support from people within the industry. Once the government of all countries issues law that will state companies using green heavy equipment will save on tax for the next few years there will be an increase in the sale of eco-friendly machines. Big construction houses will no longer want to work on the traditional machines and will demand for green machines.

This will give the opportunity for the heavy equipment manufacturing companies to design machines that emit less carbon. It is therefore believed that the year 2016 is an instrumental year for both the construction and the heavy equipment industry. This year will possibly see a change in the nature of machines and the earth moving companies will have to work hard to keep up to the demand of the construction industry. Since this will be the beginning, the heavy equipment companies have to ensure that the machines they produce should be of ace quality as there are high chances that due to shift in technology they might end up messing the overall product. They have to make sure that the goodwill that they have created and maintained should not be tarnished by the change in technology.

Modern heavy equipment are the need of the hour in the construction business

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The construction business has always been a competitive zone and it has been observed that more and more people are getting into this industry making the competition all the more difficult. With new competitors in the market who are ready to take bigger risk, the one with more experience are having a tough time dealing with the fact that there is an urgent requirement of sophisticated heavy equipment to sustain in the competitive environment. There is only thing that can keep you above from the rest and that is technologically advanced machines. Your machines should be capable of doing work that others take days to complete and if you possess such machines then you have more chances of getting big projects that has huge profit margins. At the end of the day, it is all about the quality of work that you give to your clients that will decide the existence of your company.

Follow the best brands in the market:-

Technologically advanced machines are manufactured by many heavy equipment companies. However, the difference lies in the quality of those machines. Not every machine manufactured by different set of companies will deliver in the same manner. Some will last long enduring the same wear and tear and others will give away sooner. So you have to decide which one will be yours. Often the heavy equipment manufactured by the top brands lasts longer than their counterparts and therefore that should be your first choice. You can then do your own research and nail the one that suits your requirements. However, it is critical that you go for the top brands and not with companies that does not have significant name in the heavy equipment industry. Other than that, you can expect decent resale money if you sell machine of branded companies but can’t expect the same from a non-branded one.

Though expensive but worth the price:-

The technologically advanced machines are quite expensive given the ease and comfort it provides to the user. It is agreed that such machines are not affordable to everyone but at the same time also not beyond the reach of people who seriously want to upgrade their arsenal. The user will undoubtedly find it to be expensive but at the same time they will also feel that it is absolutely worth the price. If it is an absolutely out of budget case, one can opt for the smaller version of such machines. They will not cost much and also will be within the reach of many. It can act as a substitute for the larger version.

Real comfort for the operators:-

It is the operators who go through the pain of operating the machine. They have to take immense care when they are working with equipment that is not much advanced. Any mistake from their end can result in a big casualty. They will always appreciate if they are given machines that are simple to operate and does not need too much of their attention. They call them intelligent machines and they need such machines for work.

Low oil prices affecting heavy equipment industry

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Oil prices have a huge impact on the construction industry as well as on the heavy equipment industry. In the last few years, we have seen the oil price were at its peak and were expecting it to come down. Not only the big industrialists but also the common man was getting badly bruised by the increase in the oil price. But how far the reductions in the oil price will help the heavy equipment companies has become the topic of concern. To put it in other words, does the reduction in oil price really make the business profitable for the heavy equipment industry or is it otherwise. Well, it can have a 2 way effect on the heavy equipment manufacturing companies.

Since for the last many years, oil prices were not ready to come down, which is why heavy equipment manufacturing companies were unanimously were of the opinion to manufacture equipment that will consume less fuel and will be high on productivity. This means that the machines which consume more fuel will slowly and steadily go extinct. Simultaneously, the new technology machine will also cost more to the buyers. This has put the heavy equipment manufacturing companies in a win-win situation as they can make good profits by selling low fuel consumption machines to big construction houses and can make good money out of it. Their plan was solid and also seemed to be fool proof as no one had anticipated that the oil prices can also take a dip in the near future.

Now when the price has come down, the construction houses are not showing much interest in buying machines that consumes less fuel. They are of the belief that since the oil prices are down, it is profitable to buy machines that eats more fuel as they will not cost them a fortune, use it for some years and then if there is an increase in the oil price which they expect would be in a gradual way, they will start looking for buyers. Small time contractors or small construction companies will not mind in buying those used machines at a lower rate. Therefore, the big companies will get their work done and when they see the oil prices are rising, they will get rid of those machines and then probably buy the ones that consumes less fuel.

If things go according to the construction companies wishes, they will be the one who will make the most out of it. However, things may not be as merrier as there is a possibility that the heavy equipment companies may stop manufacturing equipment that consumes more fuel which means the construction companies may have no option other than to buy those expensive machines. In other words, fall in oil prices will not have any positive impact in their company’s balance sheet. It is pretty obvious that the heavy equipment industry will not take a financial hit to please the construction companies and therefore will stick to producing machines with low fuel consumption.

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Make use of Social Networking websites to grow your heavy equipment business

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Any form of business is directly connected with technology and successful business entrepreneurs make full use of the latest technology to grow their business. They find it to be one of the simplest and quickest ways to reach millions in just seconds which is not possible through any other mode. Running a successful business is an art and not everyone can master that art. The person need to be foresighted and should understand the importance of technology and how it can impact its business. One form of technology that is making rounds these days is social networking. These days everyone has an account in some or the other social networking website and through that they try to stay in touch with their friends and loved ones. However, this mode is also been acknowledged as one of the crucial method of spreading the news of your business. In order for people to know the kind of work you are into, you can make use of a social networking website that is popularly used by many and can create your business profile out there.

It has proven to be a great stuff for beginners who are not a known figure in their line of business. It is difficult to win the trust of your clients when you are new to a business. They have doubts like if you can complete the work in the given time frame, if you have the required resources to get the job done and many such questions that a newbie finds it hard to deal with. People who are from the construction industry or the ones who deals with selling of heavy equipment find social networking websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Snapchat etc. as a wonderful tool to connect with people; many known and some unknown.

Once you are registered member of any social networking website you talk about your business to your friends and people whom you know. You keep posting articles about your work or your achievements which is read by people who can be your friends or your friend’s friend. The sole purpose is to reach to as many people as you can by posting a single post. If you are selling heavy equipment you can talk about your website in your profile and also put the picture of your company’s logo as the profile picture. You can make use of Snapchat to send pictures or videos to all your friends or to people specific.

Having a website of your company is good but social networking sites make it easy for you to connect to people who are not known to you and who do not know anything about you. They may see your company’s logo for the first time on some of your friend’s profile who must have liked your profile picture or any video posted by you. This is how they get to know about you and may go to your website to know more about you. This will eventually help you to develop your business in the long run.

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What does LGP (low ground pressure) stand for?

Heavy equipment are very heavy and can cause serious damage to the ground if they do not have proper low ground pressure. This is a subject that many people using heavy equipment may not be aware of. It is only because that this subject doesn’t affect their work in any way. However, people who have studied heavy equipment as their subject may know how important low ground pressure is to keep the ground away from much pressure from the heavy equipment. The equipment if do not possess low ground pressure can significantly damage the soil which can be dangerous especially for farmers because they will then slowly and steadily lose the quality of the soil. It may be also possible that the soil may become infertile. Therefore, it becomes very important to reduce the ground pressure from heavy equipment and the keep the quality of the soil intact.

What can be done to reduce the ground pressure from heavy equipment? Well, one of the most important parts that can be done to reduce the ground pressure is replacing the steel tracks with hard plastic tracks. That will significantly bring down the pressure to a larger extent thereby keeping the quality of the soil undamaged. There are few companies that produce such plastic plates that can be used as ground tracks for heavy equipment. Nylatrack plates are one such plate produced by “Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products” that comparatively brings down the weight of the machine. It is said that they are 80% less weighty that the steel plates thus exerting less pressure on the ground. Similarly, there are many more such plastic plates manufacturing companies that play a mighty role in today’s modern engineering and also keeping the ground pressure low.

Another benefit of using plastic tracks is they can easily work on soft grounds which is difficult for heavy equipment with steel plates to do. They can also work on pavements which again may not be so simple for heavy equipment with steel tracks. Exerting low ground pressure will have almost no side effects on the ground. Other than replacing the steel plates with plastic plates, there is one more way to lower the ground pressure. Just by reducing the noise, one can also reduce the ground pressure. The equipment vibrations are soaked up by the plastic plates which only happen if the tracks are flexible in nature. By installing plastic tracks, the tracks of the machine become quite flexible which in turn absorb the vibration coming out of the tracks and thus the noise of the undercarriage goes silent. This means that there is less stress on the drive chain that happens predominantly because the plastic track plates absorb the bending force.

The plastic track plates manufactured by companies are immune to oils and seawater which makes it a machine that can work in extreme conditions. Since it has plastic plates, it is very unlikely that the soil will stick with the plates. This will prevent any sort of damage to the ground.

How to prevent your heavy equipment getting stolen

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Thieves always have one thing in mind. Steal a highly priced stuff and sell it at a lower price. It will still leave them with a bounty. It really does not matter much if the item they want to steal is the car parked at your backyard or the heavy equipment that is lying at your construction site. For them, it is good money lying unprotected and definitely a chance to earn a lot of money in a comparatively shorter span. They know for sure how highly priced heavy equipment are and therefore if you have left your machine unprotected, it is definitely a cause of worry. If you feel that keeping the equipment in the construction site will keep it away from the eyes of the thieves, then you have completely mistaken them. You will never know what they have set your machine as their next target and one fine day you will get to see the equipment missing from the site.

It is better to be safe than sorry for not doing the right thing at the right time and therefore it is important that you keep your heavy equipment protected. Thieves will never let you know when they are planning to steal your machine and therefore installing a camera or keeping some sort of security will deter them to take this step. Efforts that you should take to keep your machine safe are stated below.

Install cameras at major points in the construction site:-

Installing cameras at all the important points can work a great deal in keeping the thieves at bay. It has been noticed that thieves do not want to get inside the compounds that has cameras all around the place. Trying to steal a machine from a place that has lot of cameras has more chance for them to get caught and therefore they kind of like to play it safe.

Deploy security men to protect your machine:-

Alongside installing cameras you can also deploy security men at the site who will keep a constant check. It will be too much of a risk to try any misadventure when you have the security guys available at the site. They would rather not dare to drive away a big machine especially when there are people around and guarding the place. This would act a big deterrent to the ones who enter the site with the intention to steal the equipment.

Give a suitable indicator to all your machines:-

If you have a lot of machines with you, it becomes difficult for you to identify which equipment is yours and which one you have taken on rent (if at all you have taken any machine on rent). What needs to be done is tag the machines with numbers or codes engraved in it. The numbers should be visible to everybody which if stolen will not be easy to sell in the black market. The thieves will also not want to make the selling part difficult and hence will not lay their hands on machines that have those numbers or codes.

 

 

Heavy equipment that is used by the military

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If we think that heavy equipment are used only by the construction or the mining industries then we are only partially correct with our thoughts. There is another sector which is presumably larger than the both the sectors which also uses number one quality heavy equipment and accessories and this is the military. The US military uses various types of heavy equipment for its different uses and they give the order of its requirements to some top notch companies. The requirement is given to the heavy equipment manufacturing companies and they in return give the quotation to the military officials. Once they get the clearance from the higher officials, the procurement process starts off.

The reason why military needs advanced heavy equipment is that they always get involved in activities that can’t be done without the use of sophisticated machines. Machines that some construction companies have probably never heard or have seen are procured by the military for doing everything that a logical mind can think of. They use bulldozers, excavators, cranes, loaders, crawlers etc. and they train their men for the work. They at times also recruit operators from outside but for work that is done in highly confidential places, they prefer to put their men at work. Therefore, they also provide training of operating heavy equipment to the men in uniform so that they can curtail the use of civilian operators in highly confidential zones.

The heavy equipment used by the military may not be similar to the ones used by civilians. They are more sophisticated and technologically advanced and have the potential to do the work at a comparatively lesser time than the machines used by big construction houses. You may have witnessed some companies using machines that seemed to have served the military. Well, it all works this way. Once the heavy equipment gets older or outdated and the engineers in the military feel that they no longer need their services, it will auctioned at dirt cheap price to the civilians. These heavy equipment still have their worth in sectors other than military and therefore you will get to see large number of potential buyers interested to buy such machines.

Other than that the quality of metal used in such machines is outstanding and hence everybody knows that they will end up buying something worthy at a lesser price. The US military not only used heavy equipment produced by American heavy equipment manufacturing companies. They do not mind going for machines that are produced by French, German, Canadian or Australian companies. They primarily need quality to be number one and second the machine should deliver by consuming less time.

There is not set model of a machine. They may produce a dozer and make it look like something else. It may not look like a dozer that we all know. It may not necessarily be deceptive but the model that is used for military purpose is quite unique but will be highly reliable and efficient.

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