Trucks debut, portable plants rise, filters press in Las Vegas

Sources: CP staff; Informa Exhibitions U.S., Irving, Texas

Three years of respectable concrete output gains backed the strong attendance and exhibitor participation levels at World of Concrete 2015, February 2-6 in Las Vegas. Early on day one of exhibits, Portland Cement Association Chief Economist Ed Sullivan confirmed market trends fueling the positive mood across the Las Vegas Convention Center: 2014 cement shipment reports are trending an 8 percent increase over 2013 figures, he noted, and the industry is likely to match that pace in 2015 and 2016.

 

Topping Concrete Products’ radar in Las Vegas were new trucks and components, portable batch plants, filter presses, and reinforcing fibers. On the truck front: a Peterbilt Model 567 SFFA premiered, prior to delivery to Cemex; a Swedish equipment manufacturer, MTM, showed the telescoping EZExtenz Concrete Chute, a 30-ft. placing device offering an alternative to truck-mounted conveyors; and, Caterpillar dealer-aligned asphalt paving equipment specialist Weiler Inc. unveiled a new mixer with tag axle.

Batch plant mainstays Concrete Equipment Co. and Vince Hagan Co. each showed new portable models engineered for quick, crane-free erection.

Underscoring concrete plant operators’ prioritizing of water management—a product of regulations, permitting and, in some markets, supply constraints—this year’s World of Concrete saw one returning and three new exhibitors promoting filter press equipment engineered for slurry and process water handling downstream of concrete reclaimers: Past exhibitor Matec America of Walnut Cove, N.C., joined by Aggregate Machinery Inc. of Salem, Ore., showing its Oquamax Concrete Wash Out Recycling Plants; McLanahan Corp. of Hollidaysburg, Pa., showing a concrete plant-scaled model adapted from its extensive mining & aggregate press series; and, Water Treatment Solutions of Hampton, N.H., whose concrete-grade Enviro System has premiered at northern California precast/prestressed producer Clark Pacific.

BASF Construction Chemicals/Admixture System continued at World of Concrete 2015 a product rollout cycle that started at the prior year’s show, announcing the macrosynthetic MasterFiber MAC 2200 CB, whose polymeric formulation and physical characteristics foster chemical and mechanical concrete matrix bonds. Also in the fiber category was a new exhibitor, Seoul-based KoSteel, promoting an arch-style steel fiber, Bundrex KF 73/55 or 67/50 CA,with loading capacity up to 20 percent higher than conventional end-hook products.

Ohio-based GivenHansco, a developer of dispatching, production and enterprise information technology platforms for small and medium-sized concrete producers, has entered the mobile application arena with Keystone On-Demand, an Android and Apple-device-ready extension of its flagship dispatch, truck tracking and financials suite.

In decorative concrete, an area of practice that has helped boost World of Concrete traffic as much as any category of the past two decades, Concrete Products especially noted ShapeCrete, a just-add-water, moldable mix Sakrete is promoting in collaboration with artisan Fu-Teng Cheng.

Related articles
Attendance spike leads solid World of Concrete 2015 metrics
Cemex deploys first Peterbilt 567 set-forward front axle model
Telescoping mixer truck chute reaches new safety, productivity possibilities
Cat dealer-aligned Weiler rolls out namesake mixer truck
Polymer-cementitious material bonding yields new BASF macrofiber
Arched profile increases steel fibers’ load-carrying capacity 20 percent
GivenHansco programs flagship Keystone suite for mobile applications
Sakrete, master artisan Cheng team on craftsman-geared ShapeCrete