Industry/business: Komatsu announces purchase of TimberPro

Komatsu announces purchase of forestry machine manufacturer TimberPro

Feb. 19, 2019—Komatsu America Corp., a leading global heavy equipment manufacturer, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TimberPro Inc. The acquisition is expected to close on April 1, 2019, subject to completion of the closing conditions. Established in 2002, TimberPro is a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of purpose-built forest machines and attachments, offering tracked feller bunchers and harvesters, forwarders, wheeled harvesters, and felling heads.

New program for asphalt manufacturers creates opportunities, revenue

Feb. 19, 2019—Pavement preservation specialist Crafco has just released a new program for asphalt manufacturers. The Crafco HP Asphalt Cold Patch Producer Partner Program lets qualified companies produce and market bulk Crafco HP Asphalt Cold Patch at their own plants. Through this opportunity, asphalt manufacturers can generate a new revenue stream while filling seasonal capacity voids. They also can produce the material for their own needs. With the additional manufacturing locations, Crafco will be better able to keep up with cold patch demand and mobilize HP Asphalt Cold Patch delivery from more points of origin. The Crafco Producer Partner program is designed to be a collaboration between Crafco and asphalt companies. Crafco will work with partners to determine optimal capacity and storage planning, bulk oil delivery timing, material handling, and other logistics. Crafco engineers and technicians also will support customers in procuring climate-optimized materials, maximizing production efficiencies, and handling quality assurance. The program aims to help customers build a value-added extension to their businesses, without additional capital equipment or investment outlay. Outside of raw materials, there is no cost for the Crafco program.

Equipment rental revenue growth continues to outpace economy

Feb. 18, 2019—The latest five-year forecast from the American Rental Association (ARA) calls for equipment and event rental revenues in North America to surpass $61.5 billion in 2019, including $55.8 billion in the U.S. and $5.7 billion in Canada, up 5.3% compared to 2018. Similar steady growth is expected in each of the successive years of the forecast to reach nearly $70.9 billion in revenue by 2022. The current figures, which are updated quarterly, project slightly less growth than what was forecast in October, reflecting different factors that have slightly slowed the projected growth of the U.S. economy. In the U.S., equipment and event rental revenue is expected to grow another 4.8% in 2020, 5% in 2021 and 4.8% in 2022 to reach $64.4 billion. Rental penetration—the percentage of total construction equipment in use in the U.S. that is owned by equipment rental companies—increased to 53.5% in 2018, up from 53.0% in 2017.

VISION2040 forecasts future of concrete pavements, technology factors

Feb. 15, 2019—What will transportation look like in the year 2040? In response to this and other questions, the American Concrete Pavement Association has published a treatise covering long-term perspectives on concrete pavements, as well as how concrete pavements will both envelop and contribute to emerging technologies. “VISION2040: The Future of Concrete Pavement Imagined” is a 16-page, four-color publication developed with the input and other support from a blue-ribbon panel of experts representing industry, academia and the public sector. The publication describes the genesis and background of the VISION2040 project (including a listing of the people serving on the blue-ribbon panel of experts); provides a glimpse of the future of transportation; describes anticipated owner/agency needs; forecasts how concrete pavement will serve various functions as we move toward the year 2040; and explains how ACPA and other stakeholders will shape the future … and what great potential exists if we invest and collaborate effectively along the way.