FAYAT Group has announced the completion of its 100% stake in LeeBoy, based in Lincolnton, North Carolina, USA. For more than 60 years, LeeBoy has made asphalt pavers, distributors, brooms, chip spreaders and related equipment. LeeBoy is now part of the FAYAT Road Equipment Division, a world leader in road-building equipment, bringing the FAYAT Group Division’s total production facilities to 30 sites across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The LeeBoy acquisition will expand the Road Equipment Division’s asphalt and road building equipment offerings, especially in the commercial and municipal paving and road maintenance market segments.

The North American market is a strategic priority for the FAYAT Group, and this tactical acquisition broadens the company’s product offering in the United States and Canada. LeeBoy enables FAYAT to reinforce its position in North America through leveraging synergies of asphalt brands currently a part of the Road Equipment Division, including BOMAG, Dynapac, Asphalt Drum Mixers (ADM), Ravo, Scarab, Dulevo, Charlatte and, most recently, Mecalac.

LeeBoy will maintain its brand identity and operational autonomy. FAYAT plans to support LeeBoy’s management team with both short- and long-term investments to strengthen its market position and reinforce its customer support.

Speaking on completing the acquisition, FAYAT Group President Jean-Claude Fayat said, “Adding LeeBoy’s highly respected equipment offering will enable FAYAT to better serve road-building customers with a more comprehensive range of solutions. The acquisition presents many opportunities for collaboration with other brands within our Road Equipment Division in the areas of research and development, manufacturing, technology, purchasing, sales and exploring select international markets. We are dedicated to investing in the LeeBoy team and the local workforce, and to building on LeeBoy’s strong culture to deliver even greater value and innovation in the years ahead for LeeBoy customers.”

Elgin Sweeper Company, headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, introduced its advanced digital control panel for its Pelican series street sweepers in July. The new touchscreen interface is designed to deliver intuitive operation, real-time diagnostics and smarter system integration to users seeking greater efficiency and ease of use in street sweeping programs.

The advanced digital control panel replaces the traditional analog gauge displays with a durable, high-visibility touchscreen that centralizes key vehicle functions. The system offers intuitive graphics, simplified controls and multilanguage support.

According to the manufacturer, the key benefits include: intelligent diagnostics; simplified training and operation; operational efficiency; data logging; and ruggedness.

For more information, visit the Elgin website.

Dynapac, headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, launched the CP28 pneumatic tired roller to the North American market this spring. The roller offers an operating mass of 21,200 pounds with a new frame design to enhance operator visibility. According to the manufacturer, it represents the heaviest ballastable pneumatic tire roller on the market.

The CP28’s flexible rubber tires and adjustable air pressure system allow operators to achieve consistent density while minimizing surface damage. It’s designed for various applications, including finishing asphalt layers to create a smooth, even surface with optimum tire overlap.

The CP28 offers a choice between symmetric and asymmetric cab configurations. The newly designed right-foot brake pedal enhances responsiveness for improved maneuverability, according to the manufacturer.

One of the CP28’s time-saving features is the Air on the Run system, which inflates all tires from 0 to 120 psi KPa in 12 minutes. The CP28 features front and rear suspension systems designed to optimize tire-to-surface contact. The front suspension allows for a 4.5-degree lateral oscillation and 1.5-degree tilt to both the right and left, while the new rear suspension enables a 2.0-degree tilt in both directions, ensuring constant ground contact.

The CP28 is equipped with a watertight frame, allowing for a flexible ballast system. Using a forklift, operators can adjust the weight by adding or removing steel plates in the front and rear ballast compartments. For greater flexibility, the machine can be ballasted with wet sand, water, steel shot or scrap metal.

Near the end of August, Dynapac announced its new dealer partner, Ascendum Machinery. This partnership strengthens Dynapac’s presence in the Southeast, expanding sales and support in North Carolina, South Carolina and East Tennessee.

For more information, contact your local Dynapac dealer.

Caterpillar, Irving, Texas, announced in July its Cat® Fleet Bucket Program, which allows customers to benefit from Cat ground engaging tools (GET) on third-party buckets sourced from local bucket manufacturers. A new or rebuilt bucket, whether a Cat bucket or other brand, can now be equipped with Cat GET, available in multiple designs to meet the needs of specific applications.

The program is available to meet a range of machine bucket needs, including those for compact, wheeled and backhoe loaders, excavators, hydraulic mining shovels and rope shovels. Caterpillar and the Cat dealer work with hundreds of local bucket manufacturers globally to offer GET options to fit their customized bucket designs. This enables customers with mixed fleets to standardize on Cat GET to help increase wear life, decrease downtime and even increase productivity.

Cat dealers can also set up customer fleets with the Bucket Pro App, which allows dealers to monitor GET wear to help plan maintenance, manage inventory and identify the best GET solutions for the work at hand.

For more information, visit your local Cat dealer.

The Blue Diamond Parts and Accessories division, Knoxville, Tennessee, announced in August an expanded line of replacement work tool wear parts solutions for the snow removal industry. Most replacement parts and accessories are in stock and ready to ship; they can be ordered 24 hours a day from the company’s website. Parts specifically available in the snow removal space include:

• 100% Poly Broom Wafers
• Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW) Cutting Edges
• Boron Steel Cutting Edges
• Rubber Tracks (CTL and mini skid)
• Skid Shoes for Snow Blowers and Pushers

Most of the Blue Diamond offerings are universal and work across multiple manufacturer attachments.

“Snow removal can be very hard on an attachment, especially when the surface is rough or not visible to the operator,” said Darren Barnes, director of products at Blue Diamond Attachments. “When something breaks, downtime is not an option. We stock the critical parts contractors need—and most ship same day—getting that customer back up and moving snow, so they can get on to the next job.”

Blue Diamond parts and accessories come with the Blue Diamond Satisfaction Guarantee and a standard 1-year warranty (some exceptions may apply).

For more information, visit the BDA website.

As your team prepares for seasonal maintenance at the plant, take a close look at the drum. You may have to check “past” the insulation, but you’re looking for hot spots and deformations in the drum’s shell. Check especially in the central combustion area.

One way to mitigate deformations is to adjust (or shape) the burner flame. Also look to proper combustion flight design and integrity and make sure you’re using proper materials that can withstand high temperatures from different types of fuels.