Asphalt industry news from around the globe.

Ireland

ALLU Group of Finland announced during Ireland’s Construction & Quarrying Machinery Show in April that Powerscreen Ireland is to be its new distributor throughout Ireland.

Portugal

ASM Industries, based in Portugal and a key-player in the field of renewable energy, has selected Pemamek Ltd. of Finland to provide turnkey automated welding and production solutions for manufacturing tubular structures for offshore foundations.

United States

The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) latest Ready Results explores the Life-Cycle Cost Estimation Tool (LCCET), which is a spreadsheet-based tool for comparing the life-cycle costs of alternative designs for new and existing intersections. The tool is designed to allow engineers to conduct analyses across different system configurations. Conducting these analyses helps agencies identify locations where alternatives to traffic signals may be safer and less costly while also improving traffic flow. Visit http://www.trb.org/main/blurbs/176142.aspx to view the pdf.

Georgia

FAE USA Inc., located in Flowery Branch, Georgia, selected singer/songwriter Edwin McCain as its spokesman. The company is the U.S. subsidiary of FAE Group, which manufactures machinery for land clearing, road construction and more.

Illinois

Deere & Company, Moline, Illinois, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Wirtgen Group, a privately-held international company headquartered in Germany that manufactures road construction equipment. The purchase price for the equity is EUR 4.357 billion in an all-cash transaction. The total transaction value is approximately EUR 4.6 billion (USD 5.2 billion based on exchange rates at press time), including the assumption of net debt and other consideration. Wirtgen Group has five premium brands across the entire road construction sector spanning milling, processing, mixing, paving, compaction and rehabilitation. The portfolio enhances Deere’s existing construction equipment offering as the company plans to maintain Wirtgen Group’s existing brands, management, manufacturing footprint, employees and distribution network.

Kansas

Bergkamp Inc., Salina, Kansas, announced in May this is its 40-year anniversary as a global manufacturer of pavement preservation equipment. The company was established in 1977 by Mel and Marjorie Bergkamp, and will commemorate the occasion with a number of educational and promotional events throughout the rest of the year.

Maryland

The National Asphalt Pavement Association, Lanham, Maryland, summarized in its June 5 ActionNews the President’s industry-relevant fiscal year 2018 budget request as follows:

“On May 23, the White House sent its FY 2018 budget request to Congress. The budget request includes $76 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). In total, this is roughly the same funding level as FY 2016. The FY 2018 budget request also includes an initial $5 billion to support President Donald Trump’s 10-year infrastructure initiative. Made as an unspecified request, the budget request indicates that the initial $5 billion will grow to $50 billion by 2021, and then decrease through 2028.

“For surface transportation, programs funded from the Highway Trust Fund would be fully funded, consistent with FAST Act authorized spending for FY 2018. The budget proposes an end to Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, along with significant cuts to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grant program, shifting funding responsibilities for transit projects to the local level.”

Missouri

Your AsphaltPro staff, Fayette, Missouri, has teamed up with hall-of-famer industry consultant John S. Ball III of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire, to bring you an online training course for each member of your asphalt paving crew. Get lessons for best equipment operation, proper morning startup, building the launch pad, figuring yield, safety tips and more. This course is designed to give new crew members the basics they need, and to give veteran employees a refresher on best practices, all to improve your company’s quality output. Your purchase of the course gives you lifetime access on any device at any time to train any number of employees. Check out free previews of lessons or get started by clicking the green “enroll” button at http://training.theasphaltpro.com/p/asphalt-paving-101.

Ohio

The third annual Construction Angels NE Ohio golf tournament takes place Aug. 25 at Fowler’s Mill Golf Course in Chesterfield. Visit www.constructionangels.us for registration info.

Oregon
Viewpoint Construction Software of Portland, Oregon, has teamed up with BKD LLP and FMI Corporation to perform deep research into construction productivity issues. The lag in global construction productivity has been estimated at as much as $1.2 trillion annually. Improving productivity by 10 to 20 percent could make a huge impact on the construction economy, providing more funding and resources for critical infrastructure projects. Source: Viewpoint Construction Software

South Carolina
As of June, Fabian Salinas is the vice president of sales for North America for Dynapac North America LLC, Rock Hills, South Carolina, and will lead sales efforts for the complete Dynapac product portfolio across the region. Jamie Roush is vice president of aftermarket and product support for North America as of July and will be responsible for growing the Dynapac aftermarket segment.

Texas
Travis Body & Trailer, based in Houston, Texas, announces it has added Florida Utility Trailers Inc. of Apopka, Florida, to its network in North America.

Washington, D.C.
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for April was $7.9 billion. This is up 8 percent year-over-year from new business volume in April 2016. Volume was down 11 percent month-to-month from $8.9 billion in March. Year to date, cumulative new business volume was up 5 percent compared to 2016. Source: ELFA
The National Hispanic Construction Association (NHCA) held its 2017 legislative summit in Washington, D.C., June 6 and 7 to not only honor the leaders who embody the ideals of diversity, minority contracting inclusion and small business mentoring, but also to discuss the state of the Hispanic construction marketplace and meet with legislators on The Hill.