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With more than 620,000 visitors from over 200 countries, bauma 2019, the world's leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment, generated the best results in the exhibition's 65-year history. The number of visitors rose by about 40,000 over the total produced during the previous event in 2016. More than 250,000 visitors came from countries outside Germany. The top 10 visitor countries after Germany were: Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland and Great Britain. The trade fair also experienced a strong increase in attendance from overseas visitors. Significant gains in this group were produced by China, Australia and Japan. More than 5,500 visitors came from China alone. The number of exhibitors totaled about 3,700 from 63 countries - likewise a record. 

The right-sized mixing system is key for drilling operations. With a redesigned, slim rectangular profile tank, the new Vermeer MX300 mixing system helps horizontal directional drilling (HDD) contractors optimize productivity and offers customizable mounting configuration options. Equipped with a 23 hp (17.2 kW) Kohler ECH 7300 EFI gas engine that outputs 350 gpm (1,324.9 Lpm) of flow, the MX300 mixing system power unit can be paired with up to two tanks at once to help decrease time spent mixing and refilling drilling fluid tanks. The unit's narrow rectangular tank design also helps maximize fluid volume, and a small footprint can help with convenient transporting and storage.

The 2019 edition of the National Heavy Equipment Show is quickly approaching this March 28 and 29  at the International Centre in Mississauga. With a sold-out show floor and thousands of visitors pre-registered, the key trade event is ready to mark its 22nd year in just three weeks' time.

HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works Company, introduced the HeatWave, an all-in-one, hot-water curing system, at the recent WWETT exposition in Indianapolis, February 21-23. The HeatWave is a field tested, user-friendly, fully integrated unit that provides for quick activation of the resin and shortened curing times. 

Vactor Manufacturing, Inc., a subsidiary of Federal Signal Corporation and a manufacturer of sewer and catch basin cleaners, jetters and industrial vacuum loaders showcased tandem- and single-axle configurations of the Vactor 2100i combination sewer cleaner at Federal Signal Environmental Solutions Group's exhibit in Indianapolis at WWETT 2019 (Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show).

Vactor Manufacturing, Inc. has announced plans to expand its Streator, IL manufacturing facility. The project is expected to increase Vactor's production capacity and add up to 90 additional jobs.

Westech Vac Systems, a provider of rugged, high-quality vacuum truck-mounted solutions, has showcased the Westech Code Combo Vac unit at Federal Signal Environmental Solution Group's exhibit in Indianapolis at WWETT 2019 (Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show).

NASTT's 2019 No-Dig Show will take place March 17-21, 2019 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The conference will host more than 200 exhibitors and over 2,000 attendees who include public works, contractors, engineers, utility owners, damage prevention and industrial facility personnel.

Excavation of Turkey's longest water tunnel came to an end on December 18, 2018. To get there, a 5.56 m (18.2 ft) diameter Robbins Crossover (XRE) TBM and the contractor JV of Kolin/Limak had to overcome dozens of major fault zones and water pressures up to 26 bar. The completed national priority water line is set to go into operation in March 2019.

Mack Trucks will demonstrate its focus on application excellence with two specialized Mack Granite models on display during the 2019 Waste & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show Feb. 21-24 at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis.

HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works Company, has announced its exclusive Bluelight™ LED system is now available in North America. Already proven in Europe and Russia, the Bluelight system is a Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining system that cures up to five times faster than conventional methods. Made for laterals and small sewer pipes 4 to 10" in diameter, this exclusive technology greatly reduces the time installers must wait for a liner to cure, allowing them to complete jobs more quickly.

A new chapter in the life of an established company is beginning for Thompson Pump & Mfg. Co. following the sale of their rental assets and related operations to the Fluid Solutions Group of industry leader United Rentals. Having divested itself from the direct rental business, Thompson Pump plans to invest in and grow its pump manufacturing operations - the core business that has made Thompson Pump an iconic brand in the industry. 

GSSI, the world's leading manufacturer of ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, is pleased to announce the hiring of Adam Mercer as Application Specialist, responsible for British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. Jan Kesik has helped to develop the Canadian territory for the past five years and will continue to serve Eastern Canada. Kesik states, "I'm thrilled to have Adam join the Canadian sales team. I'm confident that Adam's wealth of experience in a variety of industries and geophysical roles will help GSSI continue to lead the GPR industry." 

The Toro Company will acquire privately-held Charles Machine Works, Inc., the parent company of Ditch Witch and several other leading brands in the underground construction market. The purchase price is $700 million in cash subject to certain adjustments set forth in the definitive agreement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is currently anticipated to close before the end of Toro's fiscal 2019 third quarter. 

Doosan Portable Power has introduced the P250/HP210 Tier 4 Final portable air compressor. The "two-in-one" model delivers the pressure and flow typically supplied by two units in a single air compressor. The P250/HP210 is the only air compressor on the market to offer 210 cfm high-pressure mode.

multiVIEW Locates Inc. (multiVIEW), a leading professional services firm that specializes in utility locating, announced the 30th anniversary of the company's inception. For the past three decades, multiVIEW has supported safe construction practices throughout the province by offering a diverse range of services that include Private & Public Locating, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), CCTV Sewer Inspection, Concrete Scanning, Hydro Vacuum Excavation, Ticket Screening and Near-Surface Geophysics. 

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology Canadian Chapters (NASTT-NW, NASTT-GLSA and NASTT-BC) are excited to bring the first annual No-Dig North Show to the Calgary Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on October 28-30, 2019.

HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works Company, have announced their new product intros for the 2019 WWETT show in Indianapolis February 21-23. Visitors to their booth #5206 will be able to see their all-new QuickLok inversion drums along with new cam-locking nozzle adaptors. 

Vactor Manufacturing, Inc., a subsidiary of Federal Signal Corporation, has announced the introduction of TRUVAC, a brand of premium vacuum excavator trucks designed specifically to satisfy the safe-digging requirements of businesses or organizations that locate and verify underground utility lines and pipes. The TRUVAC brand will focus on vacuum excavation, while the Vactor brand will continue to focus on equipment solutions for cleaning and maintaining sewers and catch basins.

Radius HDD and American Augers, both Charles Machine Works Companies, have announced a partnership that will allow Radius HDD to warehouse American Augers sections and cutter heads in its Weatherford, Texas, facility. The move is in response to the tremendous amount of underground construction work being done in the Lone Star State.

Long before a single load is booked or any wheels turn, someone - usually a fleet manager - needs to determine exactly what is going to separate the road and the load. There's a lot riding on this decision because, as much as some would like to think otherwise, a trailer is never just a trailer. It can be manufactured to many different specifications, with multiple raw material options, dozens of load and geographical considerations, various top speed requirements and hundreds of possible axle configurations coming into play. And it all comes down to one objective - the ideal trailer for an operation's specific loads.

In the popular North American pickup truck market, 2019's model year has brought a variety of updates to the lighter end of the spectrum while work goes on to update and relaunch heavier-duty trucks in coming years. Both full-sized and midsized pickups have received plenty of improvements, however, with a little bit of everything coming to the table.

The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA) applauds the Ford Government's action to make bidding on publicly-funded construction contracts open to all qualified companies. For too long, some very competent contractors have been shut out of publicly-funded project work in their local communities. The government's action today will bring a much greater degree of fairness to procurement processes across the province. 

When it comes to the top brands, many people believe all excavators are the same. Volvo excavators are anything but — and we have the numbers to prove it. Check out our impressive bottom line results:

• Up to 15% more tons per hour
• Up to 20% lower cost per ton
• Moving to new jobs three weeks faster

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) will host Forum 2019: The Changing World of Work, March 5-6, 2019, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. CCOHS' Forum is a unique event that will bring together leaders, change-makers, and subject experts representing government, labour, and workplaces to share their knowledge and experience around current and emerging health and safety issues. The event will focus on the workplace of today and tomorrow, in which accommodation, diversity, and inclusivity are not just nice-to-haves, but a must for any organization. 

HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works Company, of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, USA, and Per Aarsleff Pipe Technology, of Aarhus, Denmark, have signed a long-term, strategic partnership agreement that includes plans for HammerHead to produce and distribute the Bluelight LED Curing System for Cured-In-Place pipe (CIPP) to markets outside of Europe and Russia.

Vermeer Corporation has announced its purchase of Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC, and its plans to bring the Florida-based company together with McLaughlin Group, Inc. which was purchased by Vermeer in 2017. This acquisition and integration of the two companies builds on the Vermeer strategy to provide a comprehensive suite of vacuum excavation technology, equipment, training and support to the growing underground utility and soft dig markets.

The first class of contractors to graduate from HammerHead University, the world's most advanced trenchless technique learning centre, received manufacturer certification after three days of hands-on, guided instruction. The training facilities and curricula had been officially announced as fully operational at the Lake Mills, Wisconsin, headquarters of HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works company, during its annual August sales meeting.

Representing a continuation of 20 years of innovation in the compact utility loader (CUL) equipment category, Toro introduces the all-new Toro Dingo TXL 2000. The latest model features telescoping arms to allow the TXL 2000 to reach over obstacles, dig below grade, and generally extend the operator's working range. This equipment solution consolidates the benefits of several machines into one to perform a variety of tasks on the jobsite.

The North American Society for Trenchless Technology Canadian Chapters are bringing the 2019 No-Dig North Show to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, October 28–30, 2019.

The reputation of the compact excavator has been significantly bolstered in recent years due to their growing versatility and the range of options available for these machines. As hydraulic capabilities improve, the scope of these machines' capabilities has moved beyond earthmoving in cramped quarters and on small jobs. The compact excavator has become a multifunctional machine that can meet a variety of needs, from flail mowing to precision excavating. 

During the weekend of October 20th, Sanexen Water, Inc., a member of the LOGISTEC family, successfully completed major repairs in the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City with minimal impact. When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) began planning repairs and upgrades to Route 495 and the Lincoln Tunnel, one of the requirements was to repair two cast iron cement-encased water main sections at each end of the tunnel that supply water for fire prevention.  Sanexen Water was selected for its unparalleled expertise and its innovative Aqua-Pipe trenchless technology, to repair these aging water mains while other construction work was in progress. New trenchless technology is used for the replacement or rehabilitation of existing underground infrastructure with minimal excavation and disruption to surface traffic. 

CUES has developed a new lightweight, portable, wireless digital video inspection pole camera that can be operated by one person. The new QuickZoom III (QZIII) camera is designed to provide cable-free safe-viewing in industrial or environmental areas with no man entry. Perform swift inspections and surveys of pipelines, wet wells, manholes, sewer treatment plants, steam generators, tanks, vessels, and other areas that are difficult to reach. QZIII can also be used to locate lateral services or to identify blockages at manholes, access ports, or other entry points without entering the line or structure.

Rock Underground, located in the city of Greenfield, MN, is an expert in utility work and exclusively uses Vac-Tron units for locating underground utilities.  "All we run is Vac-Tron, every crew we have runs a Vac-Tron model," says Adam Rock, Founder of Rock Underground.

On October 4, 2018, onlookers watched as a 3.8 m (12.5 ft) diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM completed its epic journey. The TBM, christened "Driller Mike", after local rapper and activist "Killer Mike", overcame extremely hard rock conditions along a curving 8.0 km (5.0 mi) tunnel to bolster the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA's water supply. 

Traditional methods for trenching on asphalt or concrete roads require trucking away chunks of asphalt and concrete after it has been cut, and then obtaining additional material to backfill the trench to complete the work. The Tigercat T726G street trencher is an ingenious machine that eliminates those steps.

More than 50 percent of reported underground utility damages are the result of insufficient excavation practices according to the 2017 DIRT Report. The Ditch Witch organization, a Charles Machine Works Company, has introduced an industry-first Virtual Reality (VR) Simulator to better prepare horizontal directional drill (HDD) operators for safe underground construction through cutting-edge training technology. 

Cat machines, engines, generator sets and work tools will soon have a new look. Caterpillar is replacing the current "Power Edge" trade dress (Cat trademark on a black background accented with a diagonal red bar) with a fresh new graphic design called "Cat Modern Hex." The Cat Modern Hex design combines the traditional Cat trademark and product model names with a bold, three-dimensional red hexagon and grille pattern. The red color is a throwback to the graphics used on the company's very first crawler tractors in 1925.

CUES has developed a new pipeline inspection tool designed to significantly reduce unplanned downtime. The CUES REDI (Remote Evaluation Diagnostic Inspection) Kit is the first pipeline inspection troubleshooting kit available on the market today designed to help diagnose electrical issues, allowing for quicker and more accurate troubleshooting and repairs of problems while in the field. The release of this new product reflects CUES continuing commitment to offer the best customer support services in the business.