Italy Dominates in Crushning Buckets New Core Drills ... - PDWorld

World of Concrete
vendors and attendees
keep a brave
face despite uncertain
times. Much the way
celebrities and average
citizens alike
have used Las Vegas
as a springboard for
reinventing themselves,
WOC may want
to consider adopting a
new slogan: size isn’t
everything.
The dual-head floor
grinder, 1500 ixT, from HTC Sweden.
16 PDi • Is s u e 1 - 2009 • Fe b - Ma r c h
The 2009 edition of the US construction industry’s premier
annual trade show saw a 23% drop in attendance from last
year, with most of the blame directed at the global economic
upheaval that has slowed or halted building activity in nearly
every market sector.
The decision-makers came
But although the 65,287 who attended WOC may not match
previous shows, they were, for the most part, the people that the
concrete cutting, demolition and floor prep industry vendors
wanted to see. “These are the decision-makers, the people who
have needs and are ready to buy,” observed Greg Smith of Allied
Construction Products, which was showing its TotalBreakerBits
line of replacement tools for hydraulic hammers. Smith added
that while many organizations may have been unable to afford
dispatching large contingents to Las Vegas, industry vendors
couldn’t afford to stay away. “It’s important to be here and be
noticed regardless of the turnout,” he said. “If you’re invisible or
pull back, no one will remember you when they are in position
to buy new equipment.”
Many exhibitors chose a more austere approach to telling
their stories, even though exhibition space was only 2% off 2008’s
total. “The one-upmanship among vendors isn’t here, something
that is probably long overdue,” said Stihl sales representative
Hugh Munn.
And while vendors may have come to WOC 2009
with lowered expectations, a hopeful worker at Stanley Tools
aptly observed that, “we just need that one visitor to make it
all worthwhile.”
A field day for concrete floors
WOC’s attendance may have been down, but the proportion
of concrete floor grinding and preparation equipment was substantially
higher. Among the many products vying for attendees’
attention were DITEQ’s 762mm and 660mm planetary floor
preparation and polishing system, SASE Company’s EDGE
Pro 180 variable-speed edger with pivoting wheels,
Terrco, Inc.’s direct-drive edger with adjustable
depth-setting rollers, and HTC’s dual-head 1500
ixT ride-on grinder.
Blastrac continued to boost the profile of its
US built Diamatic line with products such as the
584mm BMGP 600-R grinder, which uses the
company’s point of development technology to collect
dust and debris through the machine, resulting
in a cleaner work path and cooler diamond and
polishing heads. “POD offers benefits on many
different levels, such as cleaner, healthier work
environments, longer tool life and reduced labour
and equipment costs,” says
Blastrac spokesman Jason
Root.
The proliferation of
floor preparation and polishing
equipment comes
as no surprise to ON-
FLOOR Technologies,
Tom Francis.
“It’s all part of the
industry’s current green
consciousness,” said ON-
FLOOR Technologies
Floor grinders from US company SASE.
representative Tom Francis. “On 90% of industrial floors, the
surfaces are man made and will ultimately end up in landfills.
Polished concrete floors eliminate the need for chemicals to
clean crevasses and improve reflectivity, which cuts energy costs,
improves employee health, and makes for a brighter, more inviting
environment.”
Concrete polishing also presents opportunities to apply
alternative energy sources, such as propane, which powers Eagle
Solutions’ EnviroPro WA27 burnisher, and Concrete Polishing
Technologies’ 27-hp aluminium-bodied G320 PRO grinder.
CPT vice president Dave Padgett said that although a lot of
companies are jumping into the surface preparation market, the
ones who will make it are more in touch with needs of contractor
and their customers’ market trends. They are also the ones
who know how to provide smaller contractors with technical
support.
Greater awareness of risks with dust
More grinding of floors and other surface types also means more
dust to control. Dust Collection Products president John Buser
said that awareness across the industry of silicosis and associated
health risks is growing, albeit slowly. “Many contractors just don’t
realize that silicosis has cumulative effects, and that they need to
be consistent about protective measures,” said Buser. “OSHA’s
involvement has put pressure on contractors to take action, and
we’re gradually seeing more interest in things that will help.”
Dust control solutions on display at WOC ranged from KHK
Diamond Products’ polycrystalline diamond blades for reducing
material to larger chunks, to Dustless Technology’s ToolSynch
mechanism for remotely operating its vacuums, providing convenience
and energy savings as well as improved productivity.
Dust Control Technology also featured its new DustBoss DB-45
mid-range sprayer, which can control dust and odour particulates
across an area of 1,115m 2 .
Metabo Corporation executive vice
president Dave Smith said that contractors
should also be thinking about protecting
their workers from excess vibration from
grinders, hammers, and other equipment.
“Though not yet a major concern in the
US, it is very big in Europe where EU
regulations are already in place,” says
Smith. “But contractors will soon have
US manufacturer Blastrac made a
strong promotion of their floor grinding
machine brand Diamatic.