Aggregates producers all over the country wake up every morning and lace up their work boots before heading to the quarry. It’s a ritual and a tradition. When you are tromping around a quarry all day, operating a machine or crawling around screening towers, you better have maximum comfort. I agreed to field test a pair of Magnum Precision Ultra…
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Construction Equipment Museum Seeks Donors
The Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) announced a Capital Campaign to construct a new 20,000-sq.-ft. home for the National Construction Equipment Museum ¬– the only public museum of its kind in the nation. The new facility, to be constructed on its existing property in Bowling Green, Ohio, will nearly triple the current museum’s display area, and will feature: A machinery hall with…
Read MoreBehold the Minerals Baby
By Mark S. Kuhar The Minerals Education Coalition (MEC) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME) has released the 2014 “Minerals Baby” graphic. Each year, the amount of minerals and energy fuels needed for the average American is incorporated into the iconic graphic. This year’s statistics reflect an increase of more than 24,000 lb. during a lifetime…
Read MoreAtlas Copco Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Atlascopcosaurus
By Mark S. Kuhar It’s not clear how the unnamed dinosaur died 100-120 million years ago, but it’s been only 30 since he finally encountered a predator he couldn’t outrun: Atlas Copco equipment. “Not every company has a dinosaur species named after it,” said Sofie Gielen, Atlas Copco’s marketing communications director, in commemorating the 30th anniversary of the discovery of…
Read MoreQuarry Night
By Mark S. Kuhar Sometimes you find art in the darndest places. Imagine my surprise when I clicked on an article posted to a snarky section of CNN’s website called “Apparently this Matters,” and was welcomed by a huge brightly colored painting of an excavator in a quarry, executed with uncanny accuracy in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. The…
Read MoreStay Out! Stay Alive!
By Mark S. Kuhar If you do a Google search on “Quarry” this time of year, you will invariably come up with a great many articles about people who have died swimming in an active or abandoned quarry. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) created “Stay Out! Stay Alive!” – a public safety campaign to educate…
Read MoreGetting Schooled in Infrastructure
By Mark S. Kuhar The “Getting Schooled in Infrastructure” school bus tour kicked off at the now-closed I-495 bridge in Wilmington, Del., with a real school bus that has been crushed and carries a prop resembling a large piece of a fallen bridge. The bus will travel through more than 22 cities and Congressional districts. The prop is part of…
Read MoreNSSGA Young Leaders: Greetings from Palm Springs
Members of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association’s (NSSGA) Young Leaders (YL) gathered at the Riviera Palm Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, Calif., in April for their annual meeting. Once again, I had the pleasure of attending such a great networking and informative event. Things kicked off with the Chairman’s Welcome and Mark S. Walsh Reception on…
Read MoreWorld’s Largest Two-Axle All-Wheel-Drive Mining Truck
The Belaz-75710 is reportedly the world’s largest mining two-axle all-wheel-drive dump truck. With weight-carrying capacity of 450 metric tons, the new vehicle rolled out of the BelAZ plant in late 2013 is being field tested as the biggest machine of its class with a record-breaking capacity. To suit the needs of the gigantic haul truck, Siemens developed a unique AC…
Read MoreDig it at Diggerland
I can’t wait to go to Diggerland! Diggerland USA will be a construction-themed adventure park where “children and their families will be able to drive, ride and operate heavy machinery in a safe family-friendly environment.” The new theme park in West Berlin, N.J., will cover 14 acres and feature more than 23 attractions, all slated for an early summer 2014…
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