Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.
Heavy equipment has been used since at least the 1st century BC, when the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius described a crane powered by human or animal labor in De architectura.
Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine that multiplies the ratio between input force applied and force exerted, easing and speeding tasks which often could otherwise take hundreds of people and many weeks' labor. Some such equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion.
The word plant, in this context, has come to mean any type of industrial equipment, including mobile equipment (e.g. in the same sense as powerplant). However, plant originally meant "structure" or "establishment" – usually in the sense of factory or warehouse premises; as such, it was used in contradistinction to movable machinery, often in the phrase "plant and equipment".
History
The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius (1st century BCE) gave descriptions of heavy equipment and cranes in ancient Rome in his treatise De architectura. The pile driver was invented around 1500. The first tunnelling shield was patented by Marc Isambard Brunel in 1818.
From horses, through steam and diesel, to electric and robotic
Until the 19th century and into the early 20th century heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power. With the advent of portable steam-powered engines the drawn machine precursors were reconfigured with the new engines, such as the combine harvester. The design of a core tractor evolved around the new steam power source into a new machine core traction engine, that can be configured as the steam tractor and the steamroller. During the 20th century, internal-combustion engines became the major power source of heavy equipment. Kerosene and ethanol engines were used, but today diesel engines are dominant. Mechanical transmission was in many cases replaced by hydraulic machinery. The early 20th century also saw new electric-powered machines such as the forklift. Caterpillar Inc. is a present-day brand from these days, starting out as the Holt Manufacturing Company. The first mass-produced heavy machine was the Fordson tractor in 1917.
The first commercial continuous track vehicle was the 1901 Lombard Steam Log Hauler. The use of tracks became popular for tanks during World War I, and later for civilian machinery like the bulldozer. The largest engineering vehicles and mobile land machines are bucket-wheel excavators, built since the 1920s.
Until almost the twentieth century, one simple tool constituted the primary earthmoving machine: the hand shovel—moved with animal and human powered, sleds, barges, and wagons. This tool was the principal method by which material was either sidecast or elevated to load a conveyance, usually a wheelbarrow, or a cart or wagon drawn by a draft animal. In antiquity, an equivalent of the hand shovel or hoe and head basket—and masses of men—were used to move earth to build civil works. Builders have long used the inclined plane, levers, and pulleys to place solid building materials, but these labor-saving devices did not lend themselves to earthmoving, which required digging, raising, moving, and placing loose materials. The two elements required for mechanized earthmoving, then as now, were an independent power source and off-road mobility, neither of which could be provided by the technology of that time.
Container cranes were used from the 1950s and onwards, and made containerization possible.
Nowadays such is the importance of this machinery, some transport companies have developed specific equipment to transport heavy construction equipment to and from sites.
Most of the major equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Volvo, Liebherr, and Bobcat have released or have been developing fully or partially electric-powered heavy equipment. Commercially-available models and R&D models were announced in 2019 and 2020.
Robotics and autonomy has been a growing concern for heavy equipment manufacturers with manufacturers beginning research and technology acquisition. A number of companies are currently developing (Caterpillar and Bobcat) or have launched (Built Robotics) commercial solutions to the market.
Types
These subdivisions, in this order, are the standard heavy equipment categorization.
Tractor
- Bulldozer (dozer, track dozer)
- Snowcat
- Snowplow
- Skidder
- Tractor (wheel tractor)
- Track tractor
- Locomotive
- Artillery tractor
- Crawler-transporter
- Military engineering vehicles
Grader
- Grader
Excavator
- Amphibious excavator
- Compact excavator
- Dragline excavator
- Dredger
- Bucket-wheel excavator
- Excavator (digger)
- Long reach excavator
- Power shovel
- Reclaimer
- Suction excavator
- Walking excavator
- Trencher
- Yarder
Backhoe
- Backhoe
- Backhoe loader
Timber
- Feller buncher
- Harvester
- Forwarder
- Skidder
- Power saw
- Track harvester
- Wheel forwarder
- Wheel skidder
Pipelayer
- Pipelayer (sideboom)
Scraper
- Fresno scraper
- Scraper
- Wheel tractor-scraper (belly scraper)
Mining
- Construction and mining tractor
- Construction and mining truck
- Dumper
- Dump truck
- Haul truck
- Mining equipment
Articulated
- Articulated hauler
Compactor
- Wheel dozer (soil compactor)
- Soil stabilizer
Loader
- Loader (payloader, front loader, wheel loader, integrated tool carrier)
- Skip loader (skippy)
Track loader
- Track loader
Skid-steer loader
- Skid-steer loader
Material handler
- Aerial work platform, Lift table
- Crane
- Block-setting crane
- Bulk-handling crane
- Crane vessel
- Aerial crane
- Container crane
- Gantry crane
- Overhead crane
- Electric overhead traveling crane
- Ring crane
- Level luffing crane
- Mobile crane
- Travel lift
- Forklift
- Garbage truck
- Grapple truck, Knuckleboom loader (trailer mount)
- Straddle carrier
- Sidelifter
- Reach stacker
- Telescopic handlers
- Tow truck
Paving
- Asphalt paver
- Asphalt plant
- Cold planer
- Cure rig
- Paver
- Pavement milling
- Pneumatic tire compactor
- Roller (road roller, roller compactor)
- Slipform paver
- Vibratory compactor, Compactor
Underground
- Roadheader
- Tunnel boring machine
- Underground mining equipment
Hydromatic tool
- Ballast tamper
- Attachments
- Drilling rig
- Horizontal directional drilling
- Earth auger
- Pile driver
- Post pounder
- Rotary tiller (rototiller, rotovator)
Hydraulic machinery
Highway
- Tractor unit
- Ballast tractor
- Pushback tractor
- Railcar mover
- Highway 10 yard rear dump
- Highway bottom dump (stiff), pup (belly train), triple
- Highway end dump and side dump
- Highway transfer, Transfer train
- Concrete mixer
- Concrete mix truck
- Concrete mix dozer
- Lowboy (trailer)
- Street sweeper
- Street sweep truck
- Street sweep dozer
Images
-
The Caterpillar D10N bulldozer evolved from tracked-type tractors and is characterized by a steel blade attached to the front that is used to push other equipment and construction materials, such as earth. -
The bucket excavator Komatsu PC210-LC. -
The wheel trencher MARAIS SMC 200 R. -
Iron bar reinforced foundation piles are driven with a drilling machine, concrete pump, mixer-truck, and a specialized auger that allows pumping concrete through its axis while withdrawn. -
Fixed crane in a coal mine in Germany -
Caterpillar D9L bulldozer, excavators and other heavy equipment vehicles parked near a quarry in Israel -
Bucket wheel excavators in Garzweiler surface mine, Germany -
Wheel loader -
Grader cleaning and leveling -
Heavy duty excavator with large bucket equipped. -
Landfill compactor (tamping tip) -
Komatsu Dozer pushing coal on the job site -
A wheeled front loader tractor equipped with a large bucket elevated by hydraulic rams. -
Folded conveyor on a tracked grinder
- Military engineering vehicles
-
The militarized Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer allows for earthmoving projects in a combat environment. In the picture: IDF Caterpillar D9R. -
-
Military scraper -
PiPz Dachs armoured engineering vehicle of the German Army (2008) -
Temporary roads deployment complex during the "Armiya 2021" exhibition
Implements and hydromechanical work tools
- auger
- backhoe
- bale spear
- broom
- bulldozer blade
- clam shell bucket
- cold plane
- demolition shears
- equipment bucket
- excavator bucket
- forks
- grapple
- hydraulic hammer, hoe ram
- hydraulics
- hydraulic tilting bucket (4-in-1)
- landscape tiller
- material handling arm
- mechanical pulverizer, crusher
- multi processor
- pavement removal bucket
- pile driver
- power take-off (PTO)
- quick coupler
- rake
- ripper
- rotating grab
- sheep's foot compactor
- skeleton bucket
- snow blower
- stump grinder
- stump shear
- thumb
- tiltrotator
- trencher
- vibratory plate compactor
- wheel saw
Traction: Off-the-road tires and tracks
Heavy equipment requires specialized tires for various construction applications. While many types of equipment have continuous tracks applicable to more severe service requirements, tires are used where greater speed or mobility is required. An understanding of what equipment will be used for during the life of the tires is required for proper selection. Tire selection can have a significant impact on production and unit cost. There are three types of off-the-road tires, transport for earthmoving machines, work for slow moving earthmoving machines, and load and carry for transporting as well as digging. Off-highway tires have six categories of service C compactor, E earthmover, G grader, L loader, LS log-skidder and ML mining and logging. Within these service categories are various tread types designed for use on hard-packed surface, soft surface and rock. Tires are a large expense on any construction project, careful consideration should be given to prevent excessive wear or damage.
Heavy equipment operator
A heavy equipment operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects. Typically only skilled workers may operate heavy equipment, and there is specialized training for learning to use heavy equipment.
Much publication about heavy equipment operators focuses on improving safety for such workers. The field of occupational medicine researches and makes recommendations about safety for these and other workers in safety-sensitive positions.
Equipment cost
Due to the small profit margins on construction projects it is important to maintain accurate records concerning equipment utilization, repairs and maintenance. The two main categories of equipment costs are ownership cost and operating cost.
Ownership cost
To classify as an ownership cost an expense must have been incurred regardless of if the equipment is used or not. These costs are as follows:
- purchase expense
- salvage value
- tax savings from depreciation
- major repairs and overhauls
- property taxes
- insurance
- storage
Depreciation can be calculated several ways, the simplest is the straight-line method. The annual depreciation is constant, reducing the equipment value annually. The following are simple equations paraphrased from the Peurifoy & Schexnayder text:
| m = some year in the future N = equipment useful life (years) and Dn = Annual depreciation amount
Book value (BV) in year m
| example: N = 5 purchase price = $350,000 m = 3 years from now
|
Operating cost
For an expense to be classified as an operating cost, it must be incurred through use of the equipment. These costs are as follows:
|
|
|
The biggest distinction from a cost standpoint is if a repair is classified as a major repair or a minor repair. A major repair can change the depreciable equipment value due to an extension in service life, while a minor repair is normal maintenance. How a firm chooses to cost major and minor repairs vary from firm to firm depending on the costing strategies being used. Some firms will charge only major repairs to the equipment while minor repairs are costed to a project. Another common costing strategy is to cost all repairs to the equipment and only frequently replaced wear items are excluded from the equipment cost. Many firms keep their costing structure closely guarded[citation needed] as it can impact the bidding strategies of their competition. In a company with multiple semi-independent divisions, the equipment department often wants to classify all repairs as "minor" and charge the work to a job – therefore improving their 'profit' from the equipment.
Models
Die-cast metal promotional scale models of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers. These are typically in 1:50 scale. The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad and NZG in Germany, even for US vehicles.
Notable manufacturers
The largest 10 heavy equipment manufacturers in 2022
| No. | Company | Country | Sales (billion USD) | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caterpillar |  United States | 37,5 | 16.3% |
| 2 | Komatsu |  Japan | 24,7 | 10.7% |
| 3 | XCMG |  China | 13,4 | 5.8% |
| 4 | John Deere | United States | 12,5 | 5.4% |
| 5 | Sany | China | 11,9 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Volvo Construction Equipment |  Sweden | 9,9 | 4.3% |
| 7 | Liebherr |  Switzerland | 9,9 | 4.3% |
| 8 | Hitachi Construction Machinery | Japan | 9,2 | 4.0% |
| 9 | Sandvik | Sweden | 7,8 | 3.4% |
| 10 | JCB |  United Kingdom | 7,0 | 3.0% |
Other manufacturers include:
- Anhui Heli
- Atlas Copco
- BEML Limited
- Bobcat Company
- Case Construction Equipment
- Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant
- CNH Global
- Demag
- Fiat-Allis
- HEPCO
- HIAB
- Hidromek
- Hyundai Heavy Industries
- Ingersoll Rand
- Kubota
- Kobelco
- LiuGong
- MARAIS
- Navistar International Corporation
- NCK
- New Holland
- Track Marshall
- Orenstein and Koppel GmbH (O&K)
- Paccar
- Poclain
- Rototilt
- Shantui
- ST Kinetics
- Takeuchi Manufacturing
- Wacker Neuson
- Yanmar
- Zoomlion
See also
- Associated Equipment Distributors, the trade association for heavy equipment distributors
- Construction equipment theft
- Non-road engine
References
- Haycraft, William R. (2011). "History of Construction Equipment". Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 137 (10): 720–723. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000374.
- Lambert, Fred (January 29, 2019). "Caterpillar unveils an all-electric 26-ton excavator with a giant 300 kWh battery pack". Electrek. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- McLoud, Don (April 24, 2020). "Volvo CE gets $2M grant to test electric excavator, loader in California". Equipment World. Randall-Reilly. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- Gruver Doyle, Marcia (November 18, 2019). "Liebherr's prototype battery-powered LB 16 drilling rig has 10-hour run time (VIDEO)". Equipment World. Randall-Reilly. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- Rubenstone, Jeff (June 5, 2019). "Construction Equipment Goes Electric, But Hurdles Remain". Engineering News-Record. BNP Media. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- "Caterpillar Announces Acquisition of Robotic Expertise" (Press release). Caterpillar. June 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Outlook Handbook
- V. J. Davies, Ken Tomasin (1996). Construction Safety Handbook. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-2519-X.
- Peurifoy & Schexnayder "Construction Planning Equipment, and Methods" McGraw Hill 6th edition ISBN 0-07-232176-8, 2002.
- Bartholomew, S.H. "Estimating and Bidding for Heavy Construction" CSU Chico, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-598327-4, 2000
- "Heavy Equipment parts catalog". AGA Parts. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- "Construction equipment manufacturers: world equipment sales". Statista. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
External links
Media related to Heavy equipment at Wikimedia Commons
Heavy equipment heavy machinery earthmovers construction vehicles or construction equipment refers to heavy duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems the implement traction structure power train and control information Heavy equipment vehicles of various types parked near a highway construction site Heavy equipment has been used since at least the 1st century BC when the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius described a crane powered by human or animal labor in De architectura Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine that multiplies the ratio between input force applied and force exerted easing and speeding tasks which often could otherwise take hundreds of people and many weeks labor Some such equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion The word plant in this context has come to mean any type of industrial equipment including mobile equipment e g in the same sense as powerplant However plant originally meant structure or establishment usually in the sense of factory or warehouse premises as such it was used in contradistinction to movable machinery often in the phrase plant and equipment HistoryWheel Loaders and other industrial trucks parked The use of heavy equipment has a long history the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius 1st century BCE gave descriptions of heavy equipment and cranes in ancient Rome in his treatise De architectura The pile driver was invented around 1500 The first tunnelling shield was patented by Marc Isambard Brunel in 1818 From horses through steam and diesel to electric and robotic Horse drawn Fresno scraper digging water supply ditchA portable engine a precursor to modern engineering vehiclesAn early gasoline powered tractorHeavy equipment circa 1922 Until the 19th century and into the early 20th century heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power With the advent of portable steam powered engines the drawn machine precursors were reconfigured with the new engines such as the combine harvester The design of a core tractor evolved around the new steam power source into a new machine core traction engine that can be configured as the steam tractor and the steamroller During the 20th century internal combustion engines became the major power source of heavy equipment Kerosene and ethanol engines were used but today diesel engines are dominant Mechanical transmission was in many cases replaced by hydraulic machinery The early 20th century also saw new electric powered machines such as the forklift Caterpillar Inc is a present day brand from these days starting out as the Holt Manufacturing Company The first mass produced heavy machine was the Fordson tractor in 1917 The first commercial continuous track vehicle was the 1901 Lombard Steam Log Hauler The use of tracks became popular for tanks during World War I and later for civilian machinery like the bulldozer The largest engineering vehicles and mobile land machines are bucket wheel excavators built since the 1920s Until almost the twentieth century one simple tool constituted the primary earthmoving machine the hand shovel moved with animal and human powered sleds barges and wagons This tool was the principal method by which material was either sidecast or elevated to load a conveyance usually a wheelbarrow or a cart or wagon drawn by a draft animal In antiquity an equivalent of the hand shovel or hoe and head basket and masses of men were used to move earth to build civil works Builders have long used the inclined plane levers and pulleys to place solid building materials but these labor saving devices did not lend themselves to earthmoving which required digging raising moving and placing loose materials The two elements required for mechanized earthmoving then as now were an independent power source and off road mobility neither of which could be provided by the technology of that time Container cranes were used from the 1950s and onwards and made containerization possible Nowadays such is the importance of this machinery some transport companies have developed specific equipment to transport heavy construction equipment to and from sites Most of the major equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar Volvo Liebherr and Bobcat have released or have been developing fully or partially electric powered heavy equipment Commercially available models and R amp D models were announced in 2019 and 2020 Robotics and autonomy has been a growing concern for heavy equipment manufacturers with manufacturers beginning research and technology acquisition A number of companies are currently developing Caterpillar and Bobcat or have launched Built Robotics commercial solutions to the market TypesThese subdivisions in this order are the standard heavy equipment categorization Tractor Bulldozer dozer track dozer Snowcat Snowplow Skidder Tractor wheel tractor Track tractor Locomotive Artillery tractor Crawler transporter Military engineering vehicles Grader Grader Excavator Amphibious excavator Compact excavator Dragline excavator Dredger Bucket wheel excavator Excavator digger Long reach excavator Power shovel Reclaimer Suction excavator Walking excavator Trencher Yarder Backhoe Backhoe Backhoe loader Timber Feller buncher Harvester Forwarder Skidder Power saw Track harvester Wheel forwarder Wheel skidder Pipelayer Pipelayer sideboom Scraper Fresno scraper Scraper Wheel tractor scraper belly scraper Mining Construction and mining tractor Construction and mining truck Dumper Dump truck Haul truck Mining equipment Articulated Articulated hauler Compactor Wheel dozer soil compactor Soil stabilizer Loader Loader payloader front loader wheel loader integrated tool carrier Skip loader skippy Track loader Track loader Skid steer loader Skid steer loader Material handler Aerial work platform Lift table Crane Block setting crane Bulk handling crane Crane vessel Aerial crane Container crane Gantry crane Overhead crane Electric overhead traveling crane Ring crane Level luffing crane Mobile crane Travel lift Forklift Garbage truck Grapple truck Knuckleboom loader trailer mount Straddle carrier Sidelifter Reach stacker Telescopic handlers Tow truck Paving Asphalt paver Asphalt plant Cold planer Cure rig Paver Pavement milling Pneumatic tire compactor Roller road roller roller compactor Slipform paver Vibratory compactor Compactor Underground Roadheader Tunnel boring machine Underground mining equipment Hydromatic tool Ballast tamper Attachments Drilling rig Horizontal directional drilling Earth auger Pile driver Post pounder Rotary tiller rototiller rotovator Hydraulic machinery Highway Tractor unit Ballast tractor Pushback tractor Railcar mover Highway 10 yard rear dump Highway bottom dump stiff pup belly train triple Highway end dump and side dump Highway transfer Transfer train Concrete mixer Concrete mix truck Concrete mix dozer Lowboy trailer Street sweeper Street sweep truck Street sweep dozer Images The Caterpillar D10N bulldozer evolved from tracked type tractors and is characterized by a steel blade attached to the front that is used to push other equipment and construction materials such as earth The bucket excavator Komatsu PC210 LC The wheel trencher MARAIS SMC 200 R Iron bar reinforced foundation piles are driven with a drilling machine concrete pump mixer truck and a specialized auger that allows pumping concrete through its axis while withdrawn Fixed crane in a coal mine in Germany Caterpillar D9L bulldozer excavators and other heavy equipment vehicles parked near a quarry in Israel Bucket wheel excavators in Garzweiler surface mine Germany Wheel loader Grader cleaning and leveling Heavy duty excavator with large bucket equipped Landfill compactor tamping tip Komatsu Dozer pushing coal on the job site A wheeled front loader tractor equipped with a large bucket elevated by hydraulic rams Folded conveyor on a tracked grinderMilitary engineering vehicles The militarized Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer allows for earthmoving projects in a combat environment In the picture IDF Caterpillar D9R The militarized Huta Stalowa Wola backhoe loader in Poland which is subsidiary of LiuGong China Military scraper PiPz Dachs armoured engineering vehicle of the German Army 2008 Temporary roads deployment complex during the Armiya 2021 exhibitionImplements and hydromechanical work toolsauger backhoe bale spear broom bulldozer blade clam shell bucket cold plane demolition shears equipment bucket excavator bucket forks grapple hydraulic hammer hoe ram hydraulics hydraulic tilting bucket 4 in 1 landscape tiller material handling arm mechanical pulverizer crusher multi processor pavement removal bucket pile driver power take off PTO quick coupler rake ripper rotating grab sheep s foot compactor skeleton bucket snow blower stump grinder stump shear thumb tiltrotator trencher vibratory plate compactor wheel sawTraction Off the road tires and tracksContinuous track circa 1909 Caterpillar track circa 2009 Heavy equipment requires specialized tires for various construction applications While many types of equipment have continuous tracks applicable to more severe service requirements tires are used where greater speed or mobility is required An understanding of what equipment will be used for during the life of the tires is required for proper selection Tire selection can have a significant impact on production and unit cost There are three types of off the road tires transport for earthmoving machines work for slow moving earthmoving machines and load and carry for transporting as well as digging Off highway tires have six categories of service C compactor E earthmover G grader L loader LS log skidder and ML mining and logging Within these service categories are various tread types designed for use on hard packed surface soft surface and rock Tires are a large expense on any construction project careful consideration should be given to prevent excessive wear or damage Heavy equipment operatorA heavy equipment operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects Typically only skilled workers may operate heavy equipment and there is specialized training for learning to use heavy equipment Much publication about heavy equipment operators focuses on improving safety for such workers The field of occupational medicine researches and makes recommendations about safety for these and other workers in safety sensitive positions Equipment costDue to the small profit margins on construction projects it is important to maintain accurate records concerning equipment utilization repairs and maintenance The two main categories of equipment costs are ownership cost and operating cost Ownership cost To classify as an ownership cost an expense must have been incurred regardless of if the equipment is used or not These costs are as follows purchase expense salvage value tax savings from depreciation major repairs and overhauls property taxes insurance storage Depreciation can be calculated several ways the simplest is the straight line method The annual depreciation is constant reducing the equipment value annually The following are simple equations paraphrased from the Peurifoy amp Schexnayder text m some year in the future N equipment useful life years and Dn Annual depreciation amount Dn purchase price N Book value BV in year m BVm purchase price m x Dn example N 5 purchase price 350 000 m 3 years from now BV3 350 000 3 x 350 000 5 140 000Operating cost For an expense to be classified as an operating cost it must be incurred through use of the equipment These costs are as follows F O G Fuel Oil lubricants lube oils filters oil air fuel hydraulic Grease repairs repair parts repair labor tires 3rd party service contract replacement of high wear items The biggest distinction from a cost standpoint is if a repair is classified as a major repair or a minor repair A major repair can change the depreciable equipment value due to an extension in service life while a minor repair is normal maintenance How a firm chooses to cost major and minor repairs vary from firm to firm depending on the costing strategies being used Some firms will charge only major repairs to the equipment while minor repairs are costed to a project Another common costing strategy is to cost all repairs to the equipment and only frequently replaced wear items are excluded from the equipment cost Many firms keep their costing structure closely guarded citation needed as it can impact the bidding strategies of their competition In a company with multiple semi independent divisions the equipment department often wants to classify all repairs as minor and charge the work to a job therefore improving their profit from the equipment ModelsDie cast metal promotional scale models of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers These are typically in 1 50 scale The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad and NZG in Germany even for US vehicles Notable manufacturersThe largest 10 heavy equipment manufacturers in 2022 No Company Country Sales billion USD Share of total1 Caterpillar United States 37 5 16 3 2 Komatsu Japan 24 7 10 7 3 XCMG China 13 4 5 8 4 John Deere United States 12 5 5 4 5 Sany China 11 9 5 2 6 Volvo Construction Equipment Sweden 9 9 4 3 7 Liebherr Switzerland 9 9 4 3 8 Hitachi Construction Machinery Japan 9 2 4 0 9 Sandvik Sweden 7 8 3 4 10 JCB United Kingdom 7 0 3 0 Other manufacturers include Anhui Heli Atlas Copco BEML Limited Bobcat Company Case Construction Equipment Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant CNH Global Demag Fiat Allis HEPCO HIAB Hidromek Hyundai Heavy Industries Ingersoll Rand Kubota Kobelco LiuGong MARAIS Navistar International Corporation NCK New Holland Track Marshall Orenstein and Koppel GmbH O amp K Paccar Poclain Rototilt Shantui ST Kinetics Takeuchi Manufacturing Wacker Neuson Yanmar ZoomlionSee alsoAssociated Equipment Distributors the trade association for heavy equipment distributors Construction equipment theft Non road engineReferencesHaycraft William R 2011 History of Construction Equipment Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 137 10 720 723 doi 10 1061 ASCE CO 1943 7862 0000374 Lambert Fred January 29 2019 Caterpillar unveils an all electric 26 ton excavator with a giant 300 kWh battery pack Electrek Retrieved July 14 2020 McLoud Don April 24 2020 Volvo CE gets 2M grant to test electric excavator loader in California Equipment World Randall Reilly Retrieved July 14 2020 Gruver Doyle Marcia November 18 2019 Liebherr s prototype battery powered LB 16 drilling rig has 10 hour run time VIDEO Equipment World Randall Reilly Retrieved July 14 2020 Rubenstone Jeff June 5 2019 Construction Equipment Goes Electric But Hurdles Remain Engineering News Record BNP Media Retrieved July 14 2020 Caterpillar Announces Acquisition of Robotic Expertise Press release Caterpillar June 2020 Retrieved July 14 2020 U S Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook V J Davies Ken Tomasin 1996 Construction Safety Handbook Thomas Telford ISBN 0 7277 2519 X Peurifoy amp Schexnayder Construction Planning Equipment and Methods McGraw Hill 6th edition ISBN 0 07 232176 8 2002 Bartholomew S H Estimating and Bidding for Heavy Construction CSU Chico Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall ISBN 0 13 598327 4 2000 Heavy Equipment parts catalog AGA Parts Retrieved 2020 09 30 Construction equipment manufacturers world equipment sales Statista Retrieved 2023 12 02 External linksMedia related to Heavy equipment at Wikimedia Commons
