During a lean economy, manufacturers introduced new products and equipment that feature increased fuel efficiency, increased productivity, and cost savings.

By Kerry Clines, Senior Editor, and Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief

How we made our choices

When we ask readers how we can best help them keep track of changes in the products and services they use to produce aggregates, almost everyone wants an annual short list of the really important stuff.

No wonder. The sheer volume of introductions is overwhelming. Aggregates Manager covers dozens of products each year in its RollOuts departments and Supply Lines features.

So each year, our staff reviews all the product introductions we’ve covered for the past year (our Top RollOuts “year” actually runs from the December 2009 issue through the November 2010 issue) to pick out 25 that we believe are worth further review. Our priorities are new concept products — which are rare — new series/new generation products in categories that relate to the aggregates industry, and other rollouts which serve our readers’ interests by increasing competition in a product category.

Inevitably, we omit deserving products, either because we just didn’t understand the significance of the product or because the announcing company didn’t communicate what was special about the product, or both. In either case, we apologize in advance for these omissions.

Atlas Copco Construction Equipment

Breaker with improved box design

Atlas Copco’s new HB 3100 hydraulic breaker has a service weight of 6,944 pounds and fits carriers in the 66,139- to 114,640-pound class. Features include the VibroSilenced System for reduced noise and vibration, AutoControl that adapts blow frequency and impact energy to the hardness of the rock, the ContiLube II automatic lubrication system, StartSelect that matches the start up and shut down process to the application, the PowerAdapt system that shuts down the breaker when oil pressure exceeds the maximum input value, and an improved box system for better stability and resistance.

Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment

Large crawler excavator

Doosan’s new 72.1-metric-ton DX700LC crawler excavator features an operating weight of 158,953 pounds with standard boom and arm and a 4.32-cubic-yard bucket. Bucket breakout force is 78,485 pounds with the standard bucket; arm breakout force is 64,595 pounds. The machine’s long carriage design, combined with the 13-foot, 11-inch-wide fully expanded undercarriage, offers stability and safety. Additional features include a high swing torque of 48,369 pounds with swing speed of 7.1 revolutions per minute, 500-hour engine service intervals, wide side access doors, a large-capacity engine air pre-cleaner, dual fuel pre-cleaners, and a PC monitoring function that enables connection to the e-POS system.

Bridgestone Americas Off Road Tire Division

Off-road tire offers comfort, stability

Bridgestone’s new V-Steel J-Traction (VJT) radial off-road tire for loaders features a computer-optimized center block that minimizes vibration levels to create improved operator comfort and stability, extended tire life through improved wear resistance, enhanced sidewall design for improved cut resistance, and a specialized self-cleaning tread design and non-directional tread pattern. The tire is available in three sizes — 20.5R25, 23.5R25, and 26.5R25 — with 17.5R25 and 29.5R25 coming soon.