Overview of the most important manufacturers of heavy construction equipment

Here a small overview of the worlds leading brands of heavy construction

equipment, the kind of equipment they produce and a little company history:

The<strong> Case Corporation </strong>was created 1842 in America and manufactured

threshing machines in its beginning. From 1912 the production was extended to the
sector of farm equipment and road construction machinery. In 1957, Case acquires
American Tractor Corporation - manufacturer of excavators and establishes like
this to a internationally well-known company in the construction machinery sector.
The Case Corporation with its machinery brands Case CE (Case Construction
Equipment) for construction machines and Case IH (Case Internationally Harvester,
since 1985) for agricultural machinery fused in November 1999 together with New
Holland to the CNH Group. Apart from Case and New Holland, O&K, Fiat Kobelco and
Kobelco belong to the CNH Group as well..

<strong>Caterpillar Inc. </strong> (Illinois, USA) is the world’s biggest

manufacturer of construction machines. Caterpillar’s Product ranges comprehend
Earth moving Machinery and Road Construction Equipment as well as Engines: for
instance: Excavators of all types, wheel loaders and crawler loaders, scrapers,
graders, dozers, etc.
Worth knowing: One of the founders of Caterpillar, Mr. Benjamin Holt, is
considered to be the inventor of the chain drive assembly for crawler machines.

The machinery production's sector of the South Korean multinational Daewoo was
sold in 2005 to <strong>Doosan Infracore</strong>. Since then construction
equipment, trucks and trailer are sold by the name Doosan-Daewoo. Doosan has a
sales network all around the world and distributes through it the whole range of
crawler excavators, wheeled excavators, wheel loaders and skid steer loaders.

The Japanese <strong>Hitachi </strong> Ltd. Corporation is among the 50 biggest

enterprises in the world. Known as an electronic enterprise, they produce as well
construction equipment under the name Hitachi Construction Machinery: crawler and
wheeled excavators of all sizes, telescopic working platforms, wheel loaders, off
highway and since the uptake of Euclid as well off-highway trucks for plant and
building. Hitachi became, little by little, a full line manufacturer for
machinery, after ending the cooperation with Fiat (Fiat-Hitachi).

<strong>Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.Ltd. </strong> is part of the South-Korean

Hyundai and produces construction equipment and boat equipment. The machines are
distributed in the network franchised Hyundai Construction Equipment around the
world. The machines productions includes Skid steer excavators, wheel and crawler
excavator, wheel loader, skid steer loader and of course as well forklift of all
kind.

<strong>JCB </strong> (according to its founder Joseph Cyril Bamford) it is the

forth biggest machinery manufacturer in the world. JCB produces among others
backhoe loaders (the 3 CX is the most successful product ), tele handler, crawler
excavators and wheel excavators and under the name JCB Vibromax even rollers for
compaction.
JCB is active as well in the agriculture field with their Fastrac tractors. It is
one of the few enterprises in this sector of machines manufacturer that still has
got a family conduction.

<strong><a href=http://komatsu.minutemachine.com/home.php> Komatsu </a></strong>

Ltd is the second largest construction equipment manufacturer world wide after
Caterpillar. Apart from construction machinery, the Japanese company with head
quarters in Tokyo produces: electronics, fork-lifts, generators, compressors and
industrial robots. As a full-liner, Komatsu sells over 100 different construction
machine types, from mini excavator to telehandler up to mobile crushers. In 1995
Hanomag, the German machinery manufacturer became part of the Komatsu Group and
now produces under the name Komatsu Hanomag AG wheel loaders in Hanover.
Interesting: Komatsu produces the largest bulldozer of the world (Komatsu D 575)
with 132 tons.

<strong>Liebherr AG </strong>is an international company that produces apart from

construction equipment also aero space equipment and household appliances. The
machinery product line of Liebherr includes excavators, Bulldozers, Wheel loaders,
Off High-Way Trucks and Mining Equipment. Remarkable: At the Bauma fair in Munich
in 2004 Liebherr presented the world’s largest dump truck - the Liebherr T282.The
new Liebherr wheel loader series are meant to be very economical in fuel
consumption. Apart, Liebherr is Specialist for Cranes of all kinds. By the way, a
Liebherr Tower Crane was their first product launched in 1949. Nowadays Liebherr
cranes product range goes from mobile cranes to quay cranes.

<strong>New Holland </strong> belongs since 1999 to the corporation CNH.

Previously they were producing farm equipment but today, a part from tractor, they
sell many other types of machinery.
The <a href=http://en.minutemachine.com/home.php> heavy equipment </a>line
includes bulldozers, excavators, grader and wheel loader. In the light line
production you can find all sizes of skid steer excavator and skid steer loader as
well as telehandler.
Under the name appear New Holland the previously named brand of Fiat-Kobelco,
Kobelco y O&K.

Roberto <strong>Perlini </strong>funded in 1957 the Italian manufacturer of

construction equipment and heart dump truck Perlini. In 1961 Perlini started with
the production of off-highway track for earth moving and construction equipment.
Today, they produce dump truck in Vicenza, Italy and commercialize their products
all around the world.

The <strong>Terex </strong>Group is a traditional American producer of Cranes

until in 1995 they began their acquisition history. Nowadays the Terex Group
consists of a big number of traditional manufacturers – integrated as a whole or
partially into the group. Here a list of the most know brands American, American
Truck Company, Atlas, Benford, CMI, Demag, Fermec, Finlay, Fuchs, Genie, O&K,
Pegson, Peiner, Powerscreen, PPM, and Schaeff.

The <strong>Volvo </strong>Group with head office in Göteborg, Sweden, is world-

wide one of the largest manufacturers of busses (Volvo Busses), trucks (Volvo
Trucks) and construction machines (Volvo Construction equipment). Besides, Volvo
produces boat engines (Volvo Penta) and High tech components for civilian aviation
as well as jet engines (Volvo Aero). Volvo Construction equipment produces more
than 100 different construction machines of models of compact wheeled loader,
excavator loader, mobile excavator and chain excavator. Interesting: The
unquestioned “star” under the Volvo construction machines is however the
articulated Dumper in all remarks of A 25 to A 40