CASE Construction Equipment, RPM Machinery, Southeastern Equipment, Habitat for Humanity of Kent County and Team Rubicon teamed up for a heavy equipment operator training and socio-economic improvement project—named Operation Fearless Mary—in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. RPM Machinery and Southeastern Equipment donated the use of several skid steers and excavators, while Team Rubicon brought in 72 volunteers and 20 new members from across the U.S. for the operation.

For Team Rubicon — an organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams for disaster relief — this kind of training/community service operation prepares their volunteers for operating heavy equipment during deployments, and helps to solidify the humanitarian and relationship-building skills that are crucial in disaster response scenarios. A key component is Team Rubicon’s partnership with CASE, which provides both training and heavy equipment through its dealer network.

CASE Construction Equipment introduces the CX30C to its C Series line of mini excavators. With an operating weight of 6,020-pounds and a 24.8 horsepower Tier 4 Final engine, the CX30C boasts a bucket digging force of 4,520 pounds of force.

This new offering expands the CASE mini excavator lineup to its broadest range of sizes ever, and provides a more comprehensive and feature-driven compact excavator solution to the landscaping, construction, utility and rental markets.

CASE Construction Equipment introduces the TV370 compact track loader (CTL), a new 74-horsepower machine that combines a maintenance-free Tier 4 Final solution with the strength and reach of a large-frame CTL. The TV370 provides a 3,700-pound rated operating capacity and a vertical-lift design that makes it ideal for loading trucks, and lifting and placing heavier palletized materials.

“As the CTL market expands, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions,” says John Dotto, brand marketing manager, CASE. The new TV370 gives contractors a 74-horsepower option in a large-frame vertical CTL that provides a high capacity, low ground pressure and stable platform for earthmoving, load and lift applications, and heavy attachments while utilizing a maintenance-free after-treatment system.

Asphalt compaction practices vary from contractor-to-contractor and region-to-region — larger asphalt paving projects generally rely on some combination of double-drum vibratory and pneumatic tire rollers to complete the work. The double-drum vibratory compactor provides the brute force of compaction while the pneumatic tire roller provides varied weight through ballasting, and a kneading action that results in excellent density, fewer voids and a well-sealed finish.

The continued adoption of combi rollers — a vibratory steel drum on the front and a sequence of pneumatic tires on the back — has provided another option for paving contractors that ultimately delivers the best attributes of each standalone design.

The 2017 National Gas Rodeo, held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Denver, Colorado and sponsored by CASE Construction Equipment, announced the winners for the two- and four-person team events. Organized by the Midwest Energy Association, the National Gas Rodeo draws teams from utility companies across the United States, and has grown to include 54 teams (29 two-person teams and 25 four-person teams) and over 320 spectators attending the event. The two- and four-person teams compete in various skill tests focused on safe, time-efficient performance using construction equipment and other tools of the trade.

The 2017 overall Rodeo champion in the two-person team category was Lil’ Gas House Gang (Steve Bouse and Barry Hicks) from Laclede Gas Company in Spire-Laclede, Missouri. This is the Laclede Gas House Gang’s third back-to-back win—the first two being in the four-person category. The four-person team winner for 2017 was Intense Ignition (Korey Ross, Dylan Middleton, Jeff Smith and Justin Wald) from Missouri Gas Energy of Kansas City, Missouri.

Veteran-led disaster response organization Team Rubicon began the heavy equipment operations of “Operation Hard Hustle” on Thursday, September 14, 2017 with equipment and on-site support personnel provided by CASE Construction Equipment. Initial heavy equipment operations included debris removal and home demolition near Rockport and Aransas Pass, Texas, where the eye of Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August. Sonsray Machinery, Inc. of California also shipped compact track loaders in for the operation, and Michelin North America, Inc. donated sets of its Tweel airless radial tires to outfit skid steers working in demolition applications.

“This is the most severe disaster the heavy equipment operators at Team Rubicon have been deployed to since the inception of the equipment operation training program in 2015,” said Scott Harris, vice president — North America, CASE Construction Equipment. “What CASE staff saw in Rockport and surrounding areas were communities coming together to lift each other up and rebuild, and Team Rubicon is there at the forefront. It’s that sense of community and civic responsibility that drove us, and dealers like Sonsray, to step up and join them in Texas.”

Skid steer and compact track loaders are the top tool carriers in North America. When equipped with the right set of attachments, these tool carriers vastly improve productivity on the farm.

But what attachments are right for you, and which ones are worth the investment?

The SV340 skid steer from CASE Construction Equipment earned a slot on Equipment Today magazine’s 2017 Contractors’ Top 50 New Products list. The editorial teams from Equipment Today and ForConstructionPros.com compiled product inquiries and web page views, and inquiries from new products featured in Equipment Today over a 12-month period from May 2016 to April 2017. The result is the 2017 Contractors’ Top 50 New Products, a listing of the industry’s favored products.

With a rated operating capacity of 3,400-pounds and bucket breakout force of 9,531-pounds, the 90-horsepower SV340 is CASE’s most powerful skid steer ever built. The SV340 offers optional high-flow (38.7 gpm at 3,450 psi) and enhanced high-flow (35 gpm at 4,000 psi) auxiliary hydraulics for operating a broad range of high capacity attachments such as cold planers and mulching heads. Heavy-duty 14 x 17.5 tires, additional counterweights and a long wheelbase provide a stable platform for work in all terrains.

While backhoes are a staple in many large fleets where they are cared for by a full-time fleet manager, they are equally – if not more so – widespread among owner/operators and smaller businesses where the person operating the machine is also the one performing maintenance on it, hauling it, site foreman, lunch gofer, etc.

Even in those large fleets, where they may have “a guy” who performs all the maintenance, there are actions that operators can take in their day-to-day activities that will have a long-term effect on the health and performance of the machine.

Robert Velazquez —founder of Semper Fi Land Services in Aurora, Ill.—is not your average business owner. He started his landscaping business in 2004 when he was still a teenager, fresh out of Marine Corp. training. Like many, his first landscaping jobs involved doing most, if not all, of the work himself while rounding up borrowed trucks and equipment, but today he runs a flourishing business with a large fleet of equipment and 35 employees.

Starting a business like Semper Fi wasn’t without its challenges. After building his customer base throughout 2004 and 2005, Velazquez got news that he was being deployed. “I was in the Marine Corps reserves, and we got notified that we were being deployed to Iraq,” Velazquez explains. “So all the customers I had built up from 2004 and 2005, I just sent them a letter saying, ‘Hey, I have an obligation. I’m going to Iraq, I’ll be back in a year.’ Didn’t really close the business, but put it on hold. Came back, sent them a letter and said, ‘Hey, I’m back, and I’m going to start my business again.’ Many of those customers I have still today.”