Wirtgen targets growth

Manufacturer Wirtgen has started Bauma in style, presenting a new corporate identity, 30 brand new machines and targeting strong growth in the years ahead.

Jürgen Wirtgen and Stefan Wirtgen, managing partners of the Wirtgen Group, said the company was now a supplier for the entire processing chain, from mixing to processing, paving, and compaction.

"Our 2015 revenues are €2.25 billion, and we are targetting growth of €620 million by 2020," Jürgen said.

And Stefan said the company was the worldwide leader in roadbuilding technology. "We have a global market share of 45% in concrete paving, and 35% with asphalt paving, Hamm has a 19% market share in worldwide compaction, while we have a 72% road milling market share, and 60% in soil stabilisation and recycling."

The company also showcased its new corporate identity - a more unified brand. Company brands Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm, Kleemann and Benninghoven still have their seperate brands, but appear with a fresh and uniform corporate idenity under a 'W' symbol as well.

Stefan said the new visual orientation symbolised the strength of a group which had evolved over time, and stood for a common focus on customer needs.

Wirtgen, and its sister brands Vögele, Benninghoven, Kleemann and Hamm, presented a wide range of new equipment at the show.

In the field of cold milling machines, for instance, Wirtgen showcased two new machines for road rehabilitation – the W 120 Ri from the new generation of small milling machines, which is a mobile rear loader on wheels, and the W 150 CFi, which is a front loader and the most powerful model in the new compact class.

Other world firsts from Wirtgen at Bauma include the slipform paver SP 64i and the curing unit TCM 180i, two machines that the company describes as “pioneering”, for high-quality concrete paving.

The company said that together with the models SP 61i and SP 62i, the SP 64i made up the new SP 60 series which is set to replace the SP 500 slipform paver in future. The new SP 90 series comprises the SP 92i and the SP 94i, a completely modular inset version with four steered and pivotable crawler tracks.

Wirtgen also presented PKD cutters for cold milling machines, as well as two further innovations in the form of point-attack cutting tools of Generation Z, and the quick-change toolholder system HT22. These have been specially developed to meet the requirements of cold recycling and soil stabilisation.

Road paving company Vögele, meanwhile, showcased its Super 800-3i, a machine which it said demonstrated that even small pavers could play in the big leagues.

In the Universal Class, it also displayed two new models from its Super series – the Super 1600-3i tracked paver and the Super 1603-3i wheeled paver.

Two new machines are being premiered in the Special Class. The first of these is the Super 1800-3i with SprayJet module and the new ErgoPlus operating concept for paving thin wearing courses. Then there will be the new InLine Pave train which Vögele said would have numerous innovative Dash 3 features for the construction of compact asphalt pavements.

The company’s new 10ft pavers for the US market are also being presented to trade visitors for the first time at Bauma. There is also a special WITOS Paving and RoadScan presentation on the subject of Process & Quality Optimisation.

WITOS is a modular software system that supports fleet and service management, but Vögele said it also enabled new approaches to process optimisation. It said this made it possible for the first time not only to apply the just-in-time principle to organising construction processes, but also to optimise processes such as milling, asphalt paving and compaction.

Another member of the Wirtgen group, Hamm, is presenting the new pivot-steered DV+ series of tandem rollers. They feature the Easy Drive operating concept which Hamm said permitted simple, intuitive operation.

In future, Easy Drive will also be installed in the articulated tandem rollers of the HD+ series, as well as in the H Series compactors. Hamm will be displaying a number of these models at Bauma.

For earthworks, Hamm is showcasing the H 5i and H 7i compact rollers from the H CompactLine in Munich. These machines are said to be particularly suitable for confined job sites with steep gradients.

The rubber-wheeled roller GRW 180i, which was developed especially for the European and US markets, is also being premiered at Bauma.

Hamm is also presenting the H 25i VC compactor with crusher drum which can crush and compact hard material in a single pass.

Taking place in Munich, Germany, from 11 to 17 April, Bauma is the largest construction equipment exhibition in the world.