Highlights from Hillhead 2018

By |  August 3, 2018

More than 500 exhibitors showcased their latest wares at Hillhead 2018. Photo by Kevin Yanik.

Hillhead exhibitors and attendees were met with torrential rain two years ago that filled parts of the former Tarmac quarry like a swimming pool. As one exhibitor recalls, you could canoe through the aisles.

The rain stayed away from this summer’s Hillhead, but those who took part in the June 26-28 show were met with another extreme weather event: excessive heat.

According to multiple reports, the United Kingdom experienced its greatest heat wave in about 40 years around the time of the show. The intense temperatures made the venture around Hillhead 2018 a bit challenging, but the 20,000 people who made the trip went home with some new ideas to spruce up their operations.

One concept that stood out as I made my way around Hillhead was an element of CDE’s new Core smart technology suite. Core 3D is one of three elements of CDE Core, providing users a 3-D parts catalog that’s unique to their plant. Core 3D gives users the ability to see 3-D visualizations of their plant. The technology simplifies parts ordering by allowing users to zero in on the component needed within a 3-D rendering.

The 3-D visualization allows users to view every layer of their plant and the components within each layer. Users can even utilize Core 3D in the field by taking a tablet onto their plant, where they can compare actual parts to ones they see in the 3-D visual.

Every aggregate producer has probably misordered parts on occasion. Perhaps a message about a required part got lost in translation to a manufacturer or dealer, or the person diagnosing a failure gathered the wrong information from the start. The Core 3D component of CDE Core is designed to better connect material producers with their equipment supplier and weed out obstacles that get between the two.

Telematics takeover

A walk through Hillhead also served as a reminder that manufacturers of turnkey aggregate processing plants continue to develop tools that give producers greater control over their plants. CDE Core, which includes a system to simplify and monitor operator activity and a real-time health tracker, is one example. Another is the My Fleet system Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology unveiled.

Sandvik developed My Fleet to give customers a better understanding of how equipment is being utilized. Like a number of systems out there, My Fleet provides remote access to data regarding location and machine utilization. It was also developed to help users plan their service and maintenance and, ultimately, help them work more efficiently and cost effectively.

That turnkey plant manufacturers continue to launch such systems speaks to both the demand for telematics among producers and the realization among manufacturers that having such solutions is necessary to effectively compete.

Kevin Yanik

About the Author:

Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

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