Cat CB10 Asphalt Roller

Caterpillar CB10 Asphalt Compactor Roller

Construction companies that are into building roads see a good profit margin in that particular genre of work. They believe that with limited heavy equipment they can complete the work in the stipulated time frame. All they have to do is ensure that the materials used for road construction are of ace quality and the rest can be easily managed. The one heavy equipment that plays a crucial role when it comes to road construction is a compactor roller. You just can’t get a smooth road without a compactor roller and you got to make sure that you have the best rollers to get the desired results. Not any roller can be used to smoothen the road. Different rollers are used for different types of roads but the compactor roller is being largely used in construction of roads.

Talking about the Caterpillar CB10 Asphalt Compactor Roller, it is known for its versatile vibratory systems, phenomenal visibility and control and for its smooth operating powertrain. The CB10 compactor roller is fitted with Auto Adjustable Compaction, Oscillation, 5 amplitude and VERSA-Vibe systems. There are a lot of options available to match the varying paving speeds. The hand-wheel steering technology gives it an edge over all other similar types of compactor rollers. In addition, it has touch-pad functions that make things simpler for the operator. We live in the age where we are used to devices with touch-pads and therefore it becomes a must to have one inside the machine.

Paving requirements can be different and the operator has to decide the kind of drums it needs to put in place. The CB10 roller has both split and solid drum designs which will give the operator the liberty to choose the design as per the paving requirements and also ensures that it delivers superior math quality while making turns. The Cat Compaction Control is a device that updates the operator for higher efficiency and performance. It is very important for the operator to understand when the optimal temperature has been attained. The infrared temperature sensors are just meant for that purpose. It will inform the operator about the existence of the optimal temperature and at the same time when compaction has taken place. The temperature mapping helps to record vital data for future scrutiny and the Pass-Count Mapping simply informs the operator of mat coverage and the number of passes made.

Moving to the specification of the machine, the total operating weight of the split and solid drum on a standard machine is 10670kg and 9710 kg respectively. While the weight of the drum increases slightly on a maximum machine with the split drum weighing 12070kg and the solid drum weighing 10510 kg. The weight of the drums changes with ROPS/FOPS or with a canopy. The capacity of the fuel tank is 208 liters while the capacity of the cooling system, engine oil, hydraulic tank and water tank is 22L, 9L, 36L and 837L respectively. It has been installed with one of the best engines which is a CAT C4.4 with ACERT technology. The total number of cylinders it has is 4 with a rated speed of 2200 rpm. The gross power of the machine is 131 hp with a high speed of 7.5 miles per hour.

Use social media as a tool to augment your heavy equipment business

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The construction and the heavy equipment industry are largely dependent upon new technology. The construction industry is always in the hunt of heavy equipment that can get the work done quickly and with utter precision. Now this is only possible if you upgrade your heavy equipment by adding new technology in it. This will bring in a new life to the machine and it will work with more vitality under tremendously rough situations. Now that was all about how technology can help get the work done at a faster pace. However, if we want to make use of technology to advertise our products and services so that it can reach to thousands of people at a given time, there is no better option than talking about your business in social networking websites. There you can reach to a large number of population without having to pay a penny for it.

There are many companies who are involved in the process of creating their business profiles in social networking websites like LinkedIn, Periscope, and Facebook etc. There find this to be an excellent tool to reach out to a sizable amount of people at one go. They have seen their business growing in this fashion and acquiring more clients from such networking websites.

There are few do’s and don’ts that one needs to follow while they set up their business profile in a social networking website.

Keep your personal and professional profiles separate:-

It is very crucial that you keep 2 accounts in one social networking website, one for your personal use and the other for your professional. If you are into selling of heavy equipment of all the brands, you can make use of your professional account to mention that there. Talk everything about your business in that account but pay special attention that you do not talk much about your business in your personal profile. If you share a couple of your business stories to any of your friend on the personal profile, it won’t be an issue but if you only keep on bragging about your success stories all the time on your personal account, your friends might get turned off by that. They definitely do not check your profile to know about the success in your life. They just simply want to know if things are ok with you.

Maintain strict professionalism on your business account:-

You should keep your business profile very professional. Social networking websites like LinkedIn are meant for professionals and businessmen who are looking to acquire clients and get businesses from them or to reach to the skilled masses and absorb them in their business. If you are an authorized dealer, you should be very stringent when it comes to professionalism.

Post a photo of your company:-

It makes ample of sense to post a picture of your company’s logo on your business profile. It help your prospective client to understand the kind of account you are holding and they will move into your business account to know more about your business and will not stray down to your personal account.

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Pay your heavy equipment loan on time to keep up to good credit score

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Ideally construction companies and contractors buy heavy equipment by borrowing money from banks and other financial institutions. They do not want to use their financial reserves as that is needed to take care of other miscellaneous expenses and moreover the money you need to buy heavy equipment is often more than what people have in their reserves. So they have to eventually turn up to banks for borrowing funds. Now if you already have taken a loan to buy heavy equipment, you should make sure that you pay all the monthly installments to the bank on time or else it can have a negative impact on your credit score. Any default will affect your credit rating and this is something which you will not want to happen with you. If your credit rating falls, it gives a direct indication to the lenders that you do not pay your installments on time and they might reject any further loan application put by you in future.

Loans’ getting rejected is definitely not a good sign for a business owner. He is always in need of money and if any of his loan application is rejected at a crucial juncture, he may find himself into deep trouble. Though there are some financial institutions that are ready to lend money to people having poor credit rating but they do it with heavy rate of interest. So your financial need will be fulfilled for the time being but you will end up paying lot more than you would have to any other banks in normal circumstances. This can also have a negative impact on your business as you will not be able to save money to build up any reserves. Whatever you earn, you might end up paying that to the bank and it is absolutely pointless to engage yourself in something like that.

One thing leads to other. If you do not pay your monthly dues for buying heavy equipment on time and messes up your credit rating, you will also not be able to find lenders to buy other construction materials. It takes time to improve your rating and unfortunately in an industry like construction, you can’t afford to lose time. Therefore maintaining the credit score by paying your monthly dues on time is one of the best ways to avoid lowering of your credit rating.

The only way you can manage to pay the monthly installments is through proper planning and not to spend on things that are of least importance to the business. When we talk about proper planning, it means that you got to do your budgeting well and also take into consideration any unforeseen instances that are likely to happen and can affect the payment of your monthly dues. Take help of experts or of experienced people in your company. Their advices may really work for you. Consider what they all have to say and do not be too aggressive while taking business decisions.

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Small construction companies should be cautious to make big investments

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The focus of business changes in every stage. While you are a small business, the focus point of the business is something else and while it begins to grow the focus changes again. In a nutshell you can’t have the same strategy throughout the lifetime of the business. You have to keep on changing your focus, goals and strategies with the development of the business and also keeping into consideration the circumstances your business is in. In business you are supposed to take challenges and risks and it pays you off in terms of profits but at what stage are you taking what amount of risk is crucial to understand. You just can’t take any amount of risk during the budding stage of your business. Risks should always be calculated and not taken with an unsound mind. It actually defines the future potential of your business. Taking uncalculated risk will often lead you to a situation where you will see no point of return and may have to probably shut your dream of having a business of your own for once and for all.

Construction business is one such business where taking a wrong call can have serious implications on the future growth of the business. There are many big companies who had to shut down their business for taking incorrect investment decisions which has obviously proved them to be costly. Small construction companies have to ultra-careful when they think of making any big investments in their business. They usually experience the problem of scarcity of finance and on top of that if they contemplate of making any big investments for which they will obviously have to look for borrowing money from banks, they got to be very sure of the outcome. This is where their calculation can’t go wrong because they have huge stakes involved here. Unable to repay the debts will definitely have a negative impact on the credit rating of the company which will result in not getting any further loans.

Big investments do not only get restricted to buying abundance of raw materials or heavy equipment. It means much more than that. It also means investing on workforce, setting up a new office and stuff. Being a small construction company, when you are hiring a lot of people and buying different kinds of heavy equipment, you got to doubly sure that the investments will pay you. The construction project for which you have been hiring so many men should not have any lien on it and certainly no litigation on the property. The bottom-line is you got to ensure that the piece of land on which the construction project will begin is absolutely problem free and once you are assured of that, making this big investment makes sense.

Small construction companies are more at risk because if they try to play solo, the big companies may create problems for them. It is a competitive world and no one wants to let the other grow easily.

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Veteran salesman should be supportive to the newbie

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No wonder doing a sales job is one of the most difficult jobs one can do and it becomes harder when you do not get much support from the people who have been doing this job for years. It is pretty obvious that the young guns will definitely look for some sort of support from the older guys and this will what help them to climb up the ladder in life. Selling heavy equipment is considered to be a tough man’s job and not everybody can take the agony of persuading clients to purchase a thousand dollar stuff which the sales guy himself does not know much about.

The new ones will certainly not have much idea with what they dealing with but the tenured guys know how to crack the deal and which machine is used for what purpose. They kind of try to know the requirement of their client and then pitch their product. But the newbie will not be able to do that effectively. He may possibly speak everything about the heavy equipment that he has learnt from various sources but when it comes to comparing it with the client’s requirements, there are high chances that he might get completely bowled.

Give veterans a team to mentor:-

Every newcomer to any business needs a mentor to guide them. Here the veterans can play the role of a mentor and guide the new sales guys to glory. There are lots of tricks to a successful sale that a veteran sales person learns during his years of selling heavy equipment. He can share a bit of them and check how the guys are incorporating those tricks in their sales activity. Right from cold calling to fixing an appointment to making a successful sale, he needs to check that the guys are doing well in their job. In case, if someone is having a hard time and is dealing with some issue, he can jump in there and try to fix the problem. If required he can accompany the person for few appointments with different contractors or construction companies and show him the right way to sell heavy equipment.

Talk one to one with the new guy:-

Talking one to one with the new guys is a crucial point that the veteran should take into consideration. Not all are brilliant salesperson and some needs that extra nurture to develop into an excellent sales guy. More to this, not everybody understands heavy equipment the way it is and therefore there is a need of someone who can explain them about machines in simple terms. There will be no better person than a veteran who can help the young guns with their problems. Not everybody will speak up in front of everyone and they might feel more confident to speak on a one to one basis.

The beginners are full of energy and they can find ways to deal with things but what they need the most is some support from the experienced lots and once they get that, they can very well take care of their profession.

Do not stop learning when you see yourself in profits

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In the beginning people are quite enthusiastic in learning new tricks of business. The motive behind them learning new techniques is that they can make money in less time with probably putting minimum efforts. However, once they see their company making enough profits, they somehow lose their interest to learn more about the business and keep doing what they have already learned. Well, in this way they are really harming their prospect of making big in the industry because not everybody stops learning when they make good money. They keep the learning process on till they grow old and want to hand over the business to the next eligible person.

As no industry gives you the leverage of stop learning and still continues to be in profits, the construction industry can go a step further and can punish you severely. There have been numerous such instances where construction companies got shut as they felt that they have learned everything and do not need any further lesson from this industry. They somehow forgot how dynamic this industry is and in order to survive here, one needs to be always on his toes. They can’t ever skip learning and if they do so they should be ready to see the downturn.

Learning anything in the construction domain can be fun if you are curious about it. Though it is known for its complex nature yet things can become simple if you show some level of interest to study the subject.

Learn while you work:-

In other words, experience teaches you many things while you stay connected to this profession. Day in and day out, you will come across many things that you will find new and you would be learning how to do things. These lessons are very important ones as they will help you to become a good employee and if you want to start your construction company, your experience in this sector will definitely take you to great heights.

So pay attention in everything that you do or you notice. If your colleague has come across something that you couldn’t figure out, take help of your seniors or your supervisors and check what they do to sort it out. Make note of the solution and you can try that later in your own way. You need not copy exactly what you senior did but can apply your thoughts and work things out.

Take charge of the administrative work:-

The administrative work in a construction company is immense. If the company is handling big projects, it also means that they have a lot of administrative work to take care of. Try to sneak your way into that field as you will get a lot to know how a construction company actually works off-field. There you will understand how the employees are paid and how much they are paid; how the company decides to procure heavy equipments and what mechanism they use to pay.

That is perhaps an ocean of learning and you will cherish if you enjoy learning new thin

Caterpillar 982M Wheel Loader

It has always been a big problem for the construction laborers to move huge pile of dirt from one place to another especially when you do not have a wheel loader to get the work done. Other than that, moving the dirt manually is also time consuming and quite stressful. Therefore one can certainly understand the importance of a wheel loader when he gets the task to clear pile of dirt. So there is no second thought of whether to possess a wheel loader or not when you are in the business where you have to deal with dirt and got to move it from the construction site to the dump yard. The real question for you is which brand and model of wheel loader to go for. Heavy equipment companies of high repute produces wheel loader however, it is CAT 982M that seems to be stealing the show.

Cat 982M wheel loader is fitted with CAT C13 ACERT engine which is considered to be one of the best in the industry. It has a maximum operating net power of 404 hp with a weight of 35563 kg. Pertaining to fuel consumption it is believed that the 982M wheel loader is 10% more fuel efficient as compared to other leading K series machines and is 25% more fuel efficient to the H series machines. This saves a lot for companies that have to use the machine almost 8-10 hours in a day. One can imagine how much fuel it can save as compared to machines of other series. With the size of bucket that can be installed on the machine, it simply increases its capacity to carry a lot of load at a given point of time.

CAT 982M Wheel Loader provides great degree of comfort to the operator who has to work staying inside the machine for hours. It just becomes tougher for the guy to be inside for hours at a stretch. Cat understands this and has therefore considered every minute details of the comfort of the operator. They also understand that if they are able to maintain the comfort level of the operator, it will automatically lead to higher productivity and will enhance the profit margin for the construction company. The hydraulic systems of the machine have gone through a lot of changes to increase its efficiency. The weight of the mono-block design has been considerably reduced and has less than 40% leak points. The auxiliary third function can be installed at the factory or at the jobsite by just adding up a second remote valve.

In order to monitor the real time health of the machine, they have an online “Visionlink” application that will enable you to check the data of the machine and will thereby help you to know its actual health. Other than that you can always have expert advice of the CAT technical team who will help you to understand the features by which you can increase the efficiency of the machine.

Caterpillar 14M3 Motor Grader

Heavy equipment has been the backbone of the construction industry since ages and CAT machine is the blue eyed candy of almost every major construction house. Any types of construction work and you have CAT to cater you with the best of machines. If you are looking for something to do the grading work, you will not find anything better than a Cat 14M3 Motor Grader. The features that it offers you may sound to be similar what heavy equipment of other companies have to give but when it comes to ease of operation it really steals the show. Operators have found issues with the level of comfort while operating a machine and this is where CAT has taken utmost care while manufacturing the 14M3 motor grader. Other than comfort it also stress on sustainability of the machine. The motor grader can sustain in rough weather and hostile terrain thus proving its metal time and again.

Operators also have a tough time managing the joystick of the machine which is very well taken care in this version of the grader. The joystick is not only smooth but also provides immense precision control which makes the work simpler for the operator. The visibility factor has also been well taken care of. Operators go crazy when they are not able to view things clearly. This may cause accidents which are in no way a healthy sign for any construction company. The operator has to be ultra cautious while operating the machine even if there is poor visibility. The 14M3 grader has quite brilliantly managed this menace and it offers excellent visibility to the operator.

The model of the engine is CAT C13 ACERT VHP which has a net operating power of 238 hp. This sounds to be quite phenomenal. The machine also possesses programmable Autoshift which permits the operator to program the transmission so that it can shift at optimal points and matches its application. Now in order to reduce fuel consumption the motor grader has something known as “Standard Economy Mode” which if turned on will limit the maximum engine speed and will thus help to restrict the consumption of fuel. The VHP ensures that sufficient amount of power is provided in all the gears and the Standard Automatic Differential Lock system helps in unlocking the differential during a turn and locks it back once it gets straight. This makes the operation easier and also improves the power train protection.

Moving to the safety zone, this machine should be used to have a safer working environment where machine are not bumping against each other. The 14M3 grader has optional rear vision camera which enables the operator to have a view of the rear of the machine and thus avoid any collision. It is installed with the Operator Presence System which plays an instrumental role in keeping the parking brake engaged and the hydraulic implements disabled as long as the operator is seated and he gets the machine ready for work. It has an optional seat belt indicator which will blink if the operator fails to wear them.

With all these features, it makes 14M3 motor grader the most appreciated heavy equipment as far as the grading work is concerned.

Smooth Drum Roller vs. Padfoot (sheepfoot) roller

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It is said that good roads play a pivotal role towards the development of any economy. You need good roads to move items real fast because when it comes to good service time also plays a crucial role and good roads saves a lot of time if you have to transport things by roads. Imagine what you situation would be if you have to ferry something on an urgent basis and you know that it will take time just because the roads are not in good shape. Well, it will for sure irk you to the bottom. The importance of flat roads is better known by people who drive regularly on roads and when they encounter bad roads during their journey, it agonize them like anything.

Well that was all about good roads but there is something that plays a crucial role in making good roads. It is heavy equipment like smooth drum roller or a Pad foot roller that gives the roads a good shape and makes it a comfortable journey for all of us. Let us start by discussing smooth drum rollers first.

Smooth drum rollers are ideally heavy equipment with a big roller in the front of the machine and 2 tires at the rear. Smooth drum machines are used on roads that have more granular materials laid on it. Smooth drums are used when materials like sand and gravel are paid on the surface of the road. It actually works towards locking the pieces together giving a stronger grip to the road. The performance of the smooth drum roller also depends upon the moisture the soil has as it allows better movement without any friction.

Heavy equipment companies like CASE manufacture quality smooth drum rollers. As a matter of fact, they are known for producing many high quality rollers for different kinds of roads. It is evident that a smooth drum roller or a pad foot roller is not the only solution for all types of roads and therefore CASE has many versions of rollers for the end user.

Moving towards Padfoot roller which is also known as Sheep foot roller is more typically used on roads that have more consistent and solid materials laid on it. Materials such as clays need a Padfoot roller on it. Using any other roller can simply deteriorate the quality of work and lead to more complications. Pad foot roller is used on cohesive soil because the soil has the tendency to stick and slip over each other. This is why a Padfoot roller which has the capacity to shear the soil with its drum and achieve the required compaction is used. It is to be noted that ballasts can be added to augment the weight of the machine which in turn gives better compaction.

The price of both Smooth drum roller and Padfoot roller is well within the reach of any construction company/contractor. They are not overtly priced like many other machines that are used in road building and other construction works.

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How to handle rejection as a heavy equipment salesman

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We all see selling as a difficult profession. It is because you got to convince people to buy something that you believe is important for them. However, the person to whom you are trying to sell it may not find it to be at all important. So your job then becomes to talk about all the possible features related to the product and create the need for it in the mind of the taker. This creation of need in the mind of the prospect is a real tough job and not many are able to do that successfully. Many ace sales persons have written in their books about the difficulties they have experienced while creating the need in the minds of the prospective buyer and they have also suggested ways and means that one can take to tackle that part of the problem. However, there is something more important that a salesperson should be learning before learning anything else and that is the way to handle a rejection.

Salesmen who are into selling of heavy equipment have a real tough time doing their job. They are actually dealing with a high priced product that is basically sold to people belonging to a particular domain. This means that your market is quite restricted. It is not like selling a high priced car that many like but can’t buy as they can’t afford it. Here the case is completely different. You are dealing with an item whose takers belong to a specific industry and therefore your scope to sell it in good numbers becomes restricted. This is perhaps the reason why a heavy equipment salesman has the chance to experience rejection lot many times than a salesman selling a car.

Be optimistic in your approach:-

Your approach speaks a lot about your personality and especially when you are a heavy equipment salesman your approach matters a lot than anything else. Your knowledge on your product needs to be absolutely bang-on and that perhaps constitute a larger portion of your self-confidence but your approach towards your profession should be nothing less than splendid. You may have been rejected many times and there may be situations when people will simply not want to meet you but that should not deter you or your approach towards meeting people. Your frame of mind should be always optimistic, nothing less than positive. It is this positive approach that plays an instrumental role towards handling rejection.

Share your experiences with your seniors:-

It is always useful to be around people who are jolly and have a good sense of humor and if such people are your seniors you should consider yourself to be damn lucky. You can share your experience where the prospect didn’t want to buy the machine or have insulted you or simply asked you to leave, leaving you dejected. Your senior in this case will give you a piece of their mind and try to ease you by cracking a joke or two. It also acts as a stress buster. Not just your senior but share your days’ time with anybody that you are convenient with. You can also play around with your dog for that matter. It is undeniably a great way to handle rejections.