Arizona-based company offering steel offroad tires for heavy equipment.

Phoenix-based company Global Air Cylinder Wheels (GACW) says it has raised more than $5 million to help bring to market its Air Suspension Wheel technology and product line. GACW says its steel off-the-road (OTR) tires for heavy equipment have “the potential to completely revolutionize the tire industry by featuring technology that offers a cleaner, cost-effective, stronger and safer alternative” to rubber tires.

Encouraged by the results of a previous $3.3 million campaign, GACW has relaunched its StartEngine campaign to raise additional funds. The company calls its Air Suspension Wheel (ASW) “a patented airless mechanical design constructed primarily of steel with in-wheel suspension.”

The ASW combines an inner steel hub with an outer steel drum that is connected by eight or 12 nitrogen-filled air cylinders and four to six oil-filled dampers that provide suspension and damping. On the outer drum, individually bolt-on steel or polyurethane treads are fitted. The treads can be replaced without removing the wheel, replacing what GACW calls “a time-consuming process that takes up to eight hours with OTR rubber tires.”

Overall, GACW says it has raised more than $5 million from investors so far and the company’s valuation has increased from $27 million to $40 million since May 2022.

“The ASW is so much more than just another wheel,” says Dr. Zoltan Kemeny, president and CEO of GACW. “As opposed to the traditional pneumatic tire providing suspension outside the rim, the ASW suspension is located inside the wheel. Essentially, our wheels become part of the vehicle’s overall suspension system. Our wheels are an effective and viable option to rubber tires. They are cost-efficient, safer, and are better for the environment [for] those industries that rely heavily on tires.”

The ASW technology has been granted eight patents with 52 more pending, GACW says, adding that it has received multiple initial purchase orders and expects to be “fully commercialized within two years,” with initial adoption by mining fleets.

The company foresees GACW orders to soon be received for mining truck and mine site loader wheels. While starting with the largest OTR vehicles, the company says ASW technology could be adopted by smaller scale OTR equipment users or even buses, bicycles and wheelchairs.

GAWC says it is launching operational tests with a drum crusher for three months starting in September at an open pit mine location in Chile, and with a CAT 994 front-end loader for three months starting in October at an open pit mine location in Australia.

“At this point, our plan is to expand our distribution network and really start taking the OTR industry by storm,” Kemeny says. “GACW’s focus is catering to the demand from miners seeking viable tire solutions, and it is a substantial market for us. However, the ASW technology can be applied to all verticals where traditional rubber tires are used, and this market is immense. Our wheels are gaining the traction we need to thrust us into the main market.”

Kemeny says the global OTR tire market is estimated to reach $30 billion in 2022. The overall global tire market is anticipated to reach $322 billion by 2022 .

In terms of ASW benefits compared with rubber tires, GACW cites problems with “overheating tires or dangerous explosions that can be associated with conventional tires.”

Kemeny adds, “Many industries operate under status quo, resistant to change. Companies that are reluctant to innovate will not survive. Those companies that do adopt new technologies and embrace innovation will prosper. Tire use and its negative environmental impact will change inevitably. Governments are starting to mandate change on tire disposal [recycling], and this is already accelerating our technology’s adaptation into the market.”

Rubber tires account for the mining industry’s largest expense after payroll, claims GACW. The company cites “rapid wear and tear caused by impacts, rock cuts, and extreme and uneven loading” as meaning the lifespan of an expensive mining tire is relatively short.

“By contrast, the ASW is durable and designed to have the same lifespan as the vehicle itself, (approximately 10 to 15 years), meaning fewer replacement costs and less time spent swapping out damaged tires,” GACW says.

“One 13,000-pound OTR mining tire can cost over $75,000 and only lasts six to nine months; that is a large expense for a product that does not last,” Kemeny says.

Two excavators from Doosan are now deployed at a C&D recycling facility in Spain.

The Mediterranean Institute of Ecological Studies (IMEE), which operates a recyclable materials processing plant near Valencia, Spain, has added a new Doosan DX380LC-7 crawler excavator to its machinery fleet, according to that equipment producer.

Doosan says IMEE is authorized by a local community organization known as Generalitat Valenciana to provide a discarded construction materials treatment service in the region.

The facilities at IMEE include a transfer station, a recycling plant, a further treatment plant and an inert landfill. At the transfer station, or separation warehouse, recyclables such as plastics, cardboard, metal and wood are removed.

The remaining inert waste is then passed through to a triage cabin, from where soil and aggregates are placed on a conveyor belt toward screening and processing machinery that converts it into marketable materials for use in the construction and roadbuilding.

“We are growing between 20 to 30 percent every year, so we needed a new excavator to work in our facilities and Doosan proved to be the best for the size of excavator to meet our needs, with a lower fuel consumption and a quality design,” IMEE Managing Director Nacho Llácer says.

He continues, “We need to load, unload, excavate and transport stockpiles to the crusher to recycle, collect the waste that arrives at our facilities (with an average of 140 trucks per day and about 2,000 metric tons of material per day) and carry out various jobs at the plant.”

Feedback from employees has been good, Llácer says, adding, "Our operators are very happy with the new excavator. They appreciate the ease of operation and the additional comfort that comes from a new machine. The visibility, the cab and the safety are outstanding elements, as well as the robustness.”

Doosan says the 44-ton DX380LC-7 model offers greater productivity, high performance and lower fuel consumption because of its D-Ecopower technology. Also included are a 360-degree camera system and what Doosan calls “large side mirrors, powerful work lights, and non-slip steps, platforms and safety rails on the upper structure.”

IMEE also owns a Doosan DX170W-5 wheeled excavator, which replaced a machine from another brand several years ago.

Llácer says of the older machine, “The DX170W-5 is ideal for its size and power. We equip it with a clamp to sort and separate various materials into groups. In addition to handling work in the waste area, the Doosan DX170W-5 excavator literally rips the plastic out of the big bags, separating the content from the container, which allows us to quickly and conveniently divide and select materials and soil or rubble. It also transports and stacks the containers we use.”

The combination of machines and techniques is effective for IMEE, Llácer says. “The different types of components used in construction generate waste that must be classified for later recovery, identifying what can be recovered for reuse. Thanks to the sorting process, we manage to recover 95 percent of the waste products for subsequent recycling. The lack of adequate centers like ours for construction waste creates a serious problem for our environment and is currently a huge setback.”

Regarding working with Doosan and its Valencia-based distributor Ximo Magallo & CIA, Llácer adds, “The qualities of machines today are intrinsic, such as new technologies, rear view cameras and ergonomic seats. However, I personally highly value the role of a good salesperson who not only sells a machine, but also advises you and helps you with decision-making when selecting the best products for your projects, including post sales, which is also extremely important. There are sellers who are simple order takers, who leave a catalogue on the table, but are not even experts in their product. Selling is not offering; selling is talking, listening to the needs and offering solutions to the client. A person who only distributes flyers will hardly know how to solve a problem when you have it. Therefore, it is vital for me that the manufacturers train their teams properly and prioritize the training centers.”

He says of Ximo Magallo & CIA and Doosan training business unit Centrocar, “Their team is really efficient in this sense, and they also offer a very good technical service and are fast. They solve all my problems, which strengthens my confidence in them.”

Screen and crusher producer adds Michael Millies as group sales director for the Americas.

McCloskey International, based in Keene, Ontario, has announced the appointment of Michael Millies to a group sales director position in which he’ll be responsible for overseeing sales for the full portfolio of McCloskey Group companies in North and South America.

Millies previously has worked for heavy equipment maker Komatsu and as a sales director for packaging equipment firm Enercon Industries.

“It’s clear the dealership network for the McCloskey group has an excellent foundation that we will be able to tap into to strengthen the existing relationships,” Millies says. “A focus on the growth of business processes with these dealers will better allow us to understand market conditions they are operating in and focus on their future needs. Being tied to a global brand experiencing rapid growth will present opportunities that will take all of us from where we are today to a promising future for all of those involved. I am very much excited to be a part of that journey.”

McCloskey, part of Metso Outotec, says in his new role Millies will “continue the close working relationship McCloskey enjoys with its current distribution partners, identify and recruit prospective dealers to fill any gaps, and work with them on solidifying standard forecasting processes for better alignment in the future.”

John O’Neill, global vice president with McCloskey, says, “Michael’s experience within the heavy equipment industry globally will allow him to easily integrate into the relationships that we have with our dealer network and keep pace with the rising demand for McCloskey Group equipment.”

Millies, whose appointment is effective immediately, will be based out of the Lippmann Milwaukee crushing equipment factory and office in Cudahy, Wisconsin.

Founded in 1985 and acquired by Metso Outotec in 2019, McCloskey International makes screening and crushing products that are used in the aggregates, waste management, recycling, landscaping, infrastructure and road building, construction and demolition, and mining sectors.

Canada-based ProAll becomes part of Terex Materials Processing group.

Terex Materials Processing (Terex MP), a provider of aggregate, environmental, concrete, lifting and handling machinery, says it has acquired the Canadian company ProAll, a producer of mobile volumetric concrete mixers. ProAll’s main production is based in Olds, Alberta, and it operates a service and installation site in Keller, Texas.

The ProAll staff will report to Jason Talbot, a Terex MP vice president and general with responsibilities in North America and Australia. “ProAll will provide us with exciting prospects to expand into new markets and grow our knowledge and market share in the mobile concrete pouring industry,” Talbott says. “We look forward to embarking on this journey together with our new colleagues in Alberta and Texas.”

Larry Koop, co-owner and former managing director of ProAll, says, “For the past 50 years, ProAll has been a leader in mobile concrete delivery. This is something we are hugely proud of and one of the reasons that we feel so happy to have the opportunity to become part of the Terex MP family. The existing resources at Terex MP will bring huge benefits and global opportunities to our existing team and I am delighted to see their hard work pay off.”

The Terex MP business unit of New Jersey-based Terex also includes several brands that offer equipment used in recycling applications, including CBI, Cedarapids, EvoQuip, Finlay and Powerscreen, plus hydraulic scrap handler producer Fuchs. Earlier this month, Terex MP also acquired robotic sorting producer ZenRobotics.

Anticipated leveling of Noida Supertech “twin towers” takes place in late August.

Throughout the year, media coverage in India has been thorough regarding the end of a prolonged court battle and, eventually, preparations to implode two 40-story unfinished buildings known as the Noida Supertech twin towers.

A timeline of the ill-fated towers, prepared by The Hindu shows developer Supertech spent years revising and adding to its plans to build on land it had acquired in the Noida section of New Delhi.

A 2012 revision that called for two towers to be built to 40 stories high was battled in court by residents and owners of nearby properties.

As early as 2014, a court in India ordered demolition of the still under-construction towers. It was not until late August of last year, however, that the Supreme Court of India ordered “demolition within three months.” The court cited violations including “violation of rules like minimum 16-meter (52 feet) distance between buildings and the new construction coming up in [an] area marked for green space,” according to The Hindu.

After delays and an implosion target date in May that was not met, the unfinished towers came down Aug. 28 with the use of some 8,150 pounds of explosives, according to The Week.

That publication indicates the towers became the tallest structures in the nation’s history to undergo demolition. The Week also indicates about 5,000 nearby residents and their 200 or so pets were temporarily evacuated before the implosion process took place. “The closest buildings next to twin towers are Aster 2 and Aster 3 of Emerald Court society, which are just nine meters [less than 30 feet] away,” the report says.

From the implosion scene, The Times of India quotes Ritu Maheshwari, CEO of the Noida Authority, as saying the implosion was successful and was quickly followed by cleaning work and air quality monitoring activities.

It quotes a staff member of Mumbai-based contractor Edifice Engineering as saying, “I was just 70 meters (230 feet) away from the building. The demolition was 100 percent successful. It took 9 or 10 seconds for the entire building to demolish. There were 10 people in my team, including seven foreign experts, and 20 to 25 people from Edifice Engineering.”

According to media reports, South Africa-based Jet Demolition Ltd. was the foreign subcontractor with implosion experience that took part in the project.

A video of the implosion from three different angles can be viewed here.