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minexpo highlights continued through the company's 1.2-acre exhibit at the trade show lent considerable credence to that claim. Although even that amount of surface area wasn't quite enough to fit-in every type of equipment that the company offers, Cat did find enough open space to bring in a 420,000-lb Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) SD70ACe locomotive—decked out in Caterpillar yellow—from its Progress Rail Services subsidiary, in addition to display- ing units of its mining-class haul trucks, excavators, dozers, wheel loaders and a wide range of other surface and under- ground mining equipment. Prior to the start of the three-day show, Cat hosted a press event during which the company presented a product segment-by- segment rundown of new or recent product, technology and strategic developments in its global mining business. With a portfolio that now includes surface equipment rang- ing from conveyors to draglines—and every type in between—and underground long- wall and hard-rock cutting and haulage lines, there's room in this MINExpo wrap-up only for thumbnail sketches of develop- ments in each equipment segment. Haulage Systems—This segment in- cludes articulated trucks, smaller off-high- way trucks, E-Ject truck body systems, scrapers and conveyors. Segment manager Larry C. Tate said his group would not introduce any new products at MINExpo— but that didn't mean his segment hasn't been active. During 2011–2012, according to Tate, the company introduced three new articulated truck models (735B, 740B, 740B EJ), five new off-highway models (770G, 772G, 773G, 775G, 777G), and three new scraper models (621H, 623H, 627H). Caterpillar's objective, said Tate, was to provide customers with 'total solutions' that cover the most important hauling-sys- tems selection criteria: • What type of material is being moved? • What are the underfoot conditions? • How much material has to be moved? • What is the total job cycle distance? • What are the job site time/production requirements? Conveyor systems are the newest option in Cat's hauling system portfolio, according to Tate. Installations will be cus- tom-made to match the profile, distance, material characteristics, tonnage and desired belt speed for each application. Surface Material Handling Products— The big news in this area, according to Segment Manager Sri Srinath, is that Cat now can offer a competitive current lineup of rotary drills, encompassing six models 30 www.coalage.com from the former Bucyrus stable that offer bit-loading capacities of 53,000–165,000 lb, hole diameters of 6–17.5 in. and single-pass hole-depth ranges of 29 ft to 65+ ft. Srinath noted that Cat has a "sharp focus" on further development of drill tech- nology, and is working with key mining companies on development of autonomous rigs. Cat drills will be sold and supported through the Cat dealer network. Globally, the company currently has more than two- dozen dealers "onboard" for drills, and is intent upon bringing in more of its mining- industry dealers for the rotary drill business. Underground Products—In the under- ground coal sector, Cat now can offer a complete longwall shearer range com- prising four models (Electra EL1000, EL2000, EL3000, EL4000) with height capacities from 3.2 m to 7.2 m, ex- plained Segment Manager Uli Paschedag. One EL3000 shearer is currently operating in Australia and another is slated to go into service in India soon. The primary selling points of Cat's shearer line, he said, are: • Productivity: Installed horsepower across the range matches market demand, and the shearers feature a new, powerful PMC-S Evo control system. • Reliability: Offering a unique, robust mainframe; insert trapping shoe; and Ethernet-based communications and control system. • Modularity: Line consists of four machines with two sets of components. The EL4000, for example, has a bigger mainframe than the EL3000, but other- wise uses most of the same components featured on the smaller machine. Cat has developed a Personal Proximity Detection (PPD) system, described as an assisting, risk-mitigating feature that iden- tifies the presence or absence of personnel on a longwall installation accurately, repet- itively and reliably, and transmits this infor- mation to the machine's control system. PPD also works with a continuous miner operations, detecting the presence of per- sonnel within a certain distance of a machine, providing warning signals to workers in the vicinity, and inhibiting machine movement when workers are detected in the surrounding areas. Cat also will begin to offer Chinese- made Siwei mid-tier roof supports as a complement to its own line of supports. The mid-range units will retain Siwei branding and will be sold within Cat's Global Mining business. Just recently released is the CM235 con- tinuous miner, a 67.5-ton machine rated at 940 total horsepower and 550 cutter head horsepower, capable of load rates from 15- 32 tons per minute. Finally, according to Paschedag, Cat is developing a prototype for a continuous miner-style, hard-rock cutting machine and plans to begin trials of the unit within a few months. Large Mining Trucks—It's been an eventful four years since MINExpo 2008 for Cat's mining truck business, said Ed McCord, segment manager, and the acqui- sition of Bucyrus' Unit Rig electric-drive truck lifted the truck group's level of activi- ty even higher than usual. In the years fol- lowing the last MINExpo, said McCord, Cat began production of the 793F, 797F and 795F AC; designed, tested and began pro- The Cat 6120B hydraulic front shovel features hybrid technology. November 2012