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Paving the Road from Switzerland to Canada
Ammann chooses Canada for North American launch. |
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Written by Andrew Macklin
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After 101 years of manufacturing engine-driven road rollers, Swiss-based Ammann has decided to bring its full line of paving equipment to the North American market. But instead of testing the market in the United States, the company has set up shop here in Canada.
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The AFT 500 paves a lane of the McDowell Equipment parking lot in Barrie, Ont.
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The company used one of its Ontario distributors, McDowell’s Equipment in Barrie, Ont., as the site to unveil its full lineup of Vibrating Rollers and Pavers. With seven types of rollers and four series of road pavers in Ammann’s product lines, Ammann is making its full product line available to Canadian customers.
“The market in Canada is far more stable than other North American markets,” said Ammann’s director of sales and marketing Alexander Greschner at the McDowell event. “We’re seeing Canadian companies in Europe already using Ammann road products, so we know that this country was the right place to bring our paving equipment.”
The vibrating roller market is one that Ammann hopes to quickly capture in Canada thanks to a wide variety of machinery meant to meet the needs of any company in the market for a new purchase. The company currently builds seven types of vibrating rollers, all of which have been made available through its Canadian distributor network:
- heavy-duty single-drum rollers
- heavy articulated tandem rollers
- rigid frame tandem rollers
- pneumatic tyred rollers
- duplex walk behind rollers
- trench rollers
- light tandem rollers
With 13 different models available, Ammann’s light tandem rollers offer a comprehensive range of working widths. From the smallest AV 12-2, a 1,490-kilogram model with a working width of 82 centimetres, to the AV 115-2, an 11,550-kg model with a 309-cm working width, Ammann has light tandem roller options for all sizes of paving contractors.
Serviceability of its rolling equipment is a high priority for the Swiss company. The company has taken steps to make daily service work on its equipment as painless as possible. On its light tandem rollers, all service points are located on one side of the machine. For its line of heavy-duty single-drum rollers, all daily service points are located at ground level.
Ammann currently offers four classes of paving equipment. The Class 1 AFW150G is ideal for loading with a skid steer loader and is built to solve issues surrounding small-scale job sites. The Class 2 AFW/T270 is a 5,200-kilogram model featuring a maximum spread layer width of 3,300-mm and 150 tonnes/hour maximum production. The Class 3 AFW/T350 has a Deutz TD2011 L04i engine, and has a maximum speed of of 12 km/h with optional front wheel drive. Ammann’s biggest model to date, the Class 5 AFW/T500 is a 15,000-kg machine that boasts a spread layer of 2550 to 4900 mm, and has a maximum production of 500 t/h. Ammann’s first Class 7 paver is set to be released at Bauma 2013 in Munich, Germany next year. All pavers, including the anticipated Class 7 machine, are able to pave with hot, warm and cold mixes.
Ammann’s Canadian presence includes eight delaers in seven provinces:
- Parker Pacific across British Columbia
- Williamson Equipment in Edmonton
- Cubex in Winnipeg
- CES in Pickering, Ontario
- McDowell Equipment in Ontario
- Bock Equipment across Quebec
- Case Atlantic in Mount Pearl, N.L.
- Maritime Case in Hanwell, N.B.
Williamson Equipment will also be the site of the Ammann’s parts warehouse. Being able to establish a parts supply distribution centre in Canada, and a strong national dealer network, were top priorities for the company before launching its full product line.
“Putting the parts warehouse in Canada was a big step forward,” said Greschner. “We also had to be very careful with our distributor network. We wanted dealers that were motivated, and that understood the complications of selling pavers and paving equipment. We hope that carrying paving equipment will allow some of these companies to expand.”
For more information on Ammann’s full line of paving equipment, now available in Canada, visit the company’s website at www.ammann-group.com or call your local Ammann dealer.
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