Following its successful participation last year, Al Bakhit Construction Equipment will once again be participating in the Big 5 this month. Promoted at its stands will be an array of equipment ranging from concrete pumps to wheel washing equipment.

“We had excellent exposure and good success at last year’s Big 5 show with lots of inquiries from visitors and was a good shop window for us, this has encouraged us to participate again,” says Paul Austin-Price, deputy general manager of Al Bakhit Construction Equipment.
“The Big 5 show 2007 is being split this year into separate building and construction equipment sections. So this will prove to be better for us in meeting customers who are the end-users,” he adds.
“The highlight of our display is the new mobile concrete pump from Sany. With a 56-m reach, this will be the biggest concrete pump on offer in the UAE,” he says.
In Dubai’s fast-paced construction sector, pumping of concrete has become an advanced science and, with the introduction of high-pressure concrete pumps and self-climbing placing booms, the time taken to build structures is reduced dramatically, Austin-Price points out. “The old method of using a crane and bucket was a slow and tedious process in which the quality of the concrete delivered would have been suspect. Dubai leads the world in concrete innovation and we now have the technology to pump concrete to heights of over 700 m.”
Al Bakhit Construction Equipment represents a large portfolio of Sany products in the UAE.
“Sany is now the largest mobile concrete pump manufacturer in the world in terms of volume. The truck-mounted concrete pumps are made in China and fitted on European chassis built in Sweden and Germany. Mobile concrete pumps, static pumps and placing boom come together as a package ready to work for the end-users,” Austin-Price says.
Sany Heavy Industry also supplies various other construction equipment such as the Sany YZ series hydraulic vibrating rollers, tandem vibratory rollers, trailer-mounted concrete pumps for oversized aggregates, rotary drilling rigs, hydraulic asphalt pavers, hydraulic excavators, concrete truck mixers and PQ190 II fully hydraulic graders. Its concrete pumps include 37-m, 38-m, 42-m, 45-m, 48-m units and the new 56-m truck-mounted concrete pump, which will be on show at the Big 5 exhibition.
“At the Big 5 , we will also have a dedicated indoor stand which will demonstrate the operation of the Snowkey ice plant. This is a Japanese innovation manufactured in China, which makes flake ice and drops it in a storage unit ready on demand for mixing in concrete batching plant.
“Due to the hot climate here, construction companies have to use ice to maintain the temperature and the consistency of the concrete to ensure that quality is maintained when it reaches its destination,” he says.
Al Bakhit Construction Equipment has 22 plants in operation with various customers in the UAE and has received orders for six more.
“Customers are now becoming aware of the high quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness of purchasing the Snowkey brand,” he says.
Other products that the company intends to promote at the show include new Frutiger Moby Dick wheel-washing systems from Switzerland and the range of cranes from Raimondi Tower Cranes of Italy. The latter, however, will not be displayed at the show due to the excessively high market demand on the Raimondi factory.
“There is a big necessity for wheel-washing equipment in the market since Dubai Municipality is tightening up on dirty vehicles which leave construction sites and litter the roads,” Austin-Price says. “The Moby Dick makes it easy to clean vehicles exiting construction sites. The used water is recycled over and over again and the sludge separated to be used as backfilling material.”
Raimondi’s tower cranes, he continues,  are used in construction sites through the world.
“We have 20 of our Raimondi tower cranes in use in the UAE including two units with Al Shafer General Contracting at its Palm Jumeirah site,” he adds.
Raimondi offers a large selection of tower cranes ranging from hammer head, flat top, mobile self-erecting to luffing jib models for use in restricted sites. It manufactures cranes to customer requirements and claims the distinction of being one of the only two crane manufacturers worldwide to achieve A4 classification for their products.