Held every three years in Munich, Germany, the world's largest trade show for construction equipment boasted 62 hours of trade show time, spread out over seven days.  Bauma is always an exciting and highly-anticipated week for the concrete products industry and this year was no exception.  The event was the perfect stage for the Besser team to meet face to face with a global audience and demonstrate firsthand what makes Besser a premier supplier.  

The prevailing mood of the crowd was of optimism.  Attendees explored the 150 acre event with smiles, seeking new opportunities to improve operations through increased plant efficiency and expanded product lines.  Distinctly, the Besser display catered to both of these areas. Our demo machine display showcased the popular Advanced Servo Vibration and Servo Main Drive (ASV/SMD).  A video just above the display demonstrated the advancements in operation with side-by-side comparisons of standard vibration on CAM machines versus the Servo-equipped upgrade. Another upgrade promoted to block and pipe producers was Op-Smart, an easy-to-use software that identifies areas in need of improvements in order to maximize plant operation. 

The Besser Prestopac...A notable, yet nearly forgotten machine has recently made its way back onto our manufacturing floor. 

The Prestopac, a one-at-a-time block machine, was first manufactured in 1947 for Besser customer, Neisser, located in Lima, Peru.  At the time, this machine (standing less than 5' tall) was used to produce quality concrete block for local housing requirements.  At the peak of its operation, this machine could only produce 300 block a day - a far cry from the Vibrapac®, released eight years earlier.  In the early 1960s, because the limited appeal and usefulness, the basic Prestopac model was modified and marketed to be a laboratory machine that producers could use to run a "test" block with various mix designs to achieve a desired weight or color.  Customers were able to perform small-scale quality testing at a fraction of the cost of testing previously completed in their full production facility.  

We recently revised the beloved Concrete Masonry Units book. Special thanks to the talented engineering staff at the National Concrete Masonry Association for reviewing and updating the technical information.

 

See the new version by following this link:

 

Printed copies will be available soon! If you're interested in receiving one, please contact Terri Rondeau at 989.354.1040 or trondeau@besser.com.