Developing and manufacturing the most advanced clean diesel technology to meet 2014 EPA standards for construction, industrial and farm equipment was a complex and challenging process, according to several leading manufacturers exhibiting at the CONEXPO CON/AGG 2014 convention event in Las Vegas, the international gathering place for the construction and agriculture, industries this week.
The end result has been advanced diesel engines and equipment in several hundred different off-road machines – from massive bulldozers to farm tractors to lawn mowers – that have near zero emissions under EPA’s Tier 4 Final standards, which became mandatory this year.
In addition, the diesel manufacturers were able to achieve the lower emission standards while also improving engine efficiency.
“Above all else this is about cleaner air and making more efficient machines which is greater for everybody,” said Brad Stemper, the solutions brand marketing manager for CASE Construction Equipment.
More than 125,000 visitors and 2,400 exhibitors attended the CONEXPO CON/AGG 2014 convention. The vast array of construction, farm and industrial equipment being exhibited covers 2.3 million square feet.
The Diesel Technology Forum, is a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness on diesel engines, fuel and technology, has produced a video which includes interviews with leading industry manufacturers who discuss some of the challenges industry overcame to reach the Tier 4 Final standards.
Complex challenge
Because a majority of all construction and agricultural equipment is diesel-powered, this new generation of Tier 4 final clean diesel technology will power the future of these two vital sectors of the economy, said Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.
Achieving Tier 4 Final standards was especially challenging because of the wide array of engines and equipment covered under the regulations.
“We have probably 300 different machine models we have to deal with,” said Doug Mihelick, the technical sales manager for the Engine Division at Caterpillar.
“But when we talk about delivering industrial engines to the industrial engine market there could be another 500 or 600 different applications in the industrial engine business that we need to satisfy, work with, help the OEM install those engines in their products, and so this has reached out to many, many different industries in North America.”
