CONTENTS
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
40 LIFECYCLE SUPPORT
TTControl offers control systems,
operator interfaces and IoT solutions for
off-highway vehicles
42 EASE THE LOAD
Solutions by Hydraforce feature
telematics with remote access built in
43 DON’T DROP THE PRESSURE
Powerful valve technology by Wandfluh
means precision control and sensitivity
44 OPTIMAL AIR DISTRIBUTION
Climate control specialist Eberspächer
Kalori has considerable experience with
customers requiring special applications
p46
p40 p43 p44
FOREWORD
45 POWERED TO SUCCESS
Customised solutions by Flash Battery
are placed all over the world with one of
the lowest failure rates in the sector
46 A DAZZLING DISPLAY
Topcon produces high quality
customised displays for global machine
manufacturers
47 ELECTRIC AND HYBRID FUTURE
Carraro offers a comprehensive product
portfolio of complete drivelines for the
most popular construction equipment
4
As a new world unfolds before our very eyes, changed in
almost every way by the risks posed to health by Covid-19, my
mind goes back to a chance meeting in the halls of Bauma Munich,
just over a year ago. The engineer whom I spoke to (unfortunately I
didn’t get his card and don’t remember his name) mused to me about
the long-term viability of gigantic expos, asking, “I wonder if this
could be the last Bauma Munich”. Standing there in the middle of the
largest trade show anywhere in the world – one that attracted over
600,000 visitors over the course of one week – his pessimism seemed
somewhat fanciful. Yes, I could see his point that the carbon footprint
of such gargantuan international events was clearly eye-watering, and
that with rapidly advancing digital conferencing and VR technology
so much business could now be done instead in a virtual space, but
would the entire industry be willing to change? Could such huge
events be brushed aside, or at least transformed into virtual
equivalents in the space of a few short years? At the time I doubted it.
But now, just a year later, it seems almost as if this anonymous
engineer was a time traveller from the future. Perhaps that’s why he
didn’t give me his card…
But, even without the benefit of a time machine, the clues as to the
direction of the expo industry have been there to read. For example,
when iVT attended ConExpo in Last Vegas in March (an event that
has now gone down in off-highway history as the last big pre-Covid
gathering, sneaked in, as it was, just before almost the entire Western
world went into lockdown) a new vehicle was presented in virtual
reality. You can read about our VR walkaround of the Manitowoc
Grove GMK6400-1 along with four other vehicle highlights from the
Vegas event on page 10. Perhaps VR headsets will be an important
part of the ‘new normal’ we are now looking to define.
Away from show floors, webinars and podcasts had been gaining
in popularity across all industries before Covid-19 hit. But now, of
course, they’re not just an added extra, they’re an essential way to
remain connected to the industry. iVT began offering both earlier this
year. You can hear the latest episode of our podcast and browse the
archive at www.ivtinternational.com/podcast and you can book a
webinar by emailing kevin.barrett@markallengroup.com – plus, watch
this space for more on an exciting new webinar series, coming soon.
Of course, we all hope and anticipate that eventually we’ll get back
to a place where international events will take place again.
We can’t possibly say exactly how they
will change and evolve, but we can start
the conversation and be involved in the
recovery efforts right across our industry,
which have already begun, as you can read
on page 16. And while specific predictions
may be tricky, if we read the signs carefully,
perhaps we can drop in briefly on the
future, even without a time machine…
Tom Stone, editor
Coming up in the September 2020 issue of iVT
Agricultural vehicle special: including new vehicle launches, precision farming and ISObus. Plus,
autonomous vehicles, electric and hybrid technology, cab design, HMI and drivetrain systems
iVTInternational.com June 2020
/podcast
/iVTInternational.com
link