Equipment Report

Terex Corp., Westport, Conn., appears to have made a successful bid to buy Powerscreen International PLC, Dublin, Ireland. Terex says it will buy Powerscreen, a crushing, screening and material handling company, for about $287.5 million.

The directors of Powerscreen International say they consider the terms of the agreement to be "fair and reasonable," according to text on the Powerscreen web page.

"I am very pleased to have reached agreement with Powerscreen International on the terms of an offer," says Terex chairman and CEO Ron DeFeo. "The directors believe that the Powerscreen Group will provide Terex with leading positions in the markets for screening and crushing equipment."

Powerscreen has more than 2,400 employees in the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland, Britain and the U.S.

Terex Corp. has also completed its acquisition of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Cedarapids Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of mobile crushing and screening equipment, asphalt pavers and asphalt material mixing plants.

A Komatsu material handler equipped with a Bodine HDDM-225 grapple is being credited with helping Canadian National Railway demolish and recycle a bridge without disrupting rail traffic.

The deck and substructure of the 122-year-old bridge, located near Durand, Mich., had to be removed within three 16-hour blocks of time (starting on a Sunday) in order to minimize the re-routing of freight rail traffic.

Steel I-beams were removed and prepared for shipment to a steel mill by a 175-ton Krupp crane which was steadied by the Komatsu excavator and Bodine grapple. The grapple was also used to remove bridge decking, pilings and pile caps.

According to Jeff Perrin of Perrin Construction, the company that oversaw the job, the Bodine grapple proved to be ideal for the task, and was delivered on time by Allied Attachments of St. James, Fla.

PENNSYLVANIA CRUSHER ACQUIRES JEFFREY

Pennsylvania Crusher Corp., Broomall, Pa., has purchased the operations and assets of Jeffrey Specialty Equipment Corp. from Global Processing Systems Inc., Dallas.

The Jeffrey operations, located in Woodruff, S.C., will be run as a newly-formed, wholly-owned Pennsylvania Crusher Corp. subsidiary. Both companies will remain autonomous, says John D. Whalen, chairman and CEO of Pennsylvania Crusher and of Jeffrey Specialty Equipment "We anticipate, however, a number of situations where the experience and know-how of one company will support and enhance the effectiveness of both," he says.

Pennsylvania Crusher is a provider of equipment for quarries, process plants, recycling operations and other industries. Jeffrey Specialty Equipment manufactures industrial hammermills feeders and conveyors.