I Make America Campaign

“We need to dramatically increase jobs for America’s equipment manufacturers so they are able to prosper and grow right here in the U.S. When they succeed, America wins.”
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) launched the I Make America campaign in September of 2010 in an effort to push for the creation of more jobs within the manufacturing industry.  The campaign is tied in with the discussion of rebuilding the United States’ infrastructure as a means of increasing the amount of manufacturing jobs available.
I Make America wants to push congress to pass policies that will help the manufacturing industry grow in the United States.  Manufacturing supports an estimated 18.6 million jobs in the U.S., which equals out to around one in six private sector jobs.  The campaign encourages companies and individuals to reach out to their representatives and ask them for their support.
The manufacturing industry is extremely important for our country today because of the assistance it could lend to the economy as well as the job market if things progress in a positive way.  The I Make America campaign and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers believe that manufacturing jobs are a vital component in helping our country move forward.
Specific information from this post as well as additional information about the campaign can be found at:
http://www.imakeamerica.com/home

Africans Exploring Mining Industry in Australia

Mining is an industry that flourishes in all different parts of the world.  Some countries are more ahead in the industry than others, and Australia is one that has recognized this.  AusAID is funding two study tours for government officials from 18 different countries all across Africa to visit Australia and learn more about its mining experience.  AusAID works with various developing countries to help them and deliver aid in whichever way  it is most needed.  AusAID recognizes that teaching these African officials about the mining industry can help them acquire the resources they need to get their mining industry going back home.
This type of aid not only helps the country it is assisting, but it also helps strengthen the mining industry itself.  Philippi-Hagenbuch is simply one of many companies that rely on the mining business to help grow and further develop itself.  AusAID’s mining studies are on country’s attempt to help build up this industry.

Read this article to learn a little more about the tours:
http://ausaid.gov.au/hottopics/topic.cfm?ID=5577_4449_1156_463_3278&From=HT

PHIL Inventor Develops Patent for Apparatus for Tracking and Recording Vital Signs and Task-related Information of a Vehicle

LeRoy G. Hagenbuch, Peoria, Ill., has developed a patent (8,014,917) for an “apparatus for tracking and recording vital signs and task-related information of a vehicle to identify operating patterns.” The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “An apparatus is provided for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and for providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in performing an assigned task with respect to a predetermined goal. A processor on-board the vehicle monitors sensors that provide information regarding the state of health of the vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. In response to anomalies in the data from the sensors, the processor records information that describes events leading up to the occurrence of the anomaly for later analysis that can be used to diagnose the cause of the anomaly. The sensors are also used to prompt the operator of the vehicle to operate the vehicle at optimum efficiency.” The patent application was filed on March 19, 2010 (12/727,537). The full-text of the patent can be found here.

The 29th Annual Coal Country Open Golf Tournament just concluded with the closing reception at Gillette, Wyoming’s CAMPLEX.

Over the past three days, the PHIL Tent, located on the 4th Tee at Bell Knob Golf Course provided hydration and respite from the 95F+ degree temperatures – nearly ideal for the 300 or so golfers.  Fun, sun, good game and big stories abound at the Coal Country Open and Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc. is happy to be a supporter of this great event to give back to the hard working coal miners of Campbell County.

This year, both Jerry Percifield of Alpha Coal West and Lincoln Klemola of LeTourneau won the drawing for a gift card to The Prime Rib – Congratulations, gentlemen!

Drawing Winners at Coal Country Open 2011

PHIL is focused: Patent Pending Body Lifting System

Safety is involved in every product sold, engineered and manufactured by PHIL, so when we see an opportunity to improve upon an industry best-practice, we take advantage of the opportunity and do our best to innovate – not for the sake of innovation, but as a mission to improve upon a practice that can be done safer, easier, at less cost and effort to the end user.

This past winter, as we were custom designing a truck body for a Cat 797B chassis for a client in Canada, the thought struck us “Why are end users having a weld temporary lifting eyes on the inside of the bodies when they need to put them on or take them off of chassis?”  From a safety standpoint, it’s common knowledge that lifting holes in body sides can become fatigued over time, depending on whether or not a shovel has hit them accidentally or other trauma have occurred.

In working on this problem in our Engineering Department, we came up with a solution that allows an end user to place removable “Lifting Eyes” through the floor structure of the body, attach a shackle and lift the body from the interior, thus reducing overhead height clearance required when putting on or removing a box from the truck.  The structure the Lifting Eye is keyed into is such that similar fatigue as experienced from the side lifting holes would not be present after even a considerable amount of time, thereby allowing this mechanism to be a safe alternative for lifting the body throughout its life.

The decision has been made within Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc. that all future bodies that go on trucks of 100 Ton capacity and greater will receive the new Body Lifting System as a standard, no charge option.

For more information on the new patent pending Body Lifting System, please call into the PHIL Sales Department at +1 (309) 697-9200 today.

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PHIL is focused: On Safety

Safety is a primary concern for any type of operation, from the smallest gravel pit to the largest open-pit mine. And nothing can shut you down quicker than lapses in safety. While safety is mainly about well being of the workers, safe practices actually boost productivity in the long (and short) run.

While productivity and cycle times are critical to every operation, unsafe operating practices, like overloading, unsafe loading and speeding are actually a greater risk because of the dangers involved. Smart managers know that safe operators (and operations) are efficient and productive operations.

There are safe ways to increase the capacity of your off-highway trucks without taking the risk of overloading, which can lead to unnecessary wear and tear on your truck, and even more so your truck’s tires.

Our Autogate® Tailgates and Specialty Bodies allow you to increase your loads effectively, without risking the stability and safety of your trucks. The same is true of our Rear Eject Bodies, which provide safe, stable hauling solutions for articulated trucks and a wide variety of materials.

We are so focused on safety at PHIL we have even been asked to make safety presentations. In 2009, LeRoy Hagenbuch and Josh Swank spoke at the SAE Conference in Rosemont, Ill., on “Safe Water Tank Design”. For a copy of this presentation, contact Josh Swank today.

Alaska Proud

A journey begins with a single step, which is what Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC’s clients made when they purchased the pictured PHIL HiVol(R) Low-Profile Rear Eject Bodies, which as of today are bound for Alaska.

Based on the end user’s low ceiling height specifications, these units were developed for the low-profile Volvo A30E cab and will be used in underground mining.

The simplicity of design, the 100% positive discharge and the fact that the PHIL design doesn’t use any rollers or have required lubrication points are the primary benefits for this end user.  Additionally, they like the fact that these bodies can simply be placed onto the standard Volvo A30E truck chassis and hooked into the existing hydraulic system.  No special truck, no special electronics or hydraulics.  Basically, it’s “plug and play.”

For more information on PHIL Rear Eject Bodies or Trailers, which can be designed and manufactured for almost any make and model of off highway truck, please contact Josh Swank at (309) 697-9200.

Learn more about the PHIL Rear Eject at:
http://www.philsystems.com/component/reareject.html

Congratulations and Welcome Home Chilean Miners!

It’s great to see countries and private companies from all over the world come together to help rescue the 33 trapped Chilean miners. The final rescue of all 33 this week symbolizes ingenuity and determination in spite of everything that stood in front of the rescuers way.

Welcome home and back to the sunlight, miners! We are all proud of you and have been rooting for you since the cave-in happened.

2,300 Miles and four video’s later

Last week I took on the persona of Phil Philippi and headed east to meet with multiple customers we have scattered throughout Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia.  Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s when Phil was “the” salesman for Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc., he felt just as comfortable behind the wheel of his car, barreling down a dirt road in search of a quarry as he did anywhere else.

It was through Phil’s relentless pursuit of providing his customers – his friends – in the aggregate and mining industries the best products that could be engineered and fabricated in an effort to increase efficiency that brought Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc. to fruition.

Over the course of the past six months, I’ve asked several of our customers if they would mind if I came to their facilities to take pictures and some video of our products in action.  Each and every client I asked gave me an enthusiastic “Absolutely – come on over!” as their response.  This turned out to be the foundation for last week’s trip.

During my road trip, I witnessed how our products increase efficiency in both Construction & Demolition Debris (C&D) landfills as well as in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills, how they are helping the largest coal mine east of the Mississippi River efficiently handle their overburden and the positive benefits a privately owned quarry firm in Indiana is seeing through the increased efficiency and decreased haul road debris our new Series 2 Autogate® Tailgates are providing.

Now that I’m back from the trip, I’ve had a chance to edit a couple of the video’s; I’ve put the video of our Series 2 Tailgate below for your enjoyment.  To see more of our video’s, visit our page on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/philippihagenbuch.

Coal Miners Speak out at EPA Hearing

For more information on coal, visit:

• NMA – The National Mining Association
• Friends of Coal