A total of 69 entries were submitted for Intermat''s Innovation Awards Programme, designed to highlight the best in construction equipment.

There were 24 in the Machinery category, 36 in Equipment & Components and 9 in Services.

The Jury said there was an emerging trend of tremendous inventiveness of the equipment and machinery submitted, in terms of ergonomic design and comfort, control (with further advances in driving assistance systems (electronic, location, automatic control, etc), energy efficiency and eco-friendliness, and of course efficiency and ease of use.

A Gold Award went to Bomag (FAYAT Group) for its intelligent compactor and  4 in 1 concept. An Ecomode energy optimisation system uses 17 to 30% less energy than a standard machine.

The Gold Award in the Equipment and Component section, went to Michelin for its TWEEL, which is a rubber tread connected to the wheel by flexible spokes replacing the conventional tyre and wheel combination with a single product.

Although the TWEEL is not inflated with air, it offers an equivalent load capacity to a conventional tyre.

The Bronze award went to MTG for a new hammerless retention system for teeth and adaptors on earthmoving machinery. The retainer, which works with most common adaptors on the market, keeps teeth and adaptors firmly in place and makes changing easier since no hammering is required.

In the Services Categories, the Gold Award went to Poclain Hydraulics for its SmartDrive Easy, an electronic transmission controller for customised vehicle performance in four easy steps.

The Jury''s Special prize went to FAIRCO for its LEA Technique, a low-energy asphalt (LEA), eco-friendly alternative to hot mix asphalt (HMA).

The process calls for laying of the mix at a temperature below 100 deg C.  The techniques combine the action of temperature, water and mixing energy on the constituents of the asphalt mix, bitumen and mineral aggregate.