Atlas Copco's Intermat 2006 PreviewIntermat 2006, to be held at Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre on 24th-29th April, is this year's big construction event. Intermat 2006 is proud to announce a strong foreign participation since 1,500 exhibitors from 40 countries are registered to date. They occupy already 330,000 square metres of stands (for a total estimated surface of 350,000 square metres in April 2006). An impressive 200,000 French and international professionals are expected to visit the show. Visit www.intermat.frAtlas Copco, the world leading supplier of equipment to the construction industry, will take a front line position with a wide range of new and innovative products. The company's display, located in Hall 5 B, aims to be one of the main attractions with a wide range of new and improved products. The booth is made up of circular presentations that are designed to emphasize the company's total focus on top quality, not only in relation to products but also in relation to people and the standard of its after sales service.The array of equipment is impressive, including breakers, cutters, compressors, gen-sets, surface and underground drilling rigs, rock drilling tools, equipment for soil and ground stabilization, remote control systems and service and maintenance solutions, all designed to make the construction engineer's job lighter, easier and less hazardous.But it is the "Aftermarket" display - located right in the central Circle - that will get the strongest spotlight and is bound to generate the greatest interest. Here, visitors will be able to examine working tools, parts and service kits, accessories and components, Atlas Copco's adaptation and installation competence, service agreements, rebuild concepts as well as an excavator database and online platforms such as Products Online, AC connect, logistics and distribution. Atlas Copco's COP 3038 rock drill recently won an award for being the fastest rock drill on the market. Click here and here. Now this success has been followed up with another winner, the Rocket Boomer E2, a new drill rig for tunnelling with the celebrated rock drills mounted on its two booms. The Rocket Boomer E-series is to be launched at Intermat 2006. Click here. Visit www.boomer-rig.comBesides the rock drills, the second big plus point is the new boom design which greatly improves stability and gives faster and more accurate positioning. Called BUT 45, it has a 2.5 m extension which enables the rig to cover larger tunnel faces from a single set-up and gives more flexibility for roof drilling and crosscuts. This rig also has the upgraded Rig Control System, RCS, for accurate positioning and control as well as a range of innovative options such as fully automatic positioning, collaring and drilling. Rocket Boomer E2 Demands are also increasing for more and better systems for geotechnical and ground engineering applications, and here, too, Atlas Copco has clearly taken pole position. Following a series of acquisitions and product developments in recent years, the company is now able to offer probably the market's most comprehensive range of products for stabilizing soil and weak rock. At Intermat, this commitment will be reflected by products such as the Symmetrix overburden casing drilling system, Swellex rock bolts, MAI self-drilling anchors, the Unigrout automatic grouting unit and MAI grouting pumps. Click here. Visit www.swellex.com and www.rockreinforcement.com Pipe roofing system Symmetrix Pipe roofing using Symmetrix is a method of building tunnels through overburden or weak rock formations where a cut-and-cover method would not be feasible due to existing buildings, roads or other obstructions. Forepoling or umbrella vault drilling is used for grouting the tunnel prior to excavating it to ensure the face stabilization and protection. The method is based on the use of drilled poles ahead of the tunnel face. Symmetrix product range covers all forepoling and roof piping applications wherever drilling is required. In addition, open trench activities are becoming increasingly unpopular despite the constant need to add or relocate water mains, sewer lines, electrical or telephone cables. Horizontal drilling has become a common practice for locating utility lines under busy roadways. Symmetrix enables horizontal drilling regardless of the geological conditions. Visit http://www.rotex.fi/principle.html The need to regrind drill bits on construction sites usually requires sending worn bits off to a workshop in another location. Not any more. Intermat visitors will be the first to see the solution: Atlas Copco Secoroc's Grind Matic Jazz, a mobile rig-mounted grinder. The first of its kind, Jazz gives operators the convenience of grinding spherical and ballistic button bits on the spot.It uses Atlas Copco Secoroc's patented profiled diamond grinding wheels to grind worn spherical and button bits to perfection and handles both tapered and threaded button bits as well as DTH and COPROD bits from 35 mm all the way to 254 mm in diameter. The beauty is that Jazz runs on air and as it is rig-mounted follows the rig wherever it goes. Visit www.atlascopco.com/secoroc Intermat visitors will also see a wide range of Atlas Copco products that have undergone significant design improvements over the past year. These include, amongst others, the Mining Magazine award-winner and second generation COPROD drilling system, the Magnum SR drillstring systems for drifting and tunnelling applications. Visit www.miningandconstruction.com 15/06.