The construction industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by an increased focus on environmental sustainability, circular construction and work place safety and the growing importance of technologies such as modular construction, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT). In the last three years alone, there have been over 248,000 patents filed and granted in the construction industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Modular construction in Construction: Paving machine operators. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 179,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the construction industry, there are 80+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Paving machine operators are a key innovation area in modular construction
Paving machine operators are workers that operate the machinery used to apply base and surface courses in the construction of roads, runways and other asphalt covered surfaces.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established construction companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of paving machine operators.
Key players in paving machine operators – a disruptive innovation in the construction industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to paving machine operators
| Company | Total patents (2021 - 2023) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Deere & Co | 481 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Caterpillar | 219 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Astec Industries | 98 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fayat | 87 | Unlock Company Profile |
| AB Volvo | 52 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sumitomo Heavy Industries | 47 | Unlock Company Profile |
| MOBA Mobile Automation | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ammann Schweiz | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CHANGSHA ZOOMLION HEAVY INDUSTRY & SCIENCE | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Gencor Industries | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Terex | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Leading innovators in the paving machine operator space include Deere, a supplier of advanced products and services. Through its subsidiaries Wirtgen and Joseph Vögele, Deere provides road pavers, slipform pavers and extending screeds. Key patents of Deere relevant to the operation of paving machines include a device for monitoring the compaction of concrete introduced into a slipform of a slipform paver and a method for monitoring during the operation of a slipform paver, the compaction of concrete introduced into a slipform of the slipform paver via at least one concrete compacting device. Further innovations include a method for determining the layer thickness of a paving layer produced by the road finisher.
In terms of application diversity, leading companies in the paving machine operator space include Astec Industries, Deere, and Gencor Industries. By geographic reach, leading companies include AB Volvo and MOBA Mobile Automation.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the construction industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Construction.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
