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Leica Geosystems SP Technology Helps Manatts Grade Highway 3X Faster

Written by Leica Geosystems

Created on Saturday, 16 October 2010 22:34

 Manatts Construction Company equips its dozers with Leica Geosystems

When Iowa-based Manatts Construction Company needed to increase productivity while ensuring accuracy on a highway construction project, they turned to Leica Geosystems and its new SP technology for bulldozers.

SP is revolutionizing the way contractors move dirt and fine-grade. The innovative SP technology opens new opportunities for dozers, combining ease-of-use, unrivalled flexibility, and the highest precision at the fastest speeds available in the market. Contractors can now boost their productivity and performance even more while benefiting from new ways to use existing equipment.

“With the technology prior to SP, the machines were moving a lot slower,” says Chris Sawin, Project Manager, Manatts. “So you can’t get the volume of rock laid in the same amount of time as you can now.”

Sawin quantifies the speed improvement this way: “We ran a Caterpillar dozer in first gear prior to SP; now with SP we are in third gear placing the rock to grade. So you can just imagine how much quicker your dozer’s moving.”

According to Sawin, SP technology speeds up the trimming process. “We still typically trim to get the tolerance we need which is a couple of millimeters,” says Sawin. “By getting it close enough, with the dozer equipped with SP technology, we’re shuffling a lot less rock ahead. And the less cut you have with the trimmer, the faster you can move.”

“Operators really like the machine,” says Sawin. “It’s just less work for them. They do not have to do as much grade-checking for themselves.”

The speed of SP gives Manatts a competitive business edge. “You can bid your productions higher, because you can figure that you’re going to lay this much more rock compared to what you are used to. You are laying the material faster and closer, and it just speeds up the whole process. And it requires less labor checking the grade.”

SP technology provides improved hydraulic control that allows faster grading with outstanding precision at high speeds, dramatically increasing machine utilization and productivity. Bulldozers can now take on even more fine grading jobs, completing work with less heavy equipment on site and helping contractors finish their projects ahead of schedule and under budget.

All dozers equipped with Leica PowerGrade 3D and GPS can easily be updated to get the full benefit of SP technology. No additional complexity is added compared to a regular control system in regards to installation or operator usage.

For more information on Leica Geosystems SP technology, visit www.leica-geosystems.us/MachineControl or call 1-877-Leica-MC (1-877-534-2262)) today.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden. 

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