Doing More with Less

With laser equipment, Bobcat compact track loaders complete work formerly done by dozers

Trace Construction, a concrete contractor based near Indianapolis, Ind., uses Bobcat� compact equipment and innovative technology to do the same jobs typically done by larger equipment. With Bobcat equipment, Trace Construction completes jobs more efficiently and with less cost.

Trace Construction owner Sonny Shetterley says his sons prefer Bobcat loaders with laser-guided attachments over dedicated grading machines because of their speed and versatility.

Large jobs, small equipment

Trace Construction does concrete work for new distribution centers, big box retail stores, warehouses, hospitals and schools. The company's two Bobcat grader attachments are equipped with laser systems and used on Bobcat compact track loaders to prepare subgrade for concrete. Trace Construction purchases Bobcat equipment from Bobcat of Anderson in Anderson, Ind.

"We would not have been able to do big areas without this system. Now that we have the laser, we can control our own subgrade and take on larger work than we did in the past."
� Joe Shetterley

Laser system saves time

Each of the two grader attachments has dual receivers that communicate with a laser transmitter set on a tripod. The transmitter emits a plane of laser light across the jobsite. Each of the two grader attachments has two laser receivers, one on each end of the blade. As the loaders make passes, the laser system automatically raises or lowers the height of the grader blade.

The only thing the operator needs to worry about is driving the loader around the jobsite � the laser system does the work of adjusting the grader blade. The operator may have to manually override the laser if the unit is cutting too deep. The operator also has the ability to manually override the laser for rough grading and other applications.

Trace Construction pours floors as large as 800,000 square feet, so greater accuracy of the grade translates into large savings. This means the laser system and box blade or grader attachment can be paid for in as little as one job.

A Bobcat T190 compact track loader with laser-guided grader attachment can achieve a grade within � 0.25 inches for minimal waste and improved profits.

Bigger projects, bigger profits

The laser system has allowed Trace Construction to become more profitable by taking on larger projects. Before the laser system, four people and a string line could only do up to 30,000-squarefoot sections at a time. With the laser system, only two people are needed, both working in the compact track loaders with grader attachments.

"We would not have been able to do big areas without this system," Shetterley says. "Now that we have the laser, we can control our own subgrade and take on larger work than we did in the past."

For much more cost-saving information on Bobcat laser-guided attachments, visit the laser grading page.

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