Once grading is complete, the system can be easily moved back over to the Ligchine and the concrete facet of the job can begin. “It was a simple matter of switching the components over to the Level Best and, working off a single 3D model, getting the same degree of accuracies for grading.” “What made the Level Best the best possible choice for Matt and his team was the fact that they already had the Topcon grade control solution they needed on their Ligchine screed,” said Bickner. According to Jerry Bickner, director of sales at the Carol Stream, Illinois branch of the Topcon Solutions Store, a Level Best box blade attachment for his John Deere 333G compact track loader was the obvious answer. Realizing this, Eischeid began looking for a way to augment his screeding operation with a cost-effective grading component. An improperly prepared subgrade can adversely affect the volumes of concrete needed for any given job. One of the biggest challenges to companies like Elite Builders who are tasked with placing concrete, is having confidence in the subgrade. “Because we were no longer limited to working solely with flat floors or even flat slopes, it literally changed the game for us,” said Eischeid. Using LPS, Elite was now able to quickly and accurately place concrete on grade, slope, dual slope and 3D contours. Height adjustments - transmitted to and from the screed at a rate of 10 times per second - maintain even the tightest accuracies. The Ligchine screed, which was already a powerful tool for us, was instantly made even more valuable.”Įlite’s Ligchine 3D LPS paving system utilizes a fast-tracking Topcon GT Series robotic total station to register and maintain screed position from a machine-mounted prism and sonic tracker. “We were now able to tackle bigger, more complex jobs, be more efficient on them, and even increase the level of accuracy we brought to the job site. “LPS opened up a whole new world for us,” said Eischeid. All that changed in 2017, however, with the addition of a 3D LPS (local positioning system) solution via a robotic total station. While effective for flat pours, it limited the types of jobs they could do. In his early days as a startup screeding company, Eischeid relied solely upon 2D laser technology for handling all his work. Their current employee count notwithstanding, saying that Elite hasn’t grown much since its inception would be a gross misstatement. In addition, seeing an opportunity to expand, if not their ranks, at least their capabilities, they’ve added grading services to the mix, making them an even more formidable player in the Des Moines-area paving market. Today, largely because of that and subsequent Ligchine purchases, Elite has grown to a staff of only three persons yet performs between 200 and 300 projects per year ranging in size from small to very large. So, I reached out to representatives from the company, purchased my first unit - a Ligchine ScreedSaver Max - and Elite was born.” Around 2016, I did some research and found two things: first, no one was doing mechanical screeding in this area, and second, a Ligchine laser-guided screed seemed to be the best way to go. Eventually, it became more than I wanted to handle. “However, we grew to a staff of about 40 and when you get that big, the size of the headaches and challenges, overshadows any added profits. “There’s no denying we were a successful business,” he said. He grew the business, eventually finding himself in a situation that most would see as enviable - he saw it as something entirely different. Change in Directionįounded in 2008, Eischeid’s company, Elite Builders, initially focused on carpentry and framing. While his new staff is only a fraction as large as that of his “previous life,” the technology he employs has allowed him to take on more work - and do it quicker and better - than others in his field with a much more robust workforce. That amazing transition was made possible through equal parts old-fashioned Midwest tenacity and innovative 3D LPS technology. Although his actions predated the pandemic by more than a decade, Matt Eischeid also made some gutsy changes to his livelihood, changes that took him from a professional carpenter framing homes to becoming one of the leading screeding and grading companies in Iowa. Gone is the apprehension and fear of the unknown - replaced instead by a boldness and sense of excitement in the new chapter unfolding before them. As the state of this post-pandemic employment market is proving, people are not afraid to make serious career changes.
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