In 2019, we had the opportunity to manufacture one of our vacuum tanks combined with a crawler carrier that could change an industry.
This project was similar to others- taking an idea and turning it into reality.
To provide a solution.
In Ledwell fashion, we ran towards the opportunity.
The Opportunity
When a hydro-excavation contractor needs to perform work in hard-to-reach or environmentally sensitive areas such as swamps or marshes, it is often difficult to use large trucks.
Mats can sometimes be placed down for the trucks to drive over to protect the environment from any damage the heavy machines may cause.
Those mats are heavy, bulky, and expensive, though, and they take additional time to utilize.
The Solution
However, through a collaborative effort with Ledwell & Son, PRINOTH and Pipeline & Utility Rental Equipment (PURE), the pipeline and utility industries have a new tool to make digging easier.
The TrakVac is a compact hydro excavator built by Ledwell and mounted on a PRINOTH crawler carrier buggy. It combines the agility of a crawler carrier to access hard-to-reach areas with low-impact vacuum technology where traditional digging is more difficult, especially close to underground utilities and pipelines.
The idea was to get a more compact hydro-excavation unit into some of the harder-to-reach or environmentally sensitive areas of pipeline construction.
“The total package of hydroexcavation with the ability to ‘Go Anywhere’ (which is PRINOTH’s slogan) makes the TrakVac a true initiative and an answer to the growing demands of the pipeline industry,” says Gary Gathright, Ledwell engineer.
An industry first, the TrakVac provides a solution for unique job sites. After countless hours of engineering, manufacturing, and perfecting, we are proud to share this innovation with the world.
Dig Different’s March issue features this unique machine as a Product Spotlight. Read more about it in Dig Different’s Product Spotlight.
