Alabama's Price Civil Services, Inc., has adopted an all-Leica Geosystems suite of equipment and software to provide specialized machine control services.
When Alabama's Price Civil Services, Inc., a family business that specializes in subcontracted construction layout and machine control services, was just getting started they reviewed offerings from all the major vendors before choosing Leica Geosystems as an exclusive provider of land surveying and machine control equipment. "Everyone is making great equipment now," says Vice-President and co-founder Daniel Price, "The difference was, Leica Geosystems offerings weren't limited to construction—we felt that the RedLine system was versatile enough to support our business, whatever direction we decided to take."
The new firm's niche is in actual machine control—renting out a Leica Geosystems PowerGrade 3D system that is installed on a John Deere 700J Dozer owned by Price Construction (a separate, allied firm)—and in services that support machine control, primarily construction layout and preparing the computer files that machine-controlled equipment uses as a reference during work. So Price Civil Services needed a suite of equipment and software that would work together and, most of all, be versatile enough for a new business still figuring out how they fit into an established heavy equipment ecosystem.
Price says, "This way, we can do layout work and topographic surveys, and with the cellular modem we can connect to ALDOT's (Alabama Department of Transportation) CORS network. It's available most of the places we work, but we also have the base when we need it—really, we've been able to do all the work we planned on doing, and are ready to add new services when we see an opportunity."
This flexible business model is typical of many new entrants into machine control, who typically combine the expertise of 'old school' heavy equipment operators and the talent of those with backgrounds in surveying, CAD, or programming. Leica Geosystems survey and machine control solutions work together easily, which lets owners take on a variety of construction, surveying, and layout projects.
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Leica Geosystems
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