“Technology has really sped up the grading process to where every pass I make is accurate to a few mm,” says Karl Taschner, heavy equipment operator with United Group.
Mack Plovie
United Group grows with investment in John Deere machines
Since its beginnings in 1939 with a fleet of tandem axle dump trucks, United Group’s fleet has grown drastically to over 200 pieces of equipment today. The modern fleet primarily consists of John Deere equipment, including rock trucks, excavators, dozers, backhoes, skid steers, wheel loaders, and more, all supplied by Brandt Tractor Ltd.
“We are big on relationships here at United Group, and have built a great relationship with Brandt over the years to where we are now their biggest buyer in the lower mainland. They have always been able to get us equipment when we need it,” says Kleszewski. Although United didn’t start with all John Deere equipment, the company has focused on investing in the John Deere product in recent years, including an investment in K and L series dozers to modernize the fleet and streamline maintenance, operator training, and dealer support.
United Group remains focused on staying at the leading edge of its business, constantly updating the fleet with newer equipment once machines reach roughly the 5,000 hour mark. Not only does new equipment appeal to and attract operators, but the technology offerings, fuel savings, and performance offers United Group a competitive edge in a market saturated with contractors competing for work.
Technology meets the dirt
Early adoption of Topcon Positioning Systems technology for both heavy equipment and surveying has underpinned United Group’s growth. The contractor bought its first piece of Topcon technology in 2015, an indicate-only system for a Caterpillar D6T dozer. Today over 50 percent of United Group’s large equipment is outfitted with Topcon machine control.
United Group’s fleet of Topcon-equipped machines now includes two 850 Deere dozers, two 700 dozers, and two each of the 245, 345, and 470 John Deere excavator models all equipped with 3D MC-Max machine control systems. The 245 size excavator and up is where United Group really notices production gains from 3D MC-Max grade control technology. In addition, United Group recently acquired the first MC-Mobile system installed on a Level Best box blade in Canada, which is currently fitted to a 333G John Deere skid steer. Alongside machine control, United Group invested heavily in base and rover kits for its in-house survey team. Multiple base stations allow for strategic setup of permanent bases to reduce any errors from daily setup. While rover kits enable accurate regular surveying for project take offs, design builds, and survey pickups on the job.
“Technology is an up-front investment. A lot of companies don’t see the benefit of it right away, but we have a long-term focus. It has given us an advantage and ability to tackle projects at a rapid pace,” explains Kleszewski.
United Group has also invested in drone surveying technology including Propellor software. This technology unlocks potential for their survey team to perform design builds, and more importantly enables quantity tracking in a marketplace where being accountable for materials on a project is important.
“We used to send out surveyors to get quantities on projects. With drone surveying, we get cost accountability with materials and accuracy on projects,” says Kevin Jones, operations manager.
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