By Chris Jarvais

As a support team for The Cianbro Companies, it’s essential for Cianbro Equipment to seize every advantage to benefit customers and clients. One way to do this is by procuring equipment that enhances the ability for our operations team to innovate.

Last year, when the Infrastructure team decided to increase efficiency by self-performing more pile-driving work, Cianbro Equipment tracked down a brand-new Link- Belt model 228 130-ton Lattice Boom Crawler Crane to help in their efforts. “The design of the Link-Belt 228 allows significantly fewer loads to move the crane, so it is much less expensive to mobilize and assemble,” said Vice President and General Manager Keith Anderson. “This allows our project teams to be more efficient, and in the end, more competitive.”

“The hydraulic over electric controls respond faster than a conventional friction rig allowing for smoother operation,” said Operator Dylan Blanchet. “I can operate it with just my hands and the cab is spacious and comfortable.”

On the Puritan project in Orlinda, Tennessee, the team needed to cut and remove 96 concrete slabs before installing foundation columns for the new mezzanine. Superintendent Buddy Kershner called Cianbro Equipment to help find a solution. “We found a company called Cuts Inc., that manufactures saw-cutting attachments for skid-steer loaders,” said Kershner. “Purchasing Professional Tony Foster set up a demonstration at the project site, and once the team saw the unit in action, we were confident it would do the job.”

To avoid potential issues with mounting the saw attachment to a stable platform with enough horse power, Cianbro also purchased a model SS3600 36-inch saw attachment and a CAT 299D3 Skid Steer Loader to operate it. The equipment exceeded Kershner’s expectations.

“This unit is worth its weight in gold, and it’s at least five times faster than cutting with a walk-behind saw,” said Vice President George Bell. “The unit also proved much safer than walking behind a floor saw. The operator can control the amount of water applied for dust control from the sound attenuated cab without being exposed to silica dust.”

The team at the Veranda Street Bridge Project in Portland, Maine, is tackling the challenge of building replacement overpasses for I-95 while the existing overpasses remain in use. The best way to start is with an extremely accurate layout, according to Design Specialist Dan Brann. The total station the team had was functional, but old. Brann reached out to the equipment group to explore upgrade options, and found the TopCon model GT603 Robotic Total Station with a data collector and remote control.

“The data collector allows the user to upload CAD drawings that are easy to read on the high-resolution monitor and the ability to shoot actual structures without a prism increases accuracy,” said Brann. “The operation is also more efficient because the robot allows the layout to be a single-person operation. The remote control increases efficiency further by automating the reacquisition of signal lock, reducing downtime for the operator.”

Lastly, when the Power & Energy market doubled the amount of distribution work they had on the books for 2021, they turned to CEL for the iron to get the job done. “We inked distribution maintenance contracts with two major utilities in the northeast and needed to get started right away,”

said Project Manager Scott MacDonald. “We purchased 12 brand new trucks with Terex 55-foot buckets. We also ordered a new ledge truck with a Terex digger and Doosan air compressor. The equipment will allow us to complete the work we have more efficiently and better serve our customers.”

As Cianbro sees unprecedented growth, Cianbro Equipment will continue to help project teams find the right tools and solutions to continue that upward trend.

To read more about our team's accomplishments throughout 2021, take a look through the latest edition of The Chatter at https://issuu.com/cianbro/docs/chatter_winter_2022.