Underground Construction - May 2022 - 22

Track Trenchers Provide Competitive Advantage for Contractors
Blue Star Utilities
Steve Hugdahl and Jose Guamancela, owners of Blue Star
Utilities, LLC, based in Venus, Texas, are putting their Vermeer
T1155 Commander 3 trencher to work in underground infrastructure
expansion projects.
They have been doing utility construction work together
for 20 years, but up until 2016, it was for other companies.
Committed to doing quality work on time and on budget,
the two founded Blue Star Utilities, focusing on building out
the underground infrastructure for new housing subdivisions
around the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.
It's the first company working on-site for planned housing
developments.
" We build out water, sewer and storm drainage systems and
tie them into existing infrastructure, " explained Hugdahl. " To
most people, using a huge track trencher for this type of work
might seem out of place, but when we're working around Ft.
Worth and Anna, Texas, the rocky ground conditions can be a
big challenge for big excavators. "
When the Blue Star Utilities team found itself in rocky conditions
for the first couple of years of operations, the owners did
what they could with excavators or renting a track trencher from
the Vermeer dealership in Irving. Over the years, they realized
they were more frequently renting trenchers, so they made the
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decision to purchase a T1155III trencher in January 2022.
" As our work took us further north, the rock we were digging
in got harder, " said Hugdahl. " On top of that, we won bids
on four sizable subdivisions, and we knew we had to make sure
all our crews could work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Employing a trencher was the key to making that happen. "
Time efficiency
On the first subdivision they put the trencher to work on,
Hugdahl said they were able to knock 60 working days off the
project timeline.
" We understand the financial strain our development companies
are working from, " he commented. " A lot of work needs
to be done before the first property can be sold and profit starts
to roll in. During that time, they are just writing out checks and
paying interest to the bank, so, if we can get the first phase of
the project done faster than someone else, it makes their decision
about which company to go with much easier. "
Extended job timelines don't just stretch out developers'
costs, either. Extra days and extra machines translate into additional
labor, higher fuel costs and waiting longer to get paid
if you're a contractor. " Everyone benefits when the work can
be done in less time, " Hugdahl said.
Before bidding on new projects, Hugdahl always looks
over engineering geotech reports to determine when the work
can get by with excavators and when using the trencher makes
the most sense.
" Both Jose and I have spent too many years working
around contractors who didn't finish work when they said
they would, and that's not who we want to be. Having the
trencher in our equipment fleet means we're prepared for almost
anything the area's unforgiving ground conditions can
throw our way, " he explained.
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Blue Star Utilities has a big summer ahead. The team is
working on several 400-to-500-lot subdivisions in Anna and
Fort Texas.
" There's going to be a lot of rock, and we're ready for it, "
concluded Hugdahl.
Grinding it out
Investing in large rock trenchers has helped R & N Trenching
and Blue Star Utilities build solid reputations with the companies
they do business with, instead of grinding it out with
contractors trying to get by with excavators alone.
And, with the tight labor market contractors face, these two
companies are accomplishing more with fewer people. That
is the advantage of investing in a trencher when doing underground
construction work in Texas. *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maggie Moller is a product marketing and
training specialist at Vermeer Corporation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Blue Star Utilities, (817) 539-9950, bluestarutilities.com
R & N Trenching, (325) 835-7098
Vermeer Corp., (888) 837-6337, vermeer.com
22 MAY 2022 | UCONonline.com
http://www.PGJOnline.com http://www.bluestarutilities.com http://www.vermeer.com http://www.UCONonline.com
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