Rooted in Western Michigan, the city of Montague’s scenic landscapes and quiet streets support a population of just over 2,300 people. To keep the town’s parks, streets and other amenities clean and operational, the Montague Department of Public Works is busy year-round performing numerous tasks, including underground construction.
Daily maintenance and constructions needs for the community require the team to complete a variety of projects, making machine and equipment versatility a top priority for the city crew. Beyond versatility, the Montague landscape provides additional challenges for the department. Located along a picturesque lake between rolling hills, the town’s terrain often requires the department’s crews to travel up and down hills to clean out residential sewer pumps, while being watchful for runoff or discharges into White Lake.
Prior to 2014, the department used hand shovels and regular vacuums for cleaning up sump areas in the city’s storm sewers, and soft excavation tasks, such as potholing—a time-consuming process. Challenges posed by the limits of their equipment mixed with challenges posed by navigating difficult topography, required the public works department to invest in a machine that could easily conquer and improve the productivity of daily departmental tasks.
The department selected the Ditch Witch FX50 trailer-mounted vacuum excavator as its go-to machine for a wide range of tasks, including potholing, debris removal and general cleanup duties around the city. As versatile as it is powerful, the FX50 can be customized to suit specific customer and jobsite needs. Its exceptional suction power and water pressure keeps city operators productive on the job.
“With the FX50, we have one machine that can accurately and efficiently help us with many projects,” said Scott Beishuizen, foreman, city of Montague Department of Public Works. “It has dramatically increased our productivity and improved return on investment.”
Equipped with a 300-gallon tank, the lightweight, compact excavator allows operators to easily travel through city hills and be productive on smaller jobsites. The FX50 helps accurately excavate and locate utilities reducing damage to water lines and other utilities.
“For the past two years, we’ve seen time savings of around 50 percent due to the efficiency, ease-of-use and versatility of the FX50,” said Beishuizen. “We are operating safer and more effectively than ever before.”
For more information on the FX50 vacuum excavator, please visit http://www.ditchwitch.com/vacuum-excavators/hydro-excavators/fx50.
