Charlie Hougan, Ligchine’s customer experience manager, and Rob Hanson, southwest territory manager, traveled to St. George, Utah, to introduce and provide on-site operational training for the industry’s first dual-function, drive-in, and boom Laser-Guided Screed™, the LS120. TH Construction, the customer, had a crew of five people placing two concrete slabs with a pump truck and leveling with the LS120.
PRECISE POSITIONING
The pour area was enclosed by stem walls, requiring precise machine positioning. The LS120, designed without downriggers and equipped with a boom that extends directly from its tire-mounted frame, was able to get right up against the stem walls. Its elevated boom geometry allowed the crew to boom out and work parallel to the stem walls, pulling concrete effectively to the perimeter.
The machine’s ability to align its wheels parallel to the stem walls further enhanced its accessibility in the confined space. Throughout the pour, the crew navigated around embedded utilities such as pipes and anchor bolts while dealing with a high-slump concrete mix. Both slabs were reinforced with chair-supported rebar, which the LS120 cruised over without issue, maintaining consistent grade and surface integrity throughout the pour.
LABOR REDUCTION
Ligchine’s customer experience manager shares his observations following the two slab pours with the LS120: “The way you can move the machine around and not worry about frame jacking, positioning your tires correctly, or catching your downriggers on obstacles makes it easy. The customer ran the machine the whole time and did great! The machine can screed very fast and hold grade better than any screed I’ve run before.”
Travis Hatch, owner of TH Construction, says this about switching to the LS120 from hand rodding: “Manually rodding even 30 yards of concrete is physically demanding—it takes a serious toll on your back and body and typically requires twice the manpower. With the LS120, we were able to reduce our labor needs by at least three crew members.”
Travis had never run a Laser-Guided Screed before, and it was effortless for him to learn. When asked about his decision to buy a Ligchine screed, Travis says, “I was worried about the upfront cost, but after seeing the productivity gains and labor savings firsthand, it’s clear the investment will pay for itself through reduced labor expenses alone. With this new machine, I’m planning to take on larger projects. The LS120 significantly enhances our competitiveness—we can now submit tighter bids thanks to its increased efficiency over manual rodding.
“With the screed, we can place 200 to 300 yards of concrete over two days, and we won’t even break a sweat. What’s especially nice about the LS120 is that you can use it for both smaller and larger jobs. A lot of crews are like mine, and we used to hand-rod everything, so this machine will make a big difference.”
TH Construction had a successful first two pours with their LS120 and are looking forward to many more successful jobs with the machine.
for more information
For more, visit www.ligchine.com.