Business Grants Success Stories
Business Grants - Success Stories
Business Grant Success Stories Home
Airport snow removal has to be fast, but safe. Trying to plow around parked aircraft on a apron can be a tricky business, and the view from the cab of a modified dump truck, eight feet back from nose, is not that great. The Snow Mauler has a cab-forward design, which positions the operator directly over the blade, so the corners of the blade are never out of sight.
In some competitive designs that do incorporate a cab-forward design, the engine is situated below the cab. Maintenance crews can't stand them. The Snow Mauler's engine is midship, where the crew can get at it and work more quickly and easily.
The blade on one of these plows can be close to eight metres long and can weigh nearly 2300 kilograms. So the Mauler features a heavier front axle than you'd find on a highway truck, which is built to carry weight on the rear rather than the front.
All that weight up front means you need ballast in the back. In a dump truck conversion, a big weight box sits on the frame rails wherever they can fit it. On the Mauler, the weight box is built in-frame, which keeps the center of gravity low for safety when the vehicle's roaring along at 60 kilometres an hour, which is what the job demands.
More horsepower and a heavier duty transmission complete the package.
Operators and maintenance people love it, says Smith. And they should, since they had a hand in designing it. The cab environment went through three different setups before the operators gave it their thumbs up, and ATI completely redesigned the console package after listening to what the operators had to say about the prototype.
Southport Aerospace was also a big help. They saw the benefits of having ATI as a tenant, and worked out a favourable leasehold arrangement. "It helped give us a kick start," says Smith.
Whitehorse Plains CFDC took an interest in ATI as an employer (the company currently employs 21 people) and helped the partners work through the various levels of government in getting started. "They worked with us on our business plan, and they've been great in giving us access and helping open doors."
Smith says another key benefit of working with the CFDC is it provides an instant entrée into an extensive business network. "If you're looking for something, you can call and ask them if they know of anybody who might be able to help." For example, the CFDC helped hook ATI up with another client that had good powder coating capacity nearby.
Previous (49) | Next Page (51)
|