Vactor: Ten Machines Designed for Smart and Reliable Performance
Before breaking ground on a new project, it’s important to know what buried utilities are hiding underground. Services such as One-Call are a great starting point at identifying a utility’s location, but they are not foolproof. Vacuum excavators, on the other hand, can be essential to your fleet, helping to expose utilities so you don’t cause serious and costly damage.
Vacuum excavation technology has been around in some shape or form since the 1950s. Vacuum hoses are often seen around work areas suctioning the earth to expose a utility in a fast, safe and surgical manner. Operators can safely identify and positively locate a utility — avoiding the potential of damaging it during a dig.
Vacuum excavator manufacturers provide their histories, summaries and specs for their product lines below. Take a look at these machines and consider the benefits they offer for keeping crews safe on the job and utilities in working order.
For more than 100 years, Vactor Manufacturing has provided customers around the world with a wide range of material handling equipment. Today, Vactor is an industry leader in vacuum excavators, sewer and catch basin cleaners and industrial vacuum loaders featuring innovative technology and custom configurable designs. With one of the largest and most developed distributor networks in the industry, Vactor has more than 50 North American distributors in more than 100 locations to serve the utility, contractor and municipal markets, as well as 12 factory direct locations through FS Solutions for industrial customers. Vactor currently produces the Vactor HXX Full-Size Series HydroExcavator, Mid-Size Series and the compact Vactor HXX Prodigy and ParaDIGm vacuum excavators.
Product Spotlight: ParaDIGm
The ParaDIGm vacuum excavator is designed for utility, municipal and contractor customers involved in the installation, maintenance and repair of underground water, sewer, gas, electric and telecommunications lines. This compact, multi-use truck can dig holes with water or air; vacuum, contain and dispose of drill mud; power pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical tools; and provide transport and storage of replacement parts, equipment and tools. In addition, the ParaDIGm is ideally suited for subsurface utility engineering (SUE) contractors and other design planning firms involved in civil, road, municipal, commercial, industrial and residential projects.
The ParaDIGm features Vactor’s exclusive Park-n-Dig design styling, which is designed to minimize job setup, application and tear down. Park-n-Dig design features single button engagement of all functions and the ability to store the digging lances and boom fully assembled, which eliminates the need to connect and disconnect these items during job setup and tear down. The ParaDIGm features a 6-in. hose and a powerful vacuum system capable of up to 2,200 cfm and 15-in. Hg of vacuum. The larger hose and vacuum system make the ParaDIGm a more productive vacuum excavator than other units this size, says the company. Additionally, the ParaDIGm features a 4-in. rear loading port and hose system for quick excavation or cleanout applications.
Advice
“The search for a vacuum excavator begins the same as any piece of equipment: Know the job you’re planning to complete,” says Ben Schmitt, product manager for Vactor Manufacturing. “By identifying the type of work your crew will perform, the equipment decision process will run a lot more smoothly. It’s also helpful to know the size of a typical application so that the correct size debris body is selected to complete the work as efficiently as possible. And, as an equipment buyer, it’s important to ensure your supplier provides a comprehensive operation and safety manual and training program.”
Contact Info
1621 S. Illinois St. | Streator, IL 61364
815.672.3171 | www.vactor.com