The Topcon Roadshow landed at the Komatsu Training Center in Cartersville, GA, for a demonstration of Topcon products and services for the staff and customers of Tractor & Equipment Company (TEC), the Komatsu dealer for Georgia, Alabama and northwest Florida.
Earlier this year, Topcon Positioning Systems, a worldwide leader in positioning technologies, announced a strategic alliance with Komatsu America Corp. that specified that Topcon will provide automated machine control systems as a purchase option on Komatsu motorgraders and dozers. The agreement gives machine purchasers the option of Topcon 2D or 3D control systems, designed to increase earthwork productivity and accuracy. The two companies are working together to promote expanded market opportunities within their distributor networks.
Representatives of Topcon and TEC hosted approximately 130 contractors at the Komatsu Training Center for a formal presentation of the latest Topcon products, lunch and a hands-on demonstration of Komatsu machines equipped with Topcon machine control equipment.
Unfortunately, soon after the hands-on portion of the demonstration began, heavy rains descended on the area and did not dissipate. Making the most of the rainy conditions, attendees huddled under the outdoor tent and had the opportunity to get a comprehensive demonstration of the latest GPS receivers produced by Topcon including the Cellular RTK, the HiPer + and the HiPer Lite +.
President Bill Roper Jr., of Roper Laser, the Topcon distributor in Marietta, GA, said he was extremely pleased with the attendance at the event and said that it exceeded his expectations.
“The Topcon Roadshow was fantastic. It served as a great opportunity for us to get in front of our customers, as well as other customers of TEC that we don’t have a lot of exposure with and tell them about the amazing technology that Topcon has available to them,” Roper said. “I wish it didn’t rain as much as it did, but I would certainly like to do more of these shows in the future.”
He said he was impressed with Komatsu and TEC and hopes to support their business relationship.
“Our role with TEC is a partnership. However, our overall goal, as an independent dealer is to automate the entire construction industry, including bulldozers, motorgraders, curb machines, milling machines and asphalt pavers. We’ve already been working closely with TEC and other distributors on asphalt control systems for their pavers. We’re very happy with our relationship with TEC, but our goal is to automate everything. Not one manufacturer puts out the entire product line of what needs to be automated in this industry. We don’t limit ourselves to Komatsu, we want to automate everything out there,” added Roper.
With Roper Laser’s new partnership with TEC, Roper said his company will work with TEC to install the system and train the customer and become the full Topcon “support arm” for the life of the product.
Commenting about his experience in the business, Roper stated, “The growth in this industry as well as what we do is amazing. For years, we’ve been waiting for and talking about how machine control would take over the bulk of our business.
“We’ve been in business since 1971 and have sold a lot of machine control products. Being one of the early adapters, we did one of the first laser-only systems on a grader and ran some of the first non-contacting skis on asphalt paver systems when we were doing testing for the Georgia DOT. We were one of the first companies to put a Topcon GPS system on a bulldozer.
“GPS for machine control is finally here and it’s changing the industry. The growth that we’re seeing in this industry is incredible. In the past, when we used to talk to contractors about automation, some said that they could possibly see it, others said they could not. Now the attitude in the entire construction industry has shifted from ’if we’re going to do it’ and ’maybe it might work,’ to ’when are we going to do it.’” CEG Staff
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