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Unusually busy for a start-up concrete pumping contractor, Ed Giesbrecht and his partner, Del Fast, of 1st Choice Concrete Pumping in Winnipeg, Manitoba are busy every hour of every working day – a pace that they have kept since starting the new business May 1. “We’ve been booked solid for the whole week, every week, “he said. “It’s all because of the uniqueness of the machine. Every time people see it, we get 10 new calls a week.”
Something unique was exactly what Giesbrecht was looking for when planning for the new business began last year. With his past experience in the concrete industry, he knew that to get his business off to a strong start, he needed to do something that made it truly unique. He found his answer with the Elliott VersiPlacer during an Internet search. After speaking with Tim Raymond, product manager for Elliott Equipment Company, a trip to the company’s headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska was scheduled for December, along with a product demonstration.
“The demonstration ended up being snowed out, but I did get to work with the controls and was amazed at the ease of operating them. And of course, Tim convinced me what it could do. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend working with him to anyone,” Giesbrecht said.
His instincts were right. With the only VersiPlacer in the three western provinces, work is non-stop. “It allows you to do things other machines can’t. We can drive into a building and as long as we have 13 and a half feet, we can get the work done. We go right in between girders and have even pumped through a window of an existing structure. Once we even raised a house 18 inches and poured the basement from there,” he said.
Just as structures are no barriers, VersiPlacer also makes scheduling more flexible. “Normally we do the floor before we do the structure, but with VersiPlacer we don’t have to. So, there are no more issues with rain delays or winter weather. The construction can proceed and we can put the floor in later,” he said.
With VersiPlacer, Giesbrecht requires fewer workers as well. “We went to a job and there were five guys on line pumping. I said I just needed one guy at the end and I can reach every crevice,” he said. “And I did.”
So easy is VersiPlacer to use that it is the one area that Giesbrecht receives criticism. “Everything’s at your fingertips and yet you have complete control. It’s just amazing. I’m always getting bugged that there’s no physical work involved because it’s so easy,” he said.
After just a few months, Giesbrecht is receiving calls from outside his typical service area. One recently from Surrey, B.C. – 1800 kilometers away. “We’re already considering purchasing a second unit for next spring if business keeps up like this,” he said. |
