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VACUUM EXCAVATION Profile AIR POWER 12 DIG DIFFERENT

CALIFORNIA CONTRACTOR EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE OF THE EXCAVATION INDUSTRY A STORY KEN WYSOCKY PHOTOS COLLIN CHAPPELLE A couple of years ago a customer asked Sharon Bonner It was a risky move says Bonner who founded the if there was a way to reduce the high costs associated with company in 1999 But I always look to the future You transporting and disposing of mud spoil generated by can t just say This is what we re doing now and it s workhydroexcavating As the owner of Bradley Tanks Inc ing so we ll just keep doing it Things change and you BTI a waste hauling and frac tank rental company have to be ready to adapt to those changes Bonner did some research and found a solution air exca So we bought a Dino without even a contract in hand vation technology that produces dry spoil which can be she recalls And so far so good reused on site That s something Sharon always does looks ahead Bonner was immediately intrigued by the technology to broaden the scope of what BTI does says Kelly Graser But there was a sticking point No other company in the the company s director of compliance It s not the first U S had purchased the trucks known as the Dino Series time she s had us develop and finance equipment that of suction excavation trucks built by MTS GmbH a Gerdoesn t even exist in the marketplace just to provide speman manufacturer cific solutions for our clients As such Bonner had to make a significant decision to either serve as a technological guinea pig and per IT WAS A RISKY MOVE BUT I ALWAYS suade customers to embrace the techLOOK TO THE FUTURE YOU CAN T JUST SAY nology already popular in Europe THIS IS WHAT WE RE DOING NOW AND IT S or avoid the risk entirely and stick WORKING SO WE LL JUST KEEP DOING IT with the status quo So in a pivotal if you invest inTHINGS CHANGE AND YOU HAVE TO BE it they will come moment in 2017 READY TO ADAPT TO THOSE CHANGES BTI bought a Dino suction excavaSharon Bonner tor through OX Equipment Ontariobased OX is the North American distributor for MTS GmbH But the gamble paid off Today BTI based in DanDanville California ville California is much more than just a company that rents frac tanks and provides nonhazardous and hazardOWNER Sharon Bonner ous waste hauling and disposal services Instead it s a forerunner in a new excavation frontier by virtue of ownFOUNDED 1999 ing seven Dino trucks with another one on order EMPLOYEES 75 Those investments make BTI the owner of the largest SERVICES Dry suction excavation transfleet of Dino excavators in North America In fact until portation and disposal of hazardous and a little while ago it was the only company in the U S that nonhazardous waste frac tank rentals owned any Dinos at all The bottom line What looked SERVICE AREA California like a big calculated risk two years ago now appears to be Bradley Tanks Inc Technician Dustin Steele left uses the air lance while operator Shawn Addison operates the mechanical boom of a Dino suction excavator MTS GmbH distributed by OX Equipment during an excavation job near Danvers California a solid and sound business decision WEBSITE www btienvironmental com digdifferent com July 2019 13

Shawn Addison looks on as he uses the truck s remote to dump the debris from the box of the truck One of the key features of the Dino is it s ability to side dump spoils Dustin Steele operates the lance to break up the ground The Dinos are capable of handling dry or wet material WE RE CERTAINLY NOT HERE TO TAKE OVER THE HYDROEXCAVATING WORLD HYDROEXCAVATING STILL HAS ITS APPLICATIONS IT S JUST THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY OFFERS A NUMBER OF BENEFITS THAT HAVE A PLACE IN PROJECT WORK Kelly Graser This was just another time when she felt it was the right direction the right time to step into this industry because it offered something completely different she continues We re certainly not here to take over the hydroexcavating world Hydroexcavating still has its applications It s just that this technology offers a number of benefits that have a place in project work GO BIG OR GO HOME BTI s decision to invest in suction excavation technology underscores both the importance of listening to customers and helping them find solutions to business challenges and of taking calculated risks to invest in game changing technology In BTI s case the customer that spurred the investment was a utility company for which BTI handled wet spoils disposal While the air excavation technology intrigued BTI s management team it also presented a bit of a conundrum because it also would reduce revenue generated by contracts for hauling and disposal of wet spoils 14 DIG DIFFERENT But Bonner felt the lost revenue could be offset by actually providing the air excavation service which also has applications in other industries We saw a demonstration of a Dino and thought Hmmmm this could work she says If we re the ones that present the technology to customers that s a way to increase our revenue and make up for loss of revenue from wet spoils contracts It s a risk you take In the long run we think this technology is the future because it s more environmentally sustainable she adds AIR TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGES Moreover Bonner saw an advantage to being the first to embrace this new technology in the U S For starters the sheer high cost of the equipment presents a formidable barrier to market entry by others In addition customers both existing and potential new clients were excited about the potential for reducing hauling and disposal costs We did the research and saw the future Graser notes We knew how much customers were spending on disposal of wet spoil The Dinos will really help clients reduce the volume of mud About 95 of the spoil on projects we now work on remains on site and gets immediately reused The immediate reuse of spoil is another big selling point for customers because it virtually eliminates the cost of buying and transporting materials continued

Business building 101 Sharon Bonner owner Bradley Tanks Inc to job sites to backfill excavated areas Moreover the Dinos improve productivity because they don t have to leave job sites to refill water tanks the way hydroexcavators must Graser says And since it s dry excavation the excavated area is dry she continues So if people need to get back in there they re working in a dry environment instead of a wet muddy environment Another advantage is that the Dinos don t use water to dig so that conserves a natural resource It also enables the trucks to work in remote areas where water isn t always readily available and would be expensive to transport to job sites Also because the Dinos use air it s a soft dig method not mechanical she adds That s significant because there are regulations about how close you can work to utilities with mechanical methods Moreover BTI management envisions using the Dinos in other industries for various applications We felt it was the right fit not only for what our client needed but for anyone doing utility and other similar work Graser notes COMMONLY USED IN EUROPE While suction excavation technology has been used in Europe for decades it s relatively unknown in North America BTI is busy changing that dynamic with its investments in the Dino trucks which use pneumatic tools powered by compressed air to break up soil The units then suction up the loosened soil with a pair of high powered fans Unlike hydroexcavated soil which turns into a slurry that s costly to haul 16 DIG DIFFERENT For someone who graduated from college with a degree in organizational behavior Sharon Bonner is pretty good at building a business For proof consider her company Bradley Tanks Inc BTI which has changed and grown dramatically since she first established it as a frac tank rental outfit in 1999 BTI now owns a fleet of equipment worth millions of dollars serves customers throughout California employs 75 people up from just two for the first 10 years or so and has diversified into hauling and disposing of hazardous and nonhazardous waste and providing suction excavating service with a fleet of innovative suction excavation trucks made by Germany based MTS GmbH Bonner got into the industry in a roundabout way While working part time for a truck rental agency while attending college a mechanic said something that caught her attention He told me that renting trucks is such a great business she recalls He said Look at all that equipment in the yard It s all paid for so every time it goes out that s cash on the bottom line That thought always stayed with me After several jobs and some 20 years later that thought emerged again As her children were growing older she started thinking about a business she could run herself My husband worked for a landfill that hauled and disposed of hazardous waste so I saw the kind of equipment that was on construction sites she says I noticed a lot of frac tanks on job sites for holding stormwater and groundwater There were only a couple of companies that rented them and no one was really focusing on the environmental end of it she continues So I bought a few tanks to see how it would go It was just me and an assistant Growth came slowly and the formula always was the same Borrow money to buy some tanks pay them off rinse and repeat Slowly but surely the ball got rolling and it becomes a viable business she says As for the company s name Bonner liked the tough image invoked by playing on the name of the legendary Bradley Fighting Vehicle a tanklike military machine used by the U S Army As a woman I felt I needed a name that sounded strong and masculine she explains You want to fit in where you re at As for being a woman in a male dominated field Bonner says she s rarely found it an obstacle In fact she thinks that at times it s been an advantage If you re a woman in a male dominated industry people are curious about that she explains So sometimes it actually helped But aside from that I ve dealt with thousands of different businesses and I don t think being a woman matters so much she adds You can have personality conflicts with anyone male or female You can overcome anything as long as you present yourself in a professional manner and people understand that you re smart and capable and willing to listen to what they have to say she asserts In business it all comes down to one thing Can you do the work and provide the expertise they want for a rate they want to pay That s really what people are looking at nowadays in business and dispose the spoil generated by a Dino is dry and can be immediately reused on site for backfilling That provides big cost savings for customers says Colin Donoahue business development manager for OX Equipment continued

The trucks are built on Western Star truck chassis and feature various sizes of steel debris boxes available in 4 1 2 6 10 1 2 and 16 cubic yard capacities To unload soil the truck and bin come apart sort of like a Transformer to do a side dump Graser explains The leading edge of the debris container is high enough to accommodate a roll off bin while a high tip option enables the unit to load directly into a dump truck Donoahue says Two key components are dual rotary vane air compressors built by Mattei which generate a total of 320 cfm of compressed air and proprietary twin fans that produce 24 000 cfm of suction power Along with powering the tools used to loosen soil the air compres Along with the Dinos BTI also owns more than 300 frac tanks 35 Peterbilt tractor trailers 50 aluminum and steel end dump trailers for hauling bulk soil and debris some of which are made by Hanson Trailers and more than 20 stainless steel vacuum tanker trailers used for liquid hauling and rocketlauncher trailers used for carrying waste containers MORE GROWTH EXPECTED Looking ahead Graser anticipates further growth for BTI with some of it coming through finding other applications for using the air excavation tech YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT COME UP AND THAT S WHERE BTI SHINES JUMPING AT OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY ARISE Kelly Graser sors also operate a filtration system that automatically cleans the suction system and an optional boommounted vibrator that keeps debris from clogging the suction hose Donoahue says The soil loosening tools include an air lance made by AirSpade Division Guardair Corp pneumatic power shovels from Vogt GmbH and jackhammers built by Atlas Copco CMT The tools are included as standard equipment optional pogo tampers made by MBW or Chicago Pneumatic are available from OX Donoahue says Featured products from ARTICULATING AND SWIVELING BOOM BTI boasts seven dry suction Dino excavator trucks MTS GmbH distributed by AirSpade Division Other features include a 10 inch OX Equipment and 75 employees The company offers dry suction excavation Guardair Corporation services transportation and disposal of hazardous and nonhazardous waste and suction tube and a 23 foot 8 inch800 482 7324 frac tank rentals long hydraulic articulating mega www guardaircorp com arm that swivels providing 180 Atlas Copco CMT degrees of coverage off the back of the truck and remote control operation nology That could include things 800 732 6762 including a remote hydrostatic drive system which allows an operator to such as removing and then putting www atlascopco us remotely position the truck without disengaging the suction system back collected ballast in railroad yards OX Equipment The mega arm features four hinge points that allow more precise location and sucking up gravel from rooftops 888 290 4044 of the suction tube and a rigid dig tube that can extend the mega arm s length undergoing repairs www ox equipment com to 30 feet Donoahue says In addition the truck is quiet operating at less than I would say our growth will come See ad page 11 85 dB at a distance of 15 feet for comparison s sake a refrigerator typically from within California she says runs at anywhere from 37 to 47 dB But you never know what opportuBTI provides the operator with thorough training that includes a mix of nities might come up And that s where BTI shines jumping at opportuniclassroom education and hands on operation BTI provides its operators with ties as they arise in house training that s based on manufacturer s guidelines plus additional You never know we might be doing something in Arizona a few months education from two training organizations Industrial Training Services and from now she adds We re always open to new opportunities Veriforce Operators also need a commercial driver s license Graser notes Growth also could come through further investments in advanced techAfter that operators obtain certification by certified third party evaluanology Some companies don t want to be the first one in a market to try sometors We do it both for the health and safety of our employees and for clients thing new Bonner says BTI isn t one of them But doing so requires a certain that require specific operator qualification in order to bid on jobs Graser says degree of patience to develop a new market as well as the willingness to thor It s a good month before employees are out shadowing someone who does oughly educate customers about how the new technology can benefit them actual fieldwork she continues And they probably spend another month As for the financial risks Bonner says she operates with a nothing venshadowing as an extra hand on a project I d say it takes roughly three months tured nothing gained mentality I ve never really been fearful of taking risks to become proficient but guys who ve run a hydrovac truck before and are she says If you have the finances and resources and can afford to take a calused to working around underground utilities tend to pick it up faster culated risk it usually pays off You need to continually move forward 18 DIG DIFFERENT