posted
on Tuesday, January 31, 2023
in
The Dirt
Next Frontier
On a crisp September morning just before dawn in Johnson City, Tennessee, Thomas Karczmarczyk readies his crew. Illuminated by LED worklights on several John Deere machines, the owner of KZ Construction concludes a safety meeting with a few words of wisdom: “Remember. Do exactly what we need to do without moving too much earth or causing rework. Do each job one at a time, do it right, and move on and do the next one.”
After the meeting Karczmarczyk accepts coffee and donuts provided by the local John Deere dealership, Meade Tractor. “I harp on efficiency,” he tells Matthew Bennett, Meade Tractor’s general manager of technology. “My guys hear that every day.” Karczmarczyk is preaching to the choir. Bennett and his dealership have helped KZ Construction implement the latest technology to boost productivity and cut costs.
“I want to change how dirt work is done,” Karczmarczyk continues as his crew begins greasing and other daily upkeep on the company’s machines. The fleet includes a John Deere 245G LC Excavator retrofitted with grade-control technology and an 85G Excavator with an engcon® Tiltrotator. “A lot of people around here don’t run grade control, and I’m the first to have tiltrotators.”
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE