Maitland, Fla. – When a volcano erupts, it definitely changes the landscape. Such as Mt. Pinatubo, which blew in the Philippines during the summer of 1991 and changed that nation forever.

Pinatubo, the world’s second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, also changed the way that at least one Florida contractor approaches site work.

“I learned about the capabilities of wheeled excavators when I was in the military in the Philippines, where we used those machines for clean up and rebuilding after the Pinatubo eruption,” said Kurt Lavrinc, of Connecticut-based Lane Construction, one of the Top 100 general contractors in the U.S.

Lavrinc said once he joined the staff of Lane Construction as assistant mechanical supervisor of its Central Florida regional office in Maitland, he urged management there to take a look at adding wheeled excavators.

“I was able to see what we were able to accomplish with the wheeled excavators in the Philippines, and that made me a big fan,” Lavrinc said. “And then once we used them on a few projects here in Florida, the advantages to the wheeled machines become obvious to a lot of people.”

Lane’s equipment fleet includes seven Volvo EW Series wheeled excavators, a group comprised of EW170 and EW180 models. Lavrinc favors the Volvo machines, he says, because of their versatility, reliability and productivity, which make them high-use and profitable additions.

“They’re some of the busiest equipment in our fleet,” he said.

Lavrinc explained that while some of Lane’s equipment may at times sit idle for a brief period on a job site, the same is not true with its Volvo wheeled excavators. “When I’m at a site, I never see the Volvo machines idle,” he said. “They’re incredibly versatile, so there’s always a job for them to do. And, people like to operate them, even when more specialized equipment is available.

“One minute they’re ditching, the next they’re cleaning up debris, loading a truck, positioning a wall or finish grading a hillside.” He noted that the EW machines are also “extremely good” at positioning 5300-lb. concrete traffic barriers. “That’s a big job for us,” Lavrinc said.

Another big advantage to the wheeled excavators, he said, is the mobility that they offer.

“Instead of trailering them to where the work is, the operators just run down to the site, do the work and move on to the next place they’re needed,” Lavrinc said. “The wheeled machines save time and trouble, they can fit into some places crawler excavators can’t go, and their lighter weight and rubber tires let us operate in places where using a crawler excavator isn’t practical, like on curbs and sidewalks.” Among the 75 largest heavy construction companies in the country, Lane Construction has specialized in highways and bridges since 1902. Today Lane Construction employs about 3,500 and operates more than 2,500 pieces of equipment in regional operations in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

“In Central Florida, we specialize in very large road-building projects like Interstate highways,” Lavrinc says. Central Florida operations are relatively new for Lane, which only entered that market in 2002, and grew considerably with the acquisition of Martin K. Eby’s operations in Florida in early 2005.

Lane’s Florida crews work in and around the state’s Central region, with most activity concentrated around the Orlando and Lakeland areas. Lane operators in Florida run about 200 pieces of equipment, including wheeled and crawler excavators, loaders, haulers, motor graders and dozers.

“We started buying Volvo in 1996, an L70C wheel loader,” Lavrinc said. “It was dependable, reliable, had great visibility, and it really lasted. That was really the start.

“Since then each piece of Volvo equipment we’ve owned has helped sell us on the next one. Our operators have told me that they prefer Volvo.”

According to Lavrinc, Lane wheeled excavator operators appreciate what Volvo has done with its new in-house produced six cylinder low-emission engines. “Everything about them makes for a better machine,” he said.

“There’s plenty of power for lifting, digging and positioning, while at the same time these engines offer excellent fuel economy and a terrific power-toweight ratio.”

Since the new Volvo engines are matched to the excavator’s hydraulics, it’s possible to operate at low engine speeds and still maintain quick movement of the digging equipment.

“The hydraulic systems cycle very quickly,” Lavrinc said. “It seems to me Volvo is really making strides in the marketplace. Every time a new model comes out it seems to take another leap forward.

“Today, I think a lot of Volvo equipment is among the best you can buy.”

Volvo’s reliability and dependability are of key importance to Lane. “First comes uptime,” Lavrinc said. “A machine has to work constantly to make you money. If it’s out of service or sitting on the site doing nothing, it’s costing you money, not making it.

“All our Volvo equipment is working all the time. About the only time those machines are idle is for periodic maintenance.”

Lane’s mechanics handle all routine maintenance and smaller repairs. Mechanics from Volvo dealer Flagler Construction Equipment, also in Maitland, handle major repairs and warranty work. “We know we can count on them,” Lavrinc said. “We’re partners, respecting each other and understanding how the other works and thinks,” he said. “Mark Davis, our Flagler sales rep, approaches us with honesty and ‘tells it like it is.’ That’s important to us.”

Lane also benefits from Volvo’s on-board MATRIS (Machine Tracking Information System).

“We use MATRIS consistently to tell us how our equipment is being used, do some predictive analysis and determine what we should do about it,” Lavrinc said. “For instance, we can identify if the equipment is being idled for long periods of time and discuss alternatives with the operator. If we see an operator is shifting forward and reverse without braking, we can both talk to him and be sure we give the gear box and drive shaft special attention.

“Other people are trying to duplicate MATRIS, but I don’t think anyone else offers a system anywhere near as sophisticated.”

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