Bird Ladder Open House May 15th

Bird Ladder will be having their annual open house May 15th. Every year we have customer appreciation day which includes a truck load sale on everything. Werner ladders, pump jacks, planks, Granite scaffolding, MBW compactors, trowels and mixers, Werner fall protection, Acro roofing equipment, Tie down shingle hoists, Van Mark brakes, Knaack job boxes, Weatherguard truck and van equipment, Reechcraft PowerPole, PowerLift and PowerMast to name a few.

We will also have factory reps demonstrating their products. We will be introducing new products at the show.  The NEW Knaack 118 data vault will be on display with demonstrations. We will also have the new Reechcraft Powermast set up. They also have a new free standing base that will be shown. We will also have new MBW plate compactors on display.

Free safety classes will also be returning this year. We will offer ladder safety courses, fall protection courses and also a presentation by Acro products on use of their roof edge protection. Cards will be issued for the ladder and fall protection training. We are also attempting to have a representative from OSHA here to answer questions.

We also serve lunch from 12:00 till the food runs out. So bring your shopping list, save money, get trained, and have lunch.

American made compaction plates

MBW is one of the last remaining American made manufacturer of compaction plates.  To remain competitive, they have upgraded there manufacturing equipment to help them remain competitive in a market where other manufacturers have gone off shore to manufacture their equipment.  Here is a link to a list of the equipment they are presently using in the manufacture of their equipment.

Since 1967, MBW has been manufacturing one of the construction industry’s most interesting lines of compaction, concrete and related equipment.

What makes the MBW line interesting? MBW is not a copyist – we do not simply duplicate designs developed by others. MBW begins each new engineering project with the assumption that significant progress can be made in terms of improved productivity, reduced maintenance, longer life, enhanced user safety or lower long-term cost of ownership. Often, MBW’s R&D efforts result in entirely fresh approaches to solving industry problems. Many of our products have pushed the productivity envelope to new heights. Some MBW products afford their operators the industry’s safest tools in a given product class. Most MBW products solve long standing maintenance issues and extend product life expectations. Our goal is to provide equipment users with products of significant, tangible, comparative value… reasons to invest in MBW products.

Recently they have introduced a new line of compact plates called the GPX series.

This series of economical vibratory plates, the GP12, GP15 & GP18, are portable, and offer outstanding compaction performance. A patent-pending suspension system that places shock mounts in a predominantly shear mode at the high amplitude front end of the plate and a predominantly compressive mode at the low amplitude trailing end of the plate. This system reduces hand arm vibration and also better isolates all upper mass components, including the engine, from vibrations produced by the machine’s exciter. With amplitudes up to .058 inches, centrifugal force up to 2100 lbf and travel speed to 75 feet per minute these plates are ideal in confined areas of granular soils including sands, bank run, gravels and capable of achieving lift depths of up to 10 inches (25 cm).

These lightweight plates weighing 129 lbs (59 kg) to 143 lbs (65 kg) are easy to lift and maneuver about the jobsite. Accompanied by intense vibration this series of plates are ideally suited as an economical alternative for small to medium soil compaction applications.

Choosing the Right Vibratory Plate Compactor

bird watermark GP2000 emailWhen looking for a vibratory plate compactor it is very difficult to compare different manufacturers because they use different specifications to rate there plates. I have found two sources to make the comparisons of different manufactures easier. First is an article Light Compaction Equipment Specifications that explains basic information about vibratory plates. It is a little technical in nature but it does give you information on the process of how vibratory plates work. The second item is a calculator that will give you the ability to compare plate amplitude of different manufactures.  Both these references are put out by MBW Inc. They are the last company I know of that still makes vibratory plate compactor here is the USA.