Original posted in the San Antonio Business Journal by Gabe Hernandez
A HOLT CAT machine displayed at the entrance of the new HOLT CAT Headquarters in San Antonio.
SITECH-Tejas, a HOLT company, has signed a $1.4 million deal with an Israeli company for its construction imaging technology.
SITECH will be adding RodRadar's LDR Excavate, the first-ever ground penetrated radar integrated in the excavator's digging bucket, to its portfolio of heavy civil construction solutions, RodRadar announced last week.
SITECH General Manager Glenn Swisher told the San Antonio Business Journal that the company has agreed to purchase all 50 buckets available in the United States, after discussions with contractors identified utility strikes as a "major pain point" in the construction business.
"I don't know that you would ever eliminate somebody hitting this stuff," Swisher said. "But anything that can aid them in avoiding it, they see the value add."
The order concluded in February and will be delivered by AMI Attachments, RodRadar's first North American bucket manufacturing partner. Swisher said SITECH is expecting the first shipment in a couple of weeks.
While SITECH's customers are primarily concentrated in the metroplex, the company has a potential buyer as far as Sacramento, according to Swisher.
"I think we have the opportunity to get going as fast as RodRadar can produce them," Swisher said.
LDR Excavate uses Live Dig Radar technology to provide real-time, precision data on the location of underground utility infrastructure during excavation, automatically alerting the operator with easy-to-understand notifications.
The technology can detect all types of pipes and utilities, including gas, power, communications, fiber-optics, water, sewage, oil and chemicals in different soils and types of substrates, according to RodRadar's website.
Swisher said he became sold on the product when he looked at the way it presents data to the operator.
"If you were to look at a ground penetrating radar view, depending on the radio wave that's used, the depths which it's trying to penetrate, and the soil type it's trying to go through, a lot of times it looks like just a bunch of squiggly lines on the screen," he said. "If you're really not knowing what you're looking for, it's kind of hard to unpack right? What this does [is] it really brings value in the ease of use and the ability for the operator to use it and gain functionality."
Underground infrastructure damage costs the construction industry $100 billion annually, and utility strikes cause dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to RodRadar. With San Antonio being a hotspot for construction activity, SITECH is hopeful that its latest purchase will ensure San Antonio contractors can work with greater efficiency.
"Anytime you hit a utility, you've just now stopped work, right?" Swisher said. "So, there's an obvious impact to the job and to the timeline that's associated with that."
RodRadar says its solution, along with enhancing construction safety and efficacy, also reduces the costs and environmental impacts associated with everyday accidental damage.
"This agreement will introduce our revolutionary technology for preventing utility strikes - and their incredibly costly effects - to a whole new market of customers in Texas," said Moshe Dalman, CEO and co-founder of RodRadar. "We look forward to a long working relationship with the experienced professionals at SITECH Tejas."
In 2022, LDR excavation technology was deployed globally and in the United States at several major sites. One of those sites is the $130 million Miller Electric Center, owned and operated by U.S.-based architecture, engineering and construction firm Haskell, located in Jacksonville, Florida. Holt Ventures partner Meg Paulus called the purchase "a big step for the company."
"We're always excited to be part of bringing something to the market that can be so impactful to our customers from a safety and cost perspective," she said.