Archive for Leeboy
Legg and Davis Construction Company has been a family owned contracting business Columbus, Ohio since 1907. They are one of the few businesses that specialize in both asphalt and concrete work as a specialty. In 2006 they purchased a new Lee Boy model 8515 paver manufactured by Lee boy from The McLean Company. It is the latest in the state of the art paving machines built and designed by Lee Boy incorporating sonar based grade control system by Topcon and sonar material handling system. This new paver has an innovative electrically heated screed capable of going out to 15’ wide with heat and vibration and a high speed rubber track not offered by other manufacturers presently. The function controls for the machine is finger tip controlled which allows for ease of movement from right to left side of the machine for easy operation. The nice advantage of this machine is it can be a 2 or 3 man machine operation by either being a Low deck or High deck machine by simply raising the operators control panel. Literally 1 man can run this machine.
No one likes to be a guinea pig. And that’s what Matt Ambrose, owner of Ambry Asphalt in Mansfield, Ohio, felt like when he tried to lay asphalt with a competitor’s paver. According to Ambrose, “The [competitor’s paver] didn’t want to track straight. The motor was mounted in a bad place and vibrated so bad that we snapped the exhaust manifold just trying to track down the road. The screed was loose and didn’t respond well. It was hard to load. The truck hinges snapped off. We were fighting it a lot.” Ambrose says he didn’t want to go through the growing pains of this new product. He adds, “Although I’d used the [competitor’s large] equipment with good results, I just didn’t get a good feeling about the smaller paver.” On top of that, Ambry did not have access to parts or service. The competitor didn’t have it together on this paver.
Ambrose needed a dependable paver for the driveways and lots that are his usual jobs. He decided to look at the LeeBoy 8000 D Track Conveyor Paver with McLean Co. in Columbus, Ohio. Ambrose gets excited talking about his 8000 D. “The material controls and gate shut off are great. It drives straight, and I like using the sonic auger controls. It’s not too loud. I like the propane burners. It starts well on a cold day. It stops where I want it to. We don’t have piles to shovel or sweep. It loads beautifully, drives straight and doesn’t pull.” But the most important feature to Ambrose is the material control. “It’s a big deal in commercial lots,” says Ambrose. Commercial lots have many turns and are too large to spend time cleaning up after bad stops and starts.”
Ambrose adds, “The LeeBoy [paver] cost more. But it was worth it. Buying it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m very impressed with this machine.”
Whether it’s a parking lot, driveway, or tennis court, Ronyak Bros. Paving in Burton, Ohio, has the LeeBoy equipment to do the job. According to Vice-President Mike Briggs, Ronyak, a family-owned paving business since 1939, bought an 8500 Paver last year, bringing them to a total of three 8500 pavers. So far in 2002, Ronyak has added on a 5000 Path Master and a Tack Tank. Ronyak is keeping Jim Hattendorf at McLean very busy.
Ronyak’s new 5000 Path Master makes quick work of golf cart paths. In fact, you can see a Ronyak crew working a golf course on the cover of a future issue of Asphalt Contractor magazine.
Ronyak gets good production with their LeeBoys. One crew put 46,000 tons though one paver in 2001. Briggs expects they’ll put more through in 2002. Briggs adds, “The biggest thing is putting down parking lots. We can push 700 tons at 1-1/4 inches per day on 70,000 to 80,000 square feet, because the LeeBoy’s can push the trucks easily. It’s then that you can get production. That’s the key—getting production”
