Marlboro Mountain Construction (MMC) is an all-purpose excavating company in upstate New York that loves a challenge. So, when owner Steve Bianco was approached about building a 12-ft. retaining wall along a cliff overlooking Dead Man Falls as part of a cliff walk trail, he jumped at the opportunity.
Bianco has been doing varied construction projects for as long as he can remember. “I grew up on a backhoe, but this company has been in existence since 2000," he states. “We try to get unusual kind of jobs, interesting and challenging jobs.”
For this particular project, two excavators were used. One was used to pass the Rosetta Outcropping pieces to the other, which then traveled and set them. Bianco and his team had to drill into bedrock and add rebar and concrete behind the block to anchor and add mass to the gravity retaining wall.
The project required creativity, patience, the expertise gained from a lifetime of experience and the correct, often specialized tools.
Proper Pairing
In addition to a variety of excavators sized for various projects, Bianco credits a unique pairing of tools for much of his success, including the time MMC was tasked with building a trail through a dense stand of trees, along soft ground, around a lake behind a residence. When MMC arrived on site, the dense smattering of trees made for tight corners, and the soft lakefront property made some groundwork tricky.
Marlboro Mount Construction used an 8-ton Kubota KX080 excavator paired with an Engcon Tiltrotator and a Werk-Brau Power Grip Bucket to build a trail through a dense stand of trees, along soft ground, around a lake.Werk-Brau
This was especially helpful for Bianco when dealing with the clusters of small trees and brush in the path of the trail. “It digs them out well, then I can grab them and load them onto the truck to haul them out," he explains.
Streamlined Operation
The Power Grip Bucket helps to streamline the material-handling process.
“I could have bought a digging bucket and a grapple and changed back and forth between them. Werk-Brau put a proper head on the bucket so I don’t have to, and I can just put it on the Engcon," Bianco comments. "I don’t have to unhook hoses all the time. It’s just done though the Engcon because of a thing called EC-Oil. It’s a quick connect so you don’t need to use hoses."
The bucket uses an existing hydraulic circuit, making for easier and faster connections. Using one attachment for both digging and moving materials also makes digging an electrical trench easier.
Steve Bianco, owner of Marlboro Mountain Construction, appreciates the ability to securely grab and precisely maneuver it into place using the Power Grip Bucket and Tiltrotator.Werk-Brau
MMC doesn’t just remove trees and roots, so Bianco appreciates how the bucket moves rocks and other materials. “The cool thing about the Power Grip is once we’ve grabbed the rock... you can change position and the rock stays," he notes. "I can set the rock instead of dropping it, which is much more difficult to do when it’s just gripped with a thumb.”
This is especially helpful for Bianco, who often works with rocks to build raised trails and retaining walls, or even for just setting rocks to sit on. “With a thumb and a bucket, it gets a little awkward," he says, "but with this, you can grab it and move it around and it will maintain its grip.”
Getting a Grip on Schedule and Cost
Bianco appreciates how easy the Power Grip Bucket and Tiltrotator combination makes all his projects.
The Power Grip Bucket and Tiltrotator proved essential in building a 12-ft. retaining wall along a cliff overlooking Dead Man Falls in upstate New York.Werk-Brau
Getting a better grip on materials also allows Bianco to get a better grip on project timelines and costs. Helping to keep projects on schedule means Bianco can start looking ahead to starting the next interesting project once the current one is complete.
