“The specifications state that we need to achieve a finished 12-inch mix - meaning we’d have to use the stabilizer to mix down at least 18 inches to get the proper combination of materials,” said Willis. “Depending on what’s already present in the soil, we might have to add some materials before the mixer is used to be able to attain the specified LBR. For instance, if it’s a granular soil - like the sugar sand that’s common here - we’ll have to bring in some clay or lime rock to mix in with the existing soil. But if we’re dealing with pure clay, we usually don’t have to add anything. We just balance it out with a grader and mix it. No matter what materials are present, the mixer must be used to make the soil uniform across the 12-foot lane.”

It just so happened that when Eby Construction was looking for a new stabilizer, we were receiving a new asphalt recycler/soil stabilizer from BOMAG.

Though Eby Construction’s rented soil stabilizer was able to do the job, it was the amount of time it took to do so that was of concern. “We were renting about a six- to eight-year-old mixer that we had used for several previous jobs,” said Willis. “The company we were renting it from decided to stop renting the unit and instead wanted to sell it to us. On the I-4 job, we were getting about a half-mile of production per day out of this machine - and given the time constraints of this job - we were looking for something that offered better production.”

Out of necessity, Eby Construction started looking for a better soil stabilizer solution. They began contacting local construction equipment dealers to set up on-site demonstrations of other equipment options. Nortrax Equipment Company - Southeast L.L.C., a John Deere dealer based in Tampa, was one of the entities they contacted. According to Chris Wood, a territory manager for Nortrax, the timing couldn’t have been better.

“Though we are a John Deere dealer, we handle other product lines to fill in the equipment gaps not covered by the core line - and BOMAG is one of these brands,” said Wood. “It just so happened that when Eby Construction was looking for a new stabilizer, we were receiving a new asphalt recycler/soil stabilizer from BOMAG.”

Designed for deep-mix applications, the new BOMAG MPH122 recycler/stabilizer incorporates a mid-mount rotor design that can mix down to a depth of 20 inches at a productive width of 92 inches. The unit’s rotor offers variable mixing speeds from 100 to 170 rpm and includes 194 paddle-shaped teeth to efficiently mix material, while its all-wheel drive configuration provides high tractive effort and gradeability for easy maneuvering about the jobsite. In December of 2003, Nortrax brought its new MPH122 out to Eby Contruction’s I-4 jobsite for a demonstration. Based on the success of this trial, Eby Construction quickly bought the unit. It was the first MPH122 sold by Nortrax - and the first sold into the U.S.