Eby Construction’s primary reason for purchasing the unit involved production. “When we tried out the BOMAG mixer, we couldn’t believe how much we were getting mixed in a short period of time,” said Willis. “With previous units, we were getting about a half-mile of production a day, whereas this new unit was giving us two to three miles of production. When it comes to mixers, it’s pretty basic. You’re looking for speed and production. But when you get something that’s more than twice as fast as what you’re used to, it’s very exciting. That’s why we bought it.”

I can certainly see us using this machine for asphalt recycling in the future,

According to Wood, much of the unit’s productivity can be credited to the rotor design. “It’s an upcut-style rotor, meaning when the rotor is rotating, the teeth hit the work surface from back to front and drive that material up into the hood,” said Wood. “This keeps the material in contact with the rotor’s teeth for a longer period of time - pulverizing it - which results in a better mix.” While Willis doesn’t know exactly what makes the new unit more productive, he’s just happy with the results. “It doesn’t matter to me what direction the rotor spins,” said Willis. “As long as it gets down the road and gives me good production, that’s all I care about.” Eby Construction has now been using the new MPH122 on the I-4 road-widening project since January of 2004 with good results. Approaching the project in several smaller, more manageable segments, the stabilizer is being used to mix a stretch of two to three miles a day and is immediately followed by a BOMAG BW213D-3 84-inch smooth-drum roller to achieve compaction and seal the material from moisture penetration. A grader is then used to spread a 12-inch layer of lime rock to provide a good, solid base for the finished road surface. Within a couple of days, the asphalt crew arrives on the scene to finish the road segment.

“The new mixer is allowing us to get the job done quicker, and I don’t know of one construction operation that’s not interested in that,” said Willis.

Other than increasing productivity on the I-4 job, the purchase of the MPH122 holds further potential for Eby Construction. In addition to being used for soil stabilization requirements on upcoming jobs, with a couple modifications the unit has the ability to be used for full-depth reclamation of asphalt pavements. Though this is not currently a common practice in Florida, interest is growing.

“I can certainly see us using this machine for asphalt recycling in the future,” said Willis. “We’ve never done it before, but if the opportunity arose, we’d have the machine to do it.” Also, now that Eby Construction owns a stabilizer, it has the ability to lease the machine out to further maximize return on investment. “On most jobs, a mixer will just sit there 75-percent of the time,” said Willis. “Therefore, we’ll also rent the unit out to other companies to make the most of our investment.”

The overall completion date for the entire I-4 project is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2005 or the first quarter of 2006, but Eby Construction’s specific project deadline is set for May 5, 2005. With a little less than a year remaining to complete the project, Willis says that Eby Construction is on schedule. Though it’s hard to say at this point how much the new stabilizer will mean to achieving the absolute minimum goal of finishing the project on time, it is at least clear to those on the crew that the equipment has saved days in mixing time. And with FDOT incentives of $10,000 per day for finishing early - or the same in penalties for finishing late - few would argue with the significance of having a higher production machine.