At this week's virtual NTEA Work Truck Show, Buyers Products, unveiled a 10-1/2 foot V-plow designed for very heavy-duty use.
Engineered as a response to increasing market demand for large V-plows, the SnowDogg VXXII plow mounts to Class 4-6 trucks, with wings that ascend from 35 inches in the middle to 45 inches on either end.
The SnowDogg VXXII went through over two years of rigorous testing and design, before being released. The SnowDogg team, including a host of engineers, product managers and manufacturing staff, worked directly with some of the country’s largest snow and ice contractors to refine every detail.
“It took us several tries to really nail the design,” says Scott Moorman, Buyers Products' Director of Snow and Ice Equipment. “Each iteration got closer and closer, but we weren’t going to settle for anything less than perfection. The feedback from the field testers was an integral, invaluable piece of this process. After all, who knows what a plow needs better than the people out there using it every day?”
Here are some of the VXXII's highlights:
10-1/2 ft wing span makes quick work of large lots
Genuine 304 stainless steel wings rise from 35 in. in the middle to 45 in. on either end;
Robust frame designed to handle large amounts of heavy, wet snow;
RapidLink Attachment System makes mounting and removal easy;
Floating A-frame allows the plow to follow the contours of the road for a clean scrape regardless of terrain or mounting height;
Aggressive, flared wings and a robust frame is designed to absorb heavy impacts.
The SnowDogg VXXII will be available for the 2021 winter season. According to Buyers, its distributors and dealers can order the new plow during Buyers Products’ preseason order period later this spring.
Thirty-five years ago I was just out of college, and I was the head soccer coach at Tri-State University, a small college in Angola, Indiana. I bought an audio-cassette program called, Masters of Motivation, that featured 12 head football coaches at major universities. I listened to those tapes over and over.
On one tape, Notre Dame's Lou Holtz said something that has stayed with me all these years. He said, “Five years from now you will be the same person you are today except for the people you meet, the tapes you listen to, and the books you read.”
There I was in my little dorm apartment making a total of $3,000 plus room and board for being the head soccer coach and a dorm director. That’s when I started seriously reading. And since then I’ve kept reading and reading and reading.
Never Stop Feeding Your Mind In many ways I think education starts when school stops.
Education means to draw out the best from the student, the teacher, and the subject. I encourage you, no I urge you, no I challenge you to never stop feeding your mind. Your mind has so many compartments: logic, fantasy, imagination, dreams, problem-solving, checklists, desires, attention, intention, will, volition, calmness, enthusiasm, excitement, subjects, and on and on.
Your mind obviously is the key to your future. Just like your body needs to be fed properly and exercised regularly, so does your mind.
Books, podcasts, movies, conversations, short videos, articles, life experiences, travel, music, observing, and listening all provide you with valuable inputs. Those inputs can connect together in ways that you could never have predicted.
However, if you don’t feed your mind a steady supply of thoughts, you won’t have the fuel necessary to make those connections.
Vary Your Inputs As you feed your mind, mix up what is going in there. If a farmer plants the same type of plant every year, he or she will eventually wear out the nutrients in the soil. It’s important for the farmer to rotate the crops in order to keep the soil healthy.
The same is true with you. Put a variety of ideas in your mind.
The genres I read usually include biographies, autobiographies, non-fiction business books, sports books, books on ideas to improve human performance, history books, and spiritual books. I try to read a variety at any one time. Right now I’m reading:
I encourage you to write down a variety of topics you want to feed into your mind. Then search for books, articles, podcasts, movies, videos, and so on that fit with the topics you want to learn.
It’s like you’re a freshman in college every day, and you get to choose the topics you want to study and the courses you want to take. There is no diploma, and you never graduate. You just keep learning. And all of that learning connects together in unexpected ways that will help you in your work and in your life.
Be Consistent Rather than taking a two-year sabbatical to read everything you’ve ever wanted to read, I suggest you feed your mind in bite-sized chunks every day. If you read for 20 minutes a day, my hunch is that you can read 10 pages a day. If you read 10 pages a day five days a week, that’s 2,500 pages a year. If you vary the topics of what you read, you will naturally begin to make connections that other people simply don’t see. If you prefer podcasts or videos or articles, then invest 20 minutes a day into those, and you will get the same incredible effect in your life.
By consistently feeding your mind every day and varying the topics you put into your mind, you will dramatically and exponentially expand the value you have to offer to the world.
A frequent Snow Magazine contributor, Dan Coughlin provides both individual Executive Coaching and Group Coaching Programs on management, leadership, and teamwork. To visit his Free Business Performance Idea Center, go to www.thecoughlincompany.com.
Editor's Notebook: Toro Acquires Left Hand Robotics
Move adds automated snow removal and turf care technology to Toro’s tech inventory.
Toro is getting further into the robotics business with the recent acquisition of Left Hand Robotics and its proprietary SnowBot tech.
Announced last week (March 2), Toro declined to release detailed terms of the Left Hand Robotics acquisition. However, what we do know is that Left Hand has been on forefront of robotic, AI-controlled mowers and snow removal machines for professional landscape and snow management contractors.
Based in Longmont, Colo., Left Hand Robotics is recognized for developing innovative autonomous solutions for turf and snow management. Its patent-pending software and advanced technologies for autonomous navigation are designed to provide professional contractors and grounds managers with future solutions to improve their operational efficiency and tackle outdoor tasks with precision.
In fact, it’s been reported that self-operating units have been out out in the field in test phases with professional contractors.CLICK HERE to watch a testimonial from the city of Longmont, Colo about its test performance of the snow-clearing robot.
I last formally talked to Left Hand Robotics founder and CEO Terry Olkin back in early 2020. At the time, Olkin discussed the importance of developing SnowBot into a tool that could have a year-round application with both snow and turf.
At the time, Olkin commented winter’s finicky nature was considered during the SnowBot's design phase so a mowing deck could be added allowing for SnowBot to seamlessly turn into a MowBot for year-round use. “Robotic mowers are a little bit more understood and accepted, and for whatever reason there isn’t much “Will it work? Won’t it work?” Olkin added. “Snow is a lot tougher environment.”
While terms of the deal were not revealed, it’s easy to see how this acquisition is a win-win for both parties. For Olkin and his team at Left Hand Robotics, they can tap into the immense financial and technological resources of a multi-billion dollar company. For Toro, the acquisition further compliments it’s strategic market position in both markets. Take snow and ice management, for example, the SnowBot is a nice addition to the equipment offerings provided by other recent acquisitions like Ventrac and BOSS Snowplows, as well as its own line of snowfighting tools serving professional and consumer customers.
For more insight behind Left Hand Robotics and the SnowBot, CLICK HERE to check out my interview with Terry Olkin on The Snow Magazine Podcast.
Mike Zawacki is editor of Snow Magazine.
Hilltip
Hilltip Introduces Brine Blenders
External, electric blender comes in three sizes up to 800 gallons.
Due to the rapidly growing demand for brine in ice maintenance programs, Hilltip has brought to market BrimeMixx, brine solution blender that come in 135, 370 and 800 gallon sizes. The external brine blender is designed to simplify the correct combination of water and salt for either anti-icing or direct de-icing applications.
CLICK for a larger view..The BrineMixx works by filling the tank with fresh water and adding rock salt to preset amounts based on the amount of water present. An electric-powered, 103-gpm pump properly circulates the mixture. Since these are smaller batches, it doesn’t require much agitation to achieve the ideal salinity concentration of 23.3 percent. According to Hilltip, it takes a little more than an hour to mix a full 800-gallon tank of brine.
Once a batch is complete, he brine can be pumped directly from the blending tank to the spreader or sprayer as it’s being produced, alleviating the need for a storage tank. A heavy-duty filter is located between the valve and transfer hose, capturing dirt and contaminants, keeping them from the application equipment.
The blending tank and lid are constructed out of durable polyethylene, making the brine blender rust and corrosion free. A liquid-level indicator is integrated into the blending tank and a sharp-edged spike strip is included on the top grate to simplify opening salt bags. Also, a salinity meter is included for accurate brine testing.
Research: Impact of a Minimum Wage Hike
Snow and Lawn & Landscape magazines would like to know how a potential federal minimum wage increase would affect the snow and green industry.
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