CEL Construction Waterless Eagle

Elgin Sweeper Waterless Eagle Application Story/July 2006 Roads & Bridges
APPROVED BY ELGIN SWEEPER AND KEY EQUIPMENT & SUPPLY

Contractor Builds Sweeping Business
Elgin Waterless Eagle makes fast work of street cleaning

"My business has taken off like wild fire," said Clinton Lewis owner of C.E.L. Construction of Labadie, Mo. Lewis isn't exaggerating about his erosion control, grading and sweeping business. C.E.L has gone from sweeping for one of the nation's largest builders to sweeping for seven additional builders and one municipality since he purchased a new sweeper in September 2005.

Lewis' new machine is a Waterless Eagle from Elgin Sweeper, equipped with the patent-pending Waterless Dust Control System.
 
Municipality chooses C.E.L.
Lewis won the street cleaning bid for Wildwood, Mo., on the strength of the Waterless Eagle's ability to deliver eight hours of actual sweeping per work day compared to competitive bids that require the operator to stop to refill a water tank that holds as much as 300 gallons.

"I like the Elgin Waterless Eagle because there's no dust, no water and no downtime," said Lewis.

Started with Erosion Control and Grading
Lewis began his business in 2003 with a skid steer loader doing erosion control and grading work for local residential builders. One of the builders asked him if he would do the sweeping up after construction. Recognizing an opportunity, Lewis purchased a sweeper attachment and went to work.

Lewis explained that this type of street cleaning requires having an operator running the skid steer with the sweeper attachment and a laborer hand-sweeping the curbs. "A typical subdivision of about 80 lots would take us about one to two hours to complete. In addition, we were absorbing the cost of a truck, trailer, skid steer and sweeper attachment."

"The builder still had an additional cost to clean the dust thrown up by the skid steer onto the newly constructed houses, dirtying the windows and siding," said Steve Hyink, president of Key Equipment & Supply Company, an Elgin Sweeper dealer located in St. Louis, Mo.

It didn't take long for Lewis to conclude that he'd be better off with a sweeper. "I purchased a used Elgin Eagle and was able to cut the time down to about 45 minutes to an hour for a typical subdivision," reported Lewis.

With the Elgin Eagle, Lewis eliminated the cost of the laborer to sweep the curbs and the cost of the truck and trailer to haul the skid steer around; however, he was still dealing with the issue of dust hitting the new houses and the sweeping time lost due to refilling the machine's water tank.

Lewis upgraded to the new Elgin Eagle with the Waterless Dust Control System last September. "Now, I can do a typical subdivision in 15 to 20 minutes using a single operator," he said. Lewis is pleased that there is no water, no dust and less cost.

Another advantage of the Waterless Eagle, according to Lewis, is the ability to dump the dirt right on the construction site as clean fill.

According to Hyink, the new Waterless Eagle from Elgin Sweeper is also an excellent choice for DOTs and municipalities wherever dust control or winter maintenance is a concern, such as a bridge deck or new road construction.