University puts vacuum excavator to work

Problem: Maintenance professionals like David Willis, plumbing supervisor at Elon University in North Carolina, often faced having to outsource maintenance tasks around their facilities. Willis sought a solution to keep those tasks in-house. 

Solution: The university purchased a Vermeer LP373SGT vacuum excavator, which Willis said his department uses frequently. “We use it for everything, from potholing to find utilities for new construction to running it like a shop vac to pull water out of flooded buildings,” he says. “We also have used it to dig holes for new trees, signs, footings — we use it a lot.” According to Willis, the vacuum excavator came with everything he needed. “Recently, we had a pipe burst, flooding out a building,” he says. “Water was running everywhere, so we backed up the machine and ran the hose through a window. We were able to use the vac to suck the water up out of the floor and straight into the tank — very similar to how restoration professionals use this type of equipment to suck the water out of the buildings.”

Result: Estimating that their Vermeer vac is used about 70% of the time in plumbing applications, Willis said that the rest of the time it’s supporting other campus services. 352-728-2222; www.vermeer.com