alaska service with ak directional
vermeer northwest goes the extra snowy mile for their customers in the field
David Holland, Aftermarket Manager at Vermeer Northwest had been on the team for just a few months before making his way up to the Delta Junction to work on a fleet of RTX1250i2 trenchers. AK Directional was using the machines to put in the first terrestrial fiber line connecting Alaska to the lower 45.
The temperature on the jobsite was in the 40-45 below range, and in that kind of cold, maintaining engine temperature becomes a challenge. Tier 4 engines can’t sit idle in freezing temperatures when DEF fluid freezes at 30 degrees, so the Vermeer Northwest team had to find way to keep the engines warm enough to finish the job. Building winter fronts that enclosed the engine compartment is a common solution in the Alaska territory. There are companies that manufacture these winter fronts, but David and his team built three of them specific to the trenchers AK Directional was using.
Not only was the team fighting freezing temperatures, but they were also working to minimize their footprint. Much of Alaska terrain is swampland, meaning trenching has to be done in the winter. However, when putting dirt that has recently been dug on top of frozen ground, it melts the area around it at a much quicker pace.
At the end of the day, the Vermeer Northwest team was able to keep the customer up and running in extreme conditions. Click below to learn more about our Alaska location!
