Medico Helps Smooth the Way on Pennsylvania RoadsOne day in the future, residents of New

Milford, Pa., will be driving on smooth roads,rather than the dirt roads they’re accustomed to,courtesy of the gas company.But until that time, New Milford, located in

northeastern Pennsylvania, in the heart of theMarcellus shale drilling area, is finding its localroads suffering from the equipment being drivenback and forth on them.

Big Equipment, Small RoadsThe Town of New Milford has 68 mi. (109

km) of dirt roads, many of which are being usedfor the hauling of massive equipment instrumen-tal to the construction of the drilling platformsand natural gas pipelines. These roads are veryold and were designed for vehicles like automo-biles, pickup trucks and farm equipment. Theroads also are very narrow, typically 16 ft. (4.8m) wide.As the gas companies finish their construction

projects they are repairing these roads waybeyond their original specifications. The bottomline is that there is a good relationship betweenthe township and the gas companies with regardsto the impacts caused by their necessary con-struction projects.

Picking and ChoosingWith the economics of the township being stronger than

they have ever been before, the town is making an effort tokeep the equipment fleet more up to date than in the past. Itall adds up to New Milford buying a new motor grader. Several options were available to them through the

Pennsylvania state contract or by piggy backing off of othermunicipal contracts.As a part of the buying process Road Master Supervisors

Jack Conroy and Jim Hunter were sent to Case’s Tomahawktraining grounds in Wisconsin. This facility is specificallybuilt and staffed by Case for potential buyers to come andspend a couple of days to try out and actually operate vari-ous pieces of construction equipment manufactured byCase.“The Tomahawk experience was very helpful and

enlightening and aided us significantly in our decision-mak-ing process. The factory representatives are highly skilledin answering my questions and making me familiar with thevarious aspects of the Case machine. Yet it was done insuch a way that you felt no pressure to make a purchase. Allof the major components to the motor grader were on dis-play with cutaway views so that I could actually view theengine, the transmission and the cab and see for myself theengineering and workmanship. It was very helpful andimpressive,” Conroy said.

Case Is on the CaseUltimately there were a number of reasons that the town-

ship opted to purchase the Case machine, but the drivingfactor was the visibility of the grader blade to the machineoperator, according to Conroy. The blade on the Case 885B is located directly below the

front of the operator cab; from a seated position the graderoperator can see the entire blade including the back.Other key features included on the Case machine are:• A uniquely designed moldboard, which improves blade

life and increases the blade’s hardiness. The moldboard’sradius design cuts, mixes and rolls material more efficient-ly.

• The durable front A-frame drawbar for stability. The A-frame drawbar is a heavy-duty box frame design that sup-ports the circle with a wide stance, thus increasing the life ofthe circle and the drawbar components.• Case graders are designed with external rather than

internal circle teeth, which are easier to clean and provide alarger contact area for longer wear life and greater leveragewhen turning the blade.• The grader is equipped with anti-shock accumulators

that act as a shock absorber and allows the moldboard tomove over and around obstructions and then return to itsexact original position. This happens fully automaticallywith no operator involvement.• The Case machine is designed with serviceability in

mind. With a flip open lid all daily maintenance checks canbe made from the ground level.“Another reason that we felt comfortable with the deci-

sion to go with the Case grader is our familiarity withMedico Industries,” Conroy said. “We have owned severalpieces of Case equipment, including a Case backhoe and aCase 621 loader with a tool carrier, and we have alwaysexperienced very, very good service from the people atMedico Industries. Any time that we have had a problemwith a machine that we could not troubleshoot ourselves,Medico has had their service people at our facility the sameday that we call and they have had whatever parts necessaryin stock.”

Medico IndustriesLocated in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Medico has been selling

equipment to 14 counties in northeastern and centralPennsylvania for more than 50 years. Medico carries a wide selection of construction equip-

ment, including wheel loaders, skid steers, forklifts, excava-tors, backhoes, crawler dozers, articulated dump trucks andmore.For more information, call 800/633-0027 or visit

www.medicoind.com.(This story also can be found on Construction Equipment

Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)

(L-R) are Philip Medico, Medico Industries sales representative; Kevin Tingley, equipment operator; Julene Graham,secretary/treasurer; Jack Conroy,Road Master supervisor; andKeith Jennings, operator.

The quick attach system mounted to the front of thegrader allows flexibility for easily changing outplows or attachments for the front end of themachine.

The new Case 885B all-wheel drive motorgrader.

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Philip Medico (L), of Medico Industries, presents aninformal walk around demonstration of the variousfeatures and maintenance items on the Case 885B toKeith Jennings, equipment operator of the town ofNew Milford.

The anti-shock accumulators allow the moldboard to move over and aroundobstructions and then return to its original position automatically.