Tracked vehicles can be fi tted with cranes, drills and construction booms
It isn’t hard to figure out why Powertraxx Vehicles Inc. is growing and becoming a global company. Powertraxx engineers and manufactures tracked vehicles capable of going almost anywhere on the planet and carrying almost any payload, whether it’s people, equipment or work attachments.
The company has gained traction in a variety of industries over the last nine years, and it is growing fast thanks to a product that has two huge factors going for it - versatility and practicality.
Powertraxx is privately-owned by a group of investors and shareholders. It opened for business in Whitefish, Ontario, 28 kilometres west of Sudbury, in October 2005.
“In the last nine years, our business has grown considerably,” said Powertraxx manager of sales and business development Jared Hodgson.
“I started with the company in December 2005. We were building eight to 10 vehicles a year and had 12 employees.
Now, we build 40 to 50 vehicles a year and have 32 people working for the company. It has been done through our people and service to customers. Our people are the power.
The goal is to have Powertraxx everywhere and be a global company. We’re on our way.”
Powertraxx makes 10 different models with a wide range of uses and configurations. The vehicles range in carrying capacity from 10,000 pounds to 46,000 pounds. All the vehicles can be customized for any client’s requirements with attachments and devices such as cranes, drills and construction booms.
The vehicles feature hydrostatic drives. They have the highest rollover protective structure (ROPS) rating in the industry, certified to 100,000 pounds. The cabs are designed for function and operator comfort, featuring sound systems and air conditioning to make long trips into the backcountry more pleasurable.
The vehicles can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds and more, and are designed to travel at speeds of eight to 10 miles per hour. They can cost between $180,000 to $1 million depending on custom options.
“We are a hands-on shop and the vehicles are made to order to customer specifications,” Hodgson said. “We have our own welding shop. We have three bays to build the vehicles. It takes three weeks to assemble one of our biggest models.”
The main market Powertraxx serves is the powerline industry. Powertraxx also provides vehicles for the mining, drilling and exploration industries, as well as the forestry, oil and gas, and pipeline industries. There are also military applications. Powertraxx sells vehicles directly to the user, as well as to rental and dealership locations in Georgia, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.
“Our robust frame and suspension construction stands out against the competition,” Hodgson said. “We have a higher payload capacity and feature ease of installation of devices. We are a down home company and work closely with each customer to give them exactly what they need.”
Powertraxx does have an imprint in the mining sector and is reaching further and further around the globe. There are Powertraxx vehicles in operation across North America and South America and in the Arctic being used in a variety of industries.
Powertraxx vehicles are used in mines to spray liquid dust suppressants on tailing ponds to keep material from blowing around and going into the atmosphere, as well as for drilling and exploration. Diversification has been essential as the company moves forward.
“Any job done off-road is our market,” Hodgson said. “We build vehicles for a wide variety of industries and uses, so we are not limited to just one market and its ups and downs. There is a lot of work available for us.”
Each vehicle goes through a demanding test on the company’s 400-acre property in Whitefish. They are rated for safe angles of 31-degrees forward and 22-degrees sideways. They can go through or over anything and will manoeuvre through terrain as deep as 52-inches.
“Our vehicles will go through snow, mud, water, sand, tailings, swamps and muskeg,” Hodgson said. “Every vehicle goes through our on-site test track for four to eight hours in harsh terrain. It is a rigorous test.”
