Beacons Arenas leads the way with SharpGrade and Leica Geosystems 2D machine control.
Equestrian arena design and construction specialist, Beacons Arenas, has become one of the first companies in the UK to adopt the SharpGrade levelling attachment into their operation, complete with on-board machine control from Leica Geosystems.
Manufactured in New Zealand, the SharpGrade attachment is already hugely popular with customers there as well as the USA and Australia; however, Beacons Arenas is one of the first companies to commit to this solution in the UK.
The pursuit of quality
Beacons Arenas is a company which prides itself on the construction of bespoke equestrian arenas which are designed to deliver quality and longevity ‘without compromise’. The SharpGrade solution was purchased as part of this commitment, as company owner Wil Jenner explained: “Achieving a high-quality grade of the sub-base, drainage stone and surface are some of the most important steps in building an arena. The SharpGrade with machine control will give us greater accuracy and efficiency during the grading phases.” Supplied by UK Distributor, Buckinghamshire based compact equipment sales, service and hire specialists, Reach It – Move It – Crush It, SharpGrade is an attachment which can transform a skid-steer or compact wheel loader into a precision laser grading box blade leveller, which is easy to attach and supplied complete with a Leica iCON ‘plug & play’ solution. Will Jenner has his fitted to a JCB 1CXT, providing the performance of a larger grading machine with the in-built manoeuvrability of a small loader. The SharpGrade attachment has been supplied to Beacons Arenas complete with 2D machine control system from Leica Geosystems, the iCON grade iGD2, which provides automatic control of both the slope and elevation of the grading blade. Operators can set a desired slope or grade reference, and the blade will automatically hold its position, helping to achieve more precise results and fewer passes.
Impressive results
Just two-weeks into adopting the solution, Wil Jenner is emphatic in his praise of SharpGrade: “Some solutions out there can provide about half-an-inch accuracy, but with SharpGrade and the Leica Geosystems guidance system I’ve got it down to 3mm accuracy, which is just fantastic. Take a 2000 square foot arena, for example, it might have taken me two days previously to grade that too within a few millimetres’ tolerance, and I can do it in a couple of hours now. And the precision means I can be a lot more accurate in my quantities of materials too.” “SharpGrade fitted with Leica Geosystems machine control solutions will deliver fast, accurate results whilst providing cost savings,” said Mick Hales, machine control sales manager at Leica Geosystems. “It is great to have Beacons Arenas on board as one of the first in the UK to pioneer the laser box blade grader, and we look forward to others coming on board to reap the benefits.” Jenner concluded, “It’s reliable, and it’s saving me time and money. I don’t know how I’d do without it now if I’m honest.”
- For more information about SharpGrade contact: Peter Woolnough | 07973 175244 | www.ReachItMoveItCrushIt.com | peter@ReachitMoveitCrushit.com
- For more information about Beacons Arenas contact: Wil Jenner | 07841 203927 | wil@beacons-arenas.co.uk
REACH-IT – MOVE-IT – CRUSH-IT, Specialise in providing quality tools, equipment and attachments from our pool of specialist manufacturers. We are happy to provide bespoke problem solving and builds in the compact equipment market for when thinking outside the box is needed to get a job completed.
