New Holland units with Tramac 300 breakers and TraPac TR14 compactors ready to roll.

Every five years, the City of Montreal replaces much of its maintenance equipment, including hydraulic hammers and other attachments. The stresses of the Canadian climate, combined with normal wear and tear on streets, water mains, etc. in a populous modern city, make dependable equipment in top working condition a necessity. For large-scale jobs, outside contractors are called in, but any site covering an area of 10 square meters or less is handled by the city. As bidding time approached earlier this year, Tramac took every opportunity to show off the Tramac 300 breaker to the Montreal Public Works department—and it paid off. This spring, the city placed an order for six Model 300’s and 5 Tramac TraPac Compactors.

Tramac’s “public relations push” involved taking the Model 300 successively to the five city crews at their current work sites, and giving operators a day’s trial run of the breaker. Without exception, the crews were so pleased with the 300’s performance that they requested it specifically. When the city tendered its bid for six backhoes equipped with breakers and compactors, it specified the Tramac 300 breaker and the TraPac TR14 compactor without naming any equivalent competitors! The contract was awarded to Longus Equipment, the local New Holland dealer; the Tramac attachments, installed on New Holland 575 backhoes, went into service in mid-May. Mike Pietroniro, Manager for Tramac in Québec Province, tells us that they have received many calls from local subcontractors who want to be equipped the same way.

Mike explains that the Model 300 was chosen for several reasons: its slim shape, ideal for work in close quarters; its power-to-weight ratio; and its fully hydraulic operating system with a sealed accumulator, which guarantees full power on every blow. “The city wanted equipment they could count on to do the job every time it went out”, without the need to remove gas in hot summer weather, or add more gas during the winter. In the case of the TraPac, the city has found that its high compacting-power-to-weight ratio make it indispensable for infrastructure maintenance. After repairing a water main and backfilling the hole, Mike says, “You compact the hole, pave over it, and that’s it. It won’t sink and you don’t have to work that site again.”

The sale was handled by Pierre Cloutier, Tramac’s Montreal Sales Manager, and veteran Tramac agent Roland Crepeau, a public works specialist who at 82 is still in the field daily, visiting municipalities in the area and selling Tramac attachments.