The Smartest Snow Equipment in Europe Is Finally Coming to America

Nobody in the industry has that. And that's not the only thing that you guys have that nobody else in the industry has. Correct. Tell me about >> Big Now, this is something you don't see every single day. It's a Good morning, one and all. I'm at Hilltip's North American headquarters in Indiana, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Now, Hilltip is primarily located actually in Europe, and they are the number one salt, snow, and ice control company in all of Europe. And when I say all of Europe, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, everywhere in Europe, these guys are the absolute leader, and they're breaking into North America. And today, you guys, we're going to get an exclusive tour of everything new that Hilltip is bringing to North America. So, if you want to see the latest and greatest technology that's already been endorsed, adopted, and used by the Europeans that we North Americans, or we Americans, let's just call us what we are, have not yet seen, well, welcome to the right place because I'm going to bring you everything that Hilltip is going to be launching inside of the United States. You guys, this is going to be a fun one today. Let's go. So, although they dominate in Europe and they're manufactured in Finland, they've opened a new corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and they're actually now manufactured in the United States. And this first snow plow that we're going to be seeing, there's only ever been one other company that builds anything like this, and they're out of Canada, and good luck trying to get one of those. They're not easy to come by, but now with this new innovation, these things are going to be readily available, and yes, I'm absolutely going to get one for myself. Let's check it out. Okay, so you've got three sizes of these, Craig? Yes, sir. This is the Hilltip SFT 51196. So, this is a 5-ft 11 expandable to 96 in wide. The smallest unit we make is 4 3 to 6 11. Then, we have a 4-ft 6 to 8-ft 6 model available. And these just came out a couple years back? Yeah, absolutely. This is a brand new product that uh been selling over in our European division for the last couple of years, and uh given the the popularity certainly of box plows and pushers and things here in the American market, it was high time we brought it home. Awesome. All right, Craig gave you a whole bunch of specs, which is fine and dandy, but let me just give you the lowdown on this. The actual real benefit to this snow plow is if you want to mobilize this from one site to the next site, and you can't have a really super wide plow going down the road, you collapse it in and you bring it right to your site, and then you expand it out and get the maximum productivity. Plus, both wings will fold back, allowing you to go straight up to a curb with the wings folded back, drop it down, backdrag away from the curb, put the side wings down, and now you have a containment blade, and you can push away from it. Uh as well as with one wing able to flop up and the other wing flop down like this, then you angle, and now you're a pusher blade that you can push off to one side or flip them flop them and push the other way. So, you kind of have the best of all worlds with this snow plow. It also has up to 6 in of travel and play in it. So, you can actually contour to the pavement because the entire thing will slide up and down on the adjustable brackets behind it. But, this is not the only snow plow that Hilltip has coming. They've got another one coming, and let's just dive right into that one next. All right, Craig, so what What your plow different than any other V-plow made out there for loaders that are currently out on the market? Well, we make the lightest plow and the strongest plow. We utilize a high tensile steel material and fully welded box construction. The combination of the these two give you superior strength and impact resistance at a fraction of the weight of the competition. So, you tell me nobody else is making a a box frame like that on their V-plows? Some some competition competitors do, but they're not using the high tensile steel that Hilltip uses. So, it's the the real magic is right here then. The magic is in the construction, and how it's constructed, and the material we're using to construct it. Now, I want to go over I want you guys to look at this design right here because what Hilltip does, let's go over here, you don't change the design. So, the heaviest design you have on this this piece of equipment right here is the exact same design that you bring through all of your V-plows from the biggest down to the smallest. Which Is this the smallest one? This is Yes, this is the the smallest one that we make. This is actually on a UTV application. But, you can notice it's got the same box frame as the big one. So, you didn't change that. Correct. >> the same marker lights. You got You got the same trip edge. >> And the same high tensile steel. This is where the rubber meets the road. We're using a superior grade of high tensile steel for impact resistance. It takes abuse much better, but it lightens the weight. Now, this you were saying off camera that the weight of this Tell me about the weight of this compared to what your competition is doing. In the spectrum of our portfolio, our largest 8 ft 6 V-plow for UTV, which is the big brother to this, is actually lighter than the smallest one comparably of our competition. That's kind of a drop-the-mic moment right there. I'd say. >> Cuz on a UTV, weight is everything. Weight is It's It's a It's a massive It's a massive thing. Exactly. But, is it too light now? That's the question because when you get too light, you're riding up and over the snow and you're not actually plowing anymore. You're just moving fluff. And we've solved that solution with down pressure. So >> This unit features a down pressure system as well. So, if you need additional bite on that snow, and you need a more push, you can activate down pressure and you'll achieve that with a hydraulic cylinder. All right. >> But wait, there's more. But wait, there's more? We have a programmable joystick for this model. Oh, let's go look at that. So, when you actuate this unit, you can program it if, let's say, your operator works in specific configurations on specific sites, we can program those configurations into the joystick. So, at the touch of the stick, it will default to that configuration. Now, on the back of this one, you actually have a salt spreader, and it's pure stainless steel. 304 stainless steel, half cubic yard capacity in a very compact platform that also utilizes our industry-leading Strike Smart control interface with H-track. So, you're telling me that the same technology that is in the biggest spreader you have over there, right there, that big dog spreader that you have on that tandem axle truck, Mhm. is the same tech that's in the spreader on this UTV? Absolutely. And one other add her to that, the controller that controls this can also control that. All right, next up is the spreaders, and this is where stuff gets crazy, you guys. The comparison between Hilltip and what they do and what the industry standard is is unreal. Let's just dive into this thing and I'll show you exactly what I'm talking about. So, we're going to take this one out of the equation for right now. This is a unicorn. This is a unicorn, right? >> Oh, this is the unicorn. We call that the lion and it is the king of the jungle. It is the king of the industry. Okay, so don't look at that yet because we want to look at this. This is where we're talking about that interchangeability and what I have learned and you tell me if I'm wrong or right, Craig. That the componentry of your auger system that fits on this tandem axle dump truck or truck, I mean, it's not a dump truck, but it could be. The componentry of this auger system and spreader is exactly the same componentry as that fits on this unit. And this unit. And that fits all the way down to a pickup truck sized unit. >> Correct. So, we're talking about, if I understand this correctly, a 6-in auger that's on this pickup truck unit. Correct. This unit features a 6-in three pitch stainless auger, 20-in stainless disc, 400-lb vibrator, okay? This is the same machine as that. Okay, if a guy was going to buy a different pickup truck unit from a different company, comp a competitor, what size auger, for example, are they going to get? What size What What kind of vibrator are they going to get? What are they going What would they expect to typically get that they're normally seeing that you guys do different? >> Yeah, that's a question. So, this being a 2-yard unit to put this into perspective, most American manufacturers of this size would feature a 2 and 1/2 in single pitch stainless auger or 2 and 1/2 in stainless auger. Right. >> This is 6 in. Right. >> means our auger is three times larger than the competition. In that same space, American manufacturers feature a 12-in poly disc. This is a 20-in stainless steel disc. Most American manufacturers in this class will have an 80-lb vibrator. This unit features a 400-lb vibrator. It features a three-gear reduction box with an encoder that takes the speed of that auger 10 times in a second. Nobody in the industry has that. And that's not the only thing that you guys have that nobody else in the industry has. Correct. Tell me about So, some of the options available on the combination series in any size are things like end of material alarms that notify the operator when he's out of material. And how it works, there's a laser that shines down here sensing material coming off the spinner when it's spinning. So, a laser would shine down here. When this does not sense material coming off that spinner, it notifies the operator with a message on his controller. There's an indicator, like a gas gauge if you will, on the controller that shows the amount of material in the hopper, and the machine will go into an auto vibrate cycle. So, there is no conceivable way that an operator would know that he's doesn't have material. Okay, but wait, there's more, Craig. >> But wait, there is more, my friend. Asymmetry adjustment, all right? I will guarantee you that nobody in this industry has an option in machines of this size. And what this does for you, from the cabinet and the controller, the operator can rotate the spinner left or right to direct where the material's going, okay? That's one benefit of it. The second benefit is if you don't like your spreading pattern. So, if we're standing right here and I turn the machine on, 60/40 is my split. If I don't like that, with asymmetry, I can program this to automatically fix the the the spreading picture to my desired location as the RPMs of the spinner come up. What is with the extended shoot on the in this case, Craig? >> Great question. This is very innovative by Hilltip because what this allows you to do is is better optimize weight distribution on your truck. This is a 7-ft hopper and an 8-ft bed. We're leaving ourselves about 14 in between the cab and the front of the spreader. This extends the auger or chain bottom out by 2 ft, allows us to push that machine up tighter to the front, better weight distribution and performance overall. >> You can now slide the entire auger sister that the entire spreader forward so that when they load the truck, the weight is evenly distributed over the weight of the truck, not just over the back axle, so giving it better control, less tire wear on the back on the back tires and less springs and less damage potential damage to rims and axles and all that. And the Hilltip system offers a pre-wetting capability. Correct. >> Plus or just pure brine. If you wanted to just do brine or just rock salt, both, correct? >> Yeah, so this is a double-wall poly constructed rotationally molded hopper. This particular unit's 2 yd bulk capacity with 220 gal of liquid capacity. So, you're exactly right. If you set this up initially as pre-wet, and say for example, 5 years later your business needs change and you're doing more pre-wet applications and post-treatment with liquid, we can easily add a spray bar to it. We can easily add a hose reel allows you to get right up to the the walkway or the the front entry of a customer's property, spray it with anti-icing chemicals without cut their customers tracking it into their lobby giving a better overall service performance. But wait, there's more. But wait, there is more. >> Because you have an actual bladder that you can put into your salt spreader turning this into an actual liquid tank pure liquid tank at that point. You can put a bladder into this bulk section of this hopper turns it into a 550 gallon sprayer. What does that mean? It means I can use this unit 12 months of the year and in in basically recover my investment over 12 months versus three. And with that functionality, I can spray pesticides, fire retardants, weed control, make it a water truck. Whatever application you have and I'll point out and especially in rural areas, you know, folks that are doing ice control with calcium chloride do dust control all summer long with calcium chloride. So, it's perfectly well suited to those applications. All right. Now, to be perfectly fair, Hilltip also has a salt spreader with a 2-in auger. Let's take a look at what their salt spreader looks like that has a 2-in auger compared to what the industry standard is that people are using in their pickup truck spreaders. And so, just to keep perspective here, this has a 2 and 1/2 in stainless steel auger. That's the size of the auger that our competition puts in machines like that, okay? Everything is 304 and on our tailgate spreader, you're correct. We have a 12-in stainless steel disc. All Deutsch connection. But the biggest defining aspect of this smallest unit I make is it comes with Strike Smart control with ground speed control. It will spread anything you want. Bulk up to about a 3/16 of size just make sure it passes through the the opening. And it comes with H track. Okay, and we're going to hit on on the those components mean, but as we go back to the pickup truck unit, you actually have this set up so that it can actually spread sand, not just salt, but not just sand. Anything. Pea gravel. >> Pea gravel. >> Up to pea gravel size or bigger than that? >> In this unit here, you're talking about 5/16 of size. And that only we're only limited by that just given the opening of the the back of the hopper. You're going to hear this again, but wait, there's more. >> But wait, there's more. >> [laughter] >> Cuz right here is your manual nut. Everybody likes the manual nut once in a while, right? That's right. >> So, if you have to, you can put a wrench on this thing and this is actually connected straight to the auger that allows you to break that free if the if the 400 lb vibrator isn't doing the job, a guy can come out here with a wrench and he can turn that and get that broke free. So, if he's using larger material, clumpy material, anything like that, he doesn't have to get in and shovel out his entire freaking salt spreader. Amen. You got it. I think we've covered the salt spreaders. I think we've covered them. Let's look at the unicorn next. Sounds good. The unicorn. What What, where, when, why? Tell me about it, will you? Yeah, so this is the Hilltip Ice Striker Reliance series and it's just a natural progression of our product portfolio as we move forward. So, this is basically the largest in the family of the Ice Striker spreaders. All 304 stainless steel, powder coated orange here in this case. It does have integrated liquid. Actually, the integrated tanks are behind the stainless panels here, but if a customer needed more capacity, we We add 330, 660, or 900 gallon additional tanks to the very front of this. As we come around the back, show me the interior workings of this, will you, Craig? Sure. So, this is an optional foldaway ladder that would allow an operator to climb up to the very top of the machine to get access to to to see whatever is there's a jam, see how full it is. We also would have handrails that support this option. So, you make an old man climb here. We'll open this up for you so you can see. These are dual hydraulic liquid pumps. So, as this unit is equipped, we have a spray bar. >> [music] >> Those two pumps will generate up to 95 GPM. So, what that means is if you're out with this configuration trying to treat a major highway, for example, you've got three-lane capability with this. Love it or hate it, the wave of the future is in brine, and Hilltip offers two different models. A standard flow model that you'll see out there where everybody else is doing it, but they do it a little bit different. And then they've got a high-flow unit as well. But let's just check these things out. >> So, now this is Hilltip's brine sprayer. Correct. This is 24-volt and 12-volt. So, you got them side by each at this point. >> Correct. Because effectively, this is the high-flow series spray striker units. And the reason we have them side by side, this unit is a 24-volt configuration that's capable of up to 38 to 40 gallons per minute. The baby brother over here, which is the 12-volt, that'll be uh the maximum flow rate on it is up to 12 gallons. And now this is a This is a plug-and-play system. So, you throw this in the back of a truck, plug it into the truck, and now you have its own battery system, its own inverter, and it can run indefinitely without running out of juice. >> Yeah, exactly right. >> As long as the truck is on, this will operate. >> You're got you got it. So, the the the premise here is that a contractor will run a harness like you would for any sprayer or any spreader on the market, a 12-V application. What happens is the inverter up here grabs 13 and 1/2 V from the chassis when it's on, charges the batteries. This is the the heartbeat of the operation that gives the power necessary for the higher flow rates. Do you know the different sizes available in the 24-V configuration? The good news is is all from 500 gallons to 3,250, you've got seven choices in there, whatever meets your need. Okay, so now let's look at the 12-V system, which is designed for smaller applications, Craig, is that right? >> typically the the more popular is the 12-V for the much smaller chassis. And the reason simply is is that the volume involved here. So, when we're talking about sprayers, if you get up to 3,250 gallons, if you get down up to 2,650 gallons, that tends to be more on the contractors and municipalities trying to cover a lot of real estate. That's why they need the slightly higher flow. You get into a smaller chassis, the 12-V [music] is preferred. Okay, so this next tool let's not confuse with uh typical application. This is a very specialized application on a case-by-case basis, but they can build one for you because they've done it for other contractors. So, if this is something you want, they are perfectly capable of making it happen for you, but let's just check this out. Craig, now this is something you don't see every single day. It's a broom mounted onto a truck. You got it. Only from Hilltip. This is the Sweepster SP 2200. So, this particular model is 102 in wide and features a 24-in bristle. Optional 35-in bristles are available as well for this unit. So, now can you actually take the broom off and mount a plow on the same framework? Absolutely. This Hilltip lift frame uh is the exact type of lift frame that would operate our plow. >> These are really for airports is where you've seen them being used the most often where there's a zero tolerance. Is that correct? >> Yeah, we see a lot of uh municipal type applications, but um in the in the…