Road Widener’s FH-R material placer can cut labor in half

(Photo: Road Widener)

With infrastructure funding finally showing up in road budgets and labor more scarce than ever, Road Widener’s claim to halve labor costs with its FH-R material placement attachment (at 1/5 of the cost of traditional road widening) should draw some attention.

The FH-R is designed to push trucks that dump material into its hopper like an asphalt paver, but dispense the material offset to either side for widening roads, paving shoulders, backfilling utility trenches, and precisely dispensing topsoil, gravel, asphalt, limestone and more. The 2,900- to 3,400-pound work tool attaches to common carrier machines that most contractors already own.

“With the current Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal there is a renewed focus on repairing and reconstructing our nation’s roadways,” said Lynn Marsh, Road Widener president. “The FH-R allows contractors to get the job done more quickly and efficiently. Our two-step process eliminates the need for grading and sweeping by placing the material right where it needs to go the first time.”

The remote-controlled attachment connects to most skid steers, compact track loaders, road graders and wheel loaders, powered by the host machine’s engine and hydraulics. It is available in left, right or dual dispensing configurations.

Material is dumped into the hopper at the top of the FH-R and then precisely dispensed via remote control in adjustable lay-down widths from 1 to 6 feet. The attachment dispenses up to 20 tons of material in under 10 minutes.

“With labor shortages spiking, contractors are often running with a lean crew. However, the demand for infrastructure remediation is only rising. The FH-R helps to solve this challenge by efficiently and precisely laying material with only one operator,” Marsh said. “Some of our customers can lay up to five linear miles a day with our machine.”

The FH-R works with standard and high-flow hydraulics and has only five grease fittings to maintain. The attachment costs up to 80% less than a self-propelled material placement machine. Road Widener also sells an offset vibratory roller that attaches to a loader to compact extended pavement without requiring the carrier to operate on the edge.

The compact FH-R attachment transports easily on a common trailer towable by a standard pickup truck. Its small footprint decreases traffic disturbance and danger on busy highways and narrow backroads.