GPS machine control has been around for many years. Buying or installing a system on your machines should be easy, train your employees, and see the cost savings. After all, your competitors do. Founders Zack Morehead and Scott Brown. “We bridge the gap between dirt and technology,” Moorhead says. Their approach is simple: No matter your comfort level with machine technology, they can help not only get you up to speed but also do it at your own pace. They will help with any device that has any GPS system. “They might have a Cat tractor, but they want the Topcon system,” Brown says. “We’ve seen that there are a lot of opportunities here to support people with more than just one product.” “If someone had something that was 10 years old and it worked for them, let’s work on it,” Brown says. Then we can help them take the next step.” CTP also provides aerial mapping services for drones. Moorehead started as a diesel mechanic at Dean Machinery, worked at the Foley Equipment rental desk and then ended up in sales for Sitech Central. Brown worked for eight years As Equipment Manager for Kiewit Energy, then start-up wrenches for Foley Equipment, was a field technician for Sitech Central and worked as a technical solutions expert for Roadbuilders Machinery. The two started their company in January 2020. Currently, CTP is focused on small and medium-sized contractors.” The larger contractors have people dedicated to managing technology; Brown says. “Our goal is to grow and train them to the point where they don’t need us anymore.” “They might have a Cat tractor, but they want the Topcon system,” Brown says. “We have seen that there are a lot of opportunities here to support people with more than just one product. We will take care of them with everything they have.” Of course, the contractors themselves are multi-brand, and they may use Cat excavators, Komatsu tractors and Deere graders, for example. Every OEM has their own technology solution, which can add complexity for contractors who just want to get up to speed. Technology Roadblocks “All of this technology is amazing, but without the people or processes that support this technology, it’s useless,” says Brown. “None of these things make sense if you don’t get a return on your investment.” They see contractors, driven by competition, jump into technology, and end up with a bad experience that costs them instead of saving money. “It’s really about setting realistic expectations of what you can do, and how long it will take you to get there and establish operations,” Brown says. It doesn’t help that contractors had bad early technology experiences when the industry didn’t have the support structure it does now. “We’ve seen that technology creates bad situations because of bad management,” Moorhead says. “It’s a rush mentality; the builder doesn’t know about his patience. They look around and see that their competitors have it and think they have to get it now. If they just throw it in there and put a lot of guys on fire trying to learn it, nothing good will happen.” CTP offers everything from complete technology to training the company’s employees to do part of the job to serving as a comprehensive consultant. They can do everything and then move away gradually as the contractor becomes more comfortable. “Every contractor is a little different in what they want,” Brown says. “A road contractor lives in a different world than one who builds terraces for farmers.” Space for Everyone Although the two use a multi-brand approach, servicing and selling used GPS systems, they are now a dealer for Hemisphere GNSS and iDig, drawn to the two companies’ low-cost solutions. “But we also work with everyone else,” Brown says. “If you have a problem, whether it’s a hardware or software issue, either we have a solution or we know someone who can help you.” Not all work is done by the contractor. “We see a lot of opportunities with merchants, to help them help their customers with technology support,” Brown says. Traders can also contact them as an external advisor. The tech space is big, it has room for everyone, the two say. “The contractors who are currently using the technology are a small part of the pie,” Brown says. “With the market growing so fast, we have more work to do than we know what to do with it,” Moorhead adds.
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