Details - Euroboor.com

How did customer feedback create the ECO.40S+/M?

Funny you'd ask, because our CEO Albert Koster actually has a great story to tell about this. Our ECO.40S+/M Bridge Mag Drill was specifically designed with bridge constructors in mind:

"New York is a city that's always under construction. Everywhere you look, new constructions are rising, and outdated areas are being renovated. It's also a city full of bridges and flyovers—a lot of steel—because Americans love working with steel.

In the spring of 2019, I was driving through New York with my national sales manager from Euroboor USA, passing a massive construction site that seemed to stretch on forever. It was a complex infrastructure project, including flyovers and bridge renovations. My heart started to beat faster—I was curious about what equipment the workers were using on this project."

Meeting Bob

"We parked the car and decided to have a look around. It didn’t take long before I spotted workers using magnetic drilling machines. But those machines weren’t from Euroboor. I see that as a challenge; let's get them to use Euroboor machines in the future! So I asked a few guys around who was in charge of the equipment, and they helpfully pointed me to Bob, who was in his mobile office (a construction trailer) under the flyover, about 800 meters away at the corner of 44th and 12th.

We decided to take the car since our demo gear was in there. Luckily, we found Bob pretty quickly. He was a bit reserved at first but found my English accent amusing, so I had his attention. I shared our story and asked Bob what issues he was facing because I knew the American machines he was using and didn't find them ideal.

The Problem

Bob became very straightforward, wanting to keep the visit simple. "Look," he said, "we work with about 30 magnetic drilling machines here, and about 8 to 10 of them are constantly in repair because the guys lift the machines by the motor cable instead of the handle. The cable gets damaged—you can count on it—and then the machine has to be repaired. I lose that machine for at least two weeks, and the repair costs me around $300 each time. That makes me quite grumpy. I’ve often told the supplier to run the cable internally, but they don’t listen, and that also makes me grumpy. Another problem is the safety button under the magnet. If the magnet becomes loose from the surface, it’s supposed to shut off the motor, but it often gets clogged with metal shavings or grease and then jams, and that’s a problem. Besides, if the button does work, but it hovers over a hole, the button extends and the machine seizes functioning while in that case we don't want it to. We end up resorting to the impromptu fix of penny welding the button, but that means sacrificing safety for convenience and we don't want that. And what else?" He continued without missing a beat. "The magnets aren’t strong enough for our type of work. Look around you—lots of bridges and flyovers, and they're old and they’ve been renovated many times over the years, so there is much corrosion and many layers of paint. The magnet simply just doesn’t hold, and if that safety button also doesn’t work... yeah, then it gets dangerous, and you risk accidents!"

Bob continued, "So, Dutchman, if you can solve these three issues, you can come back. Have a nice day." I sometimes have to get used to that American approach, but I can appreciate it; it’s quite similar to the Dutch “no-nonsense” style.

The Solution

Back in the car, with Bob's feedback in mind, we were ready to tackle the challenges he mentioned. At Euroboor, we believe in turning customer feedback into real solutions. So, we got to work.

After the feedback, our engineer team designed an internal motor cable system, so the cable could no longer be damaged or used as a handle. As for that safety button under the magnet? Euroboor never had such a troubling design, and we instead developed Gyro-Tec—technology within the machine that recognizes sudden movements and immediately shuts it down. This eliminated the risk of a button getting clogged and failing and workers sacrificing safety for convenience. Due to Euroboor's modular system, we were going to use a magnet from higher tier machines, that could adhere to metals with multiple (old) paint layers or a lot of corrosion, which is common on old bridges.

The Result

With these improvements, the ECO.40S+/M was born—engineered specifically to handle the tough conditions of bridge work and other demanding jobs. Within six weeks after our first encounter with Bob, we sent him two sample machines. After testing them for about ten days, he came back enthusiastic and especially impressed that he finally found a manufacturer who listened to him. So he ordered a large number of this machine from us through our New York distributor and is currently one of our many pleased customers.

The ECO.40S+/M is now a preferred choice for professionals like Bob who need reliable, durable, and safe magnetic drilling machines for their most challenging tasks.

By listening and innovating, Euroboor continues to build solutions that make a difference on the job site, ensuring our tools are always up to the task." - Albert Koster, Euroboor CEO

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