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Originally published in Tekniikka & Talous (Technology & Business magazine) on 19 November 2019
MotoCut’s cutter chops off piles efficiently and safely.
The business idea of Ylöjärvi, Finland, based MotoCut is to replace traditional manual pile cutting with automated machinery.
”The idea of an automated pile cutter attached to an excavator came like most ideas come: a person performing tough, unpleasant and dangerous work starts thinking about easier alternatives,” says Samuli Salmela, MotoCut Managing Director.
With MotoCut’s invention, an automated cutter can be attached to equipment already present at the construction site, such as a front loader or an excavator.
FACTS
APPROXIMATELY 50 CUTTERS have been sold so far. Most of the units were designed for cutting concrete piles. A newer plasma cutter model was developed for cutting steel pipes.
“Concrete pile cutters start at €30,000 and steel cutters at €60,000,” Salmela says.
MotoCut focuses on product design and contracts cutter parts from various nearby companies. The products are assembled by Tampereen Konepajat in Ylöjärvi, operating in the same building with MotoCut.
“The automated cutter cuts piles 2 to 5 times faster than a human, with added safety and fewer errors.”
MOTOCUT’S GROWTH GOALS are ambitious but realistic. This year’s turnover of 0.6 MEUR should rise to three million in a few years.
Solid ground for new business is available especially in the US and British markets.
”Especially in the US, there are giant ongoing and future construction projects that involve large amounts of steel piles to be cut. The disassembly business is a major market as old gas pipelines are cut to pieces.”
According to Salmela, the cutters are a perfect fit for large construction sites, such as freeway sites or oil fields. Major construction sites may have up to 100,000 piles that need cutting.
Individual sites are too small for MotoCut’s tools.
”Renting a unit is always possible, however, and rental machine providers are entering the business in Britain, for example.”