Wacker Neuson’s annual Trowel Challenge competition will be held for the eighth year at the company’s World of Concrete booth Feb. 2-5 in Las Vegas with a new emphasis on skill for precision finishing as well as speed. The competition has become one of the top attractions at the concrete- and construction equipment-focused trade show, drawing hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators every year.
For 2016, the course has been reconfigured to emphasize precision.
“The intent of the trowel challenge has always been to test the operator’s troweling skills,” said Matt Basky, concrete product solution specialist for Wacker Neuson. “This year we have reworked the course to slow the speeds down but emphasize precision finishing skills using an eight-foot mechanical steer ride-on trowel.”
Every year, Wacker Neuson creates an obstacle course on a 1750-square-foot concrete slab at its booth #O31708. Concrete finishers are invited to test their skills by maneuvering a ride-on trowel through the timed course. The top 10 finishers of the qualifying rounds meet for the final championship on Thursday Feb. 4. The grand prize is a custom 48-inch CRT 48-35 VX ride-on trowel powered by a special Vanguard Big Block V-twin engine.
Wacker Neuson will show a wide range of its product line at its booth. Its walk-behind trowels offer a patented design to provide extra protection from an out-of-control spinning trowel handle. If an operator lets of the handle, a gyroscopic safety sensor detects the motion of the handle and stops the engine before the handle can reach a 45-degree rotation. This engages the gearbox brake to stop the handle rotation within a 270-degree rotation.
A video of the trowel can be viewed at: http://www.wackerneuson.us/en/your-industry/concrete-construction.html
