Trimble Selected as Preferred Supplier for Machine Control and Survey Solutions
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 23, 2005 — Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) announced today that it has been selected as the preferred supplier of machine control and survey equipment for Thiess John Holland, the lead contractor building Australia’s largest road project―EastLink in Melbourne. With total construction costs of AU$2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion), the scale of work required for timely completion of Melbourne’s EastLink is beyond that ever tackled before on any single infrastructure project in Australia.
EastLink’s three-lane, freeway-standard road is expected to be built over three and a half years. Construction includes two million square meters (1,250 square miles) of paved road, more than eighty bridges, seventeen interchanges and 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) three-lane twin tunnels. The project will deliver Melbourne’s second fully-electronic tollway, comprising about 45 kilometers (28 miles) of freeway-standard road connecting the city’s eastern and south-eastern suburbs. Connecting the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne’s east to the Frankston Freeway in the south-east, EastLink is expected to become a major commuter road and a key intracity arterial route.
Responsibility for EastLink’s design and construction lies with Thiess John Holland. The joint venture commenced major construction in March 2005. According to Greg Sparkman, Thiess John Holland’s General Manager Project Wide Delivery, smart technology will be the key to achieve productivity gains in such a short time frame.
“With 7.5 million cubic meters (8.2 million cubic yards) of soil to be moved, the traditional method of putting stakes in the ground to guide the machinery was never going to be satisfactory,” said Sparkman. “Trimble technology has addressed that problem for us and has opened all sorts of opportunities on this project to increase productivity.”
Ultimate Positioning, Trimble’s distributor of 3D machine guidance and survey solutions in Melbourne, has already installed four Trimble NetRS™ base stations and a Trimble SNB 900 radio network along the 39 kilometers (24.4 miles) EastLink route. Other Trimble equipment that will be used includes: two BladePro® 3D systems for graders―to run from ATS total stations; four BladePro 3D GPS systems for graders―optioned to swap to ATS; four dual-antenna SiteVision® systems for dozers; six Trimble S6 Robotic Total Stations and six Trimble SPS 780 GPS Rovers with internal radios.
Within months, two-way communications between the design office and construction equipment will be installed, allowing designs to be immediately uploaded into machines and as-constructed information relayed back to the office.
ConnectEast Group is the concessionaire for EastLink. It was awarded the contract to finance, design, construct and operate EastLink for a period of approximately 39 years, beginning in late 2004. The tollroad is due to begin operations in late 2008. For more information on the EastLink project, visit: www.connecteast.com.au.
About Trimble’s Engineering and Construction Business
Trimble, a world leader in GPS, construction lasers, robotic total stations and machine control solutions, is creating a broad range of innovative solutions that change the way construction work is done. The engineering and construction business of Trimble is focusing on the development of technology and solutions in the core areas of surveying, construction and infrastructure. From concept to completion, Trimble’s integrated systems streamline jobs and improve productivity.
About Trimble
Trimble is a leading innovator of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. In addition to providing advanced GPS components, Trimble augments GPS with other positioning technologies as well as wireless communications and software to create complete customer solutions. Trimble’s worldwide presence and unique capabilities position the company for growth in emerging applications including surveying, automobile navigation, machine guidance, asset tracking, wireless platforms, and telecommunications infrastructure. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Trimble has more than 2,000 employees in more than 20 countries worldwide.
For an interactive look at company news and products, visit Trimble’s Web site at www.trimble.com.
