Milling through the night in California

The site at night with two W 210 Fis and a truck

When milling is simply a wonderful job!

In the Californian marshlands between Vallejo and Sonoma, the team from Anrak Corporation is enjoying working with two brand new W 210 Fis with the intuitive operating concept, convenient all-round visibility and a whole load of digital assistance systems that make milling particularly efficient.

Sonoma | California:

On Highway 37, about 50 km north of San Francisco, Californian milling services contractor Anrak Corporation has rehabilitated an around 12 km stretch of highway with the very latest Wirtgen technology. Most of this stretch between Vallejo and the Sonoma Raceway passes through unpopulated marshland and sees heavy traffic during the day. The milling work on the construction site was able to be quickly and efficiently completed by working through the night – thanks to the state-of-the-art technology from Wirtgen, which takes road construction projects to an entirely new level.

Tolles Produkt

Advanced technology meets years of professional expertise

Anrak Corporation has been in the business for over 50 years. For the highly experienced Californians, the cutting-edge large milling machines from Wirtgen are the key to the successful realisation of challenging projects and, thanks to their outstanding milling performance, make a significant contribution to increasing the contractor’s efficiency. A good reason for the company to invest in more Wirtgen technology and expand its machine pool with two new W 210 Fis.

Gut-feeling and experience are good – assistance systems bring you certainty

Alongside the outstanding milling performance, the smart assistance systems are what the team really appreciates about the new generation of machines – not only because they optimise working procedures and machine productivity, but also because they make the machine operator’s working day much easier. ‘The guys really enjoy the newer technology of those machines’, explains Patrick Anderson, Vice President at Anrak. ‘It’s a little scary at first working with the new computer, but once you get a hold of it, it’s night and day, way easier.’

‘It sure brings ease to the operator having all that fancy technology at your fingertips.’

Patrick Anderson, Vice President at Anrak

Mill Assist: a reliable assistant

In automatic mode, the Mill Assist machine control system always automatically selects the ideal balance between milling performance and operating costs. The machine automatically adapts the milling drum rotation speed to the machine’s advance speed to achieve a consistent milling result and thus improve the overall quality and efficiency. That reduces fuel, water and pick consumption while simultaneously cutting CO₂ emissions.

Dual Shift: more power, higher efficiency

The W 210 Fi is fitted with a two-speed powershift transmission that simultaneously enables a lower engine speed and a broader spectrum of milling drum speeds. This improvement expands the machine’s range of applications and makes it up to 30% more productive and up to 30% more efficient in comparison to the earlier models. Using the low milling drum speed range reduces fuel consumption and pick wear; in the upper milling drum speed range, the machine achieves top quality, also at higher area performance rates.

The W 210 Fi is ideal for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from surface layer rehabilitation to fine milling work.

The operators are truly impressed by how much easier the work process has become with the new functions of the W 210 Fi.

Thanks to the automated functions, the realisation of an even milling pattern is as easy as pie.

Despite the darkness, the visibility is excellent.

A W 210 Fi transfers the milled material to a tipper truck
Close-up of the operator’s platform with two operators monitoring the milling process
A worm’s eye view of a W 210 Fi; the focus is on the milled surface and the floodlit track units
A W 210 Fi lights up the site and its surroundings in the darkness

Everything in sight and as bright as day

The state-of-the-art operator’s platform provides an ideal overview of all important working areas. For machine operator Bert Maxwell, it’s the apparently little things that make working on the machine so good: ‘The lighting is unbelievable. The lighting is done very well and it’s nice that it’s not removable – it stays on the machine while you’re working on it. So you don’t – after shift – have to take it off every time.’

A middle-aged man in an interview setting. He is wearing a safety helmet with an American flag, black glasses and a black jacket with a hi-vis safety vest over it

‘The lighting is unbelievable.’

Bert Maxwell, machine operator at Anrak Corporation

‘Old hands’ like Bert Maxwell know all the ins and outs of Wirtgen cold milling machines. He sees the new functions on the W 210 Fi as real improvements. His absolute favourite: the new, easy-to-use, LEVEL PRO ACTIVE levelling system, which, in addition to offering automated and additional functions that ease the operator’s workload, above all enables the achievement of precise milling results. ‘My favourite feature in the new machine is being able to lock the grade in when you’re going from a n-gate to slope, or another implement. You don’t have to dial it in, that’s by far the best thing they ever did. Horsepower is good, the fuel-economy is awesome, switching grade control is very quick – they made a lot of good improvements.’

The integrated LEVEL PRO ACTIVE levelling system improves the precision of machine height control and positioning – this enabled the machine to maintain the required milling depths and widths from end to end of the stretch.

Proven partnership

In the meantime, Anrak Corporation, operates a fleet of 25 Wirtgen milling machines, among which is a three-year-old W 210. ‘It doesn’t matter if the machine is a year or two old, three years old – it’s doing a fantastic job keeping up with these other two new machines and producing right along, and it shows again just how long-lasting and reliable Wirtgen products are.

The fast and professional customer service from the Wirtgen Group was another crucial factor in Patrick Anderson’s decision to further expand their partnership. ‘The customer service is fantastic. They really know how to take care of their customers and make them feel comfortable when they’re purchasing a new machine that they have the support from the grind up.’

At the end of the day, it’s an overall package that leaves nothing to be desired. ‘It’s a no-brainer’, explains Patrick Anderson. ‘It’s the technology, the craftsmanship, the customer support – working is by far superior when it comes to Wirtgen milling machine products. It’s not even close in my eyes.’

A middle-aged man looking attentively to his unseen interview partner; he is wearing a safety helmet and a black jacket with a hi-vis safety vest over it.

‘It’s not even close in my eyes.’

Patrick Anderson, Vice President at Anrak

Facts and figures from the construction site in California
General
Project:
Rehabilitation work on Highway 37 in California
Section:
Vallejo to Sonoma Raceway
Project type:
Surface layer
milling with a fine milling drum
Milling services contractor:
Anrak Corporation
Scope of the rehabilitation project:
Stretch length:
12 km
Total area:
151,339 m²
Wirtgen machines deployed
Milling:
W 210 Fi, W 210

You can find more details and comprehensive information on our product pages.

Cold milling machines

Cold milling machines