Hilltip Introduces Drop Spreader for Compact Tractors, Loaders
Hilltip is offering a winter maintenance drop spreader for compact tractors and loaders. Available in 8- to 18-cubic-foot capacities, the new IceStriker has a self-loading design and can be mounted on the front or back of vehicles. It is capable of spreading salt, sand and fine gravel, making it useful on a variety of applications, including parking lots, courtyards, walkways and pedestrian paths.
The IceStriker DSB comes standard with hydraulic motors and conventional controls. 12-volt electric drives are optional. Customers can also upgrade to StrikeSmart controls, using either a hard-wired CAN bus controller or Bluetooth-enabled smartphone controls. These automatic controllers feature Hilltip’s unique HTrack tracking software, which is the industry’s only two-way GPRS communication system that allows unprecedented functionality.
With the HTrack system users can create geofenced work sites, set customized application rates, monitor drivers and document all activities remotely using a computer, smartphone or tablet. The unique technology offers unmatched benefits for both managers and drivers in the winter maintenance business.
When entering a jobsite, the StrikeSmart controller recognizes the site from the GPS antennae and will default to customized application rates for the site. The spreader will then automatically adjust material feed rates according to travel speed, while the operator focuses on driving. Operators can also monitor and manually adjust spreader settings on the user-friendly controllers.
The IceStriker DSB comes standard with a top screen to prevent rocks and large material chunks from entering the hopper. Options include an LED rear light kit and various quick-hook attachments for front loader mounting.
Headquartered in Pietarsaari, Finland, Hilltip is a leading manufacturer of road maintenance equipment in Europe. With equipment designed and built in an area that averages at least six months of snowfall every year, Hilltip is known for its durability and advanced technologies. With the acquisition of Industrial Metal Products (Industrial Truck Beds) in 2022, Hilltip now has a manufacturing, sales and service location in Fort Wayne, Ind., to better cater to the North American market. For more information, visit the website at www.hilltipna.com.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.