Astec Underground & Ring-O-Matic Form Alliance for Vacuum Excavators

Astec Underground, based in Loudon, Tenn., has entered into a marketing alliance with Ring-O-Matic, Inc., of Pella, Iowa, that will allow the Ring-O-Matic line of vacuum excavators to be marketed under the Astec name and through the Astec Underground worldwide family of dealers.

“We believe the Ring-O-Matic product line complements our HDD products very well,” says Doug Zukowski, Astec Underground vice president, sales and marketing. “These high-quality products give our customers another underground construction solution that will make their work safer and more productive.”

Ring-O-Matic CEO Bob Zylstra agrees. “The vacuum excavators are an excellent machine to help locate existing underground utilities that may be in a horizontal drill’s path,” he says. “Physically locating utilities near the drill path is a best-practice for contractors to improve safety and to reduce the likelihood of damaging a pre-existing utility. Selling horizontal drills and vacuum excavators together is a natural fit for our dealers and their customers. This alliance will help create additional value for contractors, Astec Underground, our dealers, and Ring-O-Matic.”

Ring-O-Matic is located in central Iowa and has been manufacturing vacuum excavators since 1996. Ring-O-Matic brought many “firsts” to the vacuum excavator market making it an industry leading innovator for vacuum excavators. The Ring-O-Matic patented Cyclo-Jet pothole excavator tool is the fastest and cleanest excavator of its type, the press release notes. Today, Ring-O-Matic offers a wide variety of vacuum excavators with spoils tank capacities up to 2,000 gals and up to 83 hp. Ring-O-Matic has a strong reputation for reliability and ease of use.

Astec Underground, an industry leader in the underground construction industry, manufactures Astec walk-behind and ride-on utility trenchers, vibratory plows and horizontal directional drills, along with related parts and accessories, Trencor line of high-performance rock trenchers, surface miners, Road Miners, and related equipment, and Astec EarthPro Geothermal Drills. These products are manufactured at the company’s 360,000-sq ft facility in Loudon, Tenn.

Astec trenchers and HDDs are sold and supported through a worldwide network of 62 dealers that operate
more than 155 locations. Astec EarthPro geothermal drills and Trencor machines are sold direct from the factory and through a network of agents and dealers worldwide. They’re supported through a dedicated parts and service center available 24-hours a day.