Construction equipment technology, fleet management, and news
Wait. What exactly is a material transporter? That’s a fair question. I mean, Vermeer just sort of invented this category of equipment with its new MT500, so it’s quite new for all of us. This MT500 material transporter is a tracked, remote-controlled machine that automates the pile layout, or shakeout, process on utility-scale solar jobsites. In this episode of The Weekly Iron, host Miles Cooksy takes a closer look at the Vermeer MT500 and the problem this unusual machine is trying to solve — so we can all better understand this new category. 
“Solar farms are supposed to represent the future of clean energy, but building them hasn’t been futuristic,” says Cooksy in the video above. “Crews still haul steel piles across jobsites by hand with skid steers and telehandlers dropping each one near a waypoint. It’s slow and it’s a mess. And Vermeer wants to change that with a new machine called the MT500.” 
I’ve already done a deep dive on the MT500, which included an interview with Vermeer product manager Ed Savage. So, I won’t clutter this post with every single detail of the MT500 but continue reading below to get a 30,000-foot view. 
So, before a solar farm gets panels, crews need to install thousands of structural piles. It’s a big job. Before those piles can be driven, somebody has to put them in the right places. That process is commonly called the “shakeout.” Traditionally, crews move bundles of piles around the jobsite with equipment such as skid steers, compact track loaders, and telehandlers. Workers then position individual piles near GPS waypoints for the pile-driving crew. 
“These things can be up to 400 pounds apiece,” explains Savage in our previous interview. “Using a skid steer or telehandler, crews are just trying to get these piles close to this waypoint, which is a GPS coordinate on a digital map. It’s not always the most accurate way to do it. They get it close. Then, the pile driver crew has to pick it up and then drive it into the ground. For starters, it’s obviously a big safety risk and then it’s a lot of extra manual labor.” 
GPS guides the machine to the correct location, while laser sensors identify the next pile in its rack. A hydraulic gripper grabs the pile and places it at the designated waypoint. The machine can then move toward the next location. One button can initiate a work cycle that would otherwise require up to 12 separate operator inputs. That’s the part worth seeing.
While the MT500 represents a new category for Vermeer, a lot of the machine itself isn’t exactly new. Vermeer has some history in the solar market, and the MT500 is based on Vermeer’s PD25 solar pile driver platform. The two machines share components including the engine pod, hydraulics, and undercarriage. Besides that, these units are pretty unique. Let’s take a look at the specs and features: 
Vermeer MT500 specs and features:
Perhaps the bigger story is what the MT500 says about specialized construction equipment. Vermeer spent more than a decade building equipment for solar pile driving before developing a machine specifically for the work that happens ahead of those pile drivers. Major solar contractors Bechtel, Blattner, and Kiewit also provided input during development. Will specialized machines like the MT500 replace skid steers and telehandlers doing shakeout work on big solar projects? Check out Cooksy in the video above. Maybe he can provide you with some answers.
Keith Gribbins is the head of content at Construction Equipment, where he leads editorial strategy across print, digital, video, and social channels. An award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, Keith has won 17 national and regional editorial awards and is known for his hands-on reporting style, regularly visiting manufacturers, operating equipment, and covering major industry events worldwide.

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