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Three excavators take the lead in developing Atlantic Canada
Winter 2016
Mitchell Brison is a big believer in Atlantic Canada, a small group of islands and peninsulas located between Quebec and the Atlantic Ocean. That is why this Nova Scotia-based entrepreneur has played a significant role in developing residential housing for 25 years, and more recently, in helping to create local sources of energy.
His goal has always been to grow the area, bring in people and create jobs. One of his companies — New Valley Homes, Inc. — has built several communities from start to finish. Brison Developments, Ltd., another of his enterprises, has played a significant role in helping develop the renewable energy industry. “It shows that we are keeping up with the times in creating local sources of energy,” he says.
Brison’s large inventory of construction equipment enables him to do much of the work on all of his projects with his own machines. That’s a huge benefit for maintaining tight schedules and increasing his company’s profitability.
“I want my crews to have the best equipment available so they can work productively, efficiently and in comfort,” he says.
That equipment includes three Doosan crawler excavators, a versatile trio that delivers excellent results in several applications.
Two DX300LC-3 excavators bring plenty of horsepower to handle larger earthmoving jobs. The digging reach of 34 feet 6 inches, combined with the digging depth of 23 feet 11 inches, is perfect for high-production applications. Brison’s other crawler excavator is a slightly smaller DX225LC-3. The excavator stands out in the 21- to 24-metric-ton size class. With a digging depth of 21 feet 7 inches, and a digging reach of 31 feet 10 inches, the performance-driven DX225LC-3 produces best-in-class results and does it very efficiently.
“My veteran operators really like our Doosan machines,” says Brison, who has had a great deal of experience with other brands of equipment over the years. “They especially like the comfortable cab, the smooth controls, the well-balanced structure and industry-leading technology. I like the pricing, financing, warranty and superior fuel efficiency.”
Heavy equipment plays multiple roles in preparing home sites
For more than 25 years, Brison has been developing land for residential communities throughout the Annapolis Valley and the Halifax Regional Municipality. His communities have proven attractive to both retirees and people who commute to Halifax, the provincial capital about 30 minutes away.
As he continues to develop these affordable housing communities, he relies on his Doosan crawler excavators to help prepare the sites. The machines are used for excavating, land clearing, building infrastructure and installing sewer and water utilities.
“Having this type of heavy equipment available every day is a real bonus,” he says. “Because they are so productive and reliable, everything just keeps moving forward.”
Clearing the way for renewable energy sources
Three new wind turbines near Brison’s office in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, are generating electricity for about 1,700 to 1,800 homes in the area. Not only was he an investor in the Martock Ridge Community Wind Project, his company was awarded the contract for all of the
civil work on the job. He had 15 employees and his three Doosan crawler excavators working at the site excavating, building roads and constructing foundations for the cranes that placed the turbines, as well as the base for the turbines.
“It was a very difficult job,” Brison says. “The 3-kilometer-long road had to be built through an old pasture and wooded area, hilly and with plenty of granite rock. We used a lot of dynamite to remove the very tough rock.”
The three excavators loaded pieces of the blasted rock into trucks. One of the machines was equipped with a hydraulic breaker attachment to break up the bigger boulders.
The company’s involvement in this job was well received.
“Brison Developments certainly took on a large chunk of challenging work,” Dan Roscoe, chief operating officer for Scotian WindFields, the private company that built the project, told a local newspaper. “It is in a watershed, so there is a high quality that needs to be adhered to, and they accomplished that with flying colors.”
Brison expects to do more wind turbine projects in the future, along with continuing to develop additional residential communities. His extensive lineup of equipment, including the three Doosan crawler excavators, will help him reach his goal to grow his community.
