The Wisconsin demolition expert charged with the job of tearing down the old Milwaukee DePaul Hospital has found the addition of a hydraulic thumb to his excavator has made the task a lot easier.

In fact, “without my hydraulic thumb, my excavator would be useless for the pick-up and sorting of demolition debris,” claimed Troy Mews, president and owner of Tylor Co. Inc.

Tylor, a six-year-old company employing nine, specializes in grading, excavating and demolition. It was awarded the demolition contract, worth approximately $400,000, in October.

The former hospital has most recently been known as the DePaul Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Rehabilitation Center, and is being razed to make room for the new Wilson Commons Senior Citizen Complex.

Built in the early 1960s, the seven-story building is made of poured, reinforced concrete with a brick veneer. It was taken down, story by story, with a wrecking ball.

In selecting the equipment he would need for the job, Troy Mews consulted with Tim Otterstatter, sales representative of heavy equipment dealer Miller, Bradford & Risberg (M.B.R.), and Todd Carlson, M.B.R.’s Sussex branch manager.

The pair recommended a Kobelco SK480, a 103,000-lb. (46,720 kg) hydraulic excavator equipped with Bodine Manufacturing’s heavy-duty All-Pro universal long-tine thumb, utilizing a newly designed low-pressure hydraulic cylinder.

The hydraulically-operated thumb gives the operator an improved range of movement, thereby reducing the need to use the bucket to drag material to the thumb.

This also results in fewer movements of the entire excavator in order to grasp objects. The thumb’s low-pressure cylinder provides increased dependability and longer life.

During the demolition of the former DePaul Hospital building, the thumb-and-bucket combination allowed the operator to reach into upper stories to pick up debris.

The combo also permitted the operator to sort out the re-bar, according to Mews. The remaining concrete and brick was crushed to be used as a base for the new structure.

“The Bodine thumb is great for pick-up and sorting demo debris,” said Mews. “Not only does it remove the re-bar, but it also removes most of the bother, and all of my headaches.”

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