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"Normally when pouring paint into the bucket on a machine the paint spills on the motor and the pump," Richey says. "We avoid that on this machine by separating where they are placed."

How much improvement?
The manufacturers say productivity improvement comes in two areas: time saved on the job and reduced operator fatigue. But the biggest impact these types of equipment can make is in how fast a contractor can complete a job - and get on to the next job.

"What was happening to us is we'd get to where it was almost break even point on a job and then the weather would hit and delay the job, and all of a sudden we're behind again and still trying to reach break even," Neuling says. "This machine turns a 5-day job into a 3-day job, and doing that allowed us to hit our break-even point 45 days earlier the first year and 83 days earlier the second year. And as every contractor knows, once you hit that break-even point you start making money."

He adds that because the company could complete its striping jobs more quickly it was able to bid more competitively.

"I would no longer go out on a job without one," Hannah says of his Utility Driver. "It reduces the wear and tear on workers, especially in the heat. When using this machine they are still fresh after clearing off a parking lot and they can do a better job more quickly."