At first glance, it looks like a type of rototiller, and it functions similarly like a rototiller. But, that’s about as close as the Maddog Portable Mixing System comes to a gardening tool.
The Maddog is a portable, hand-held, small-batch mixing system designed to efficiently mix water with concrete, mortar, grout or stucco in a plastic tub contoured to match the mixing blades, delivering a consistently mixed product every time.
In many applications, concrete contractors have managed to replace the more expensive and hard-to-transport drum mixer and the smaller volume alternative of a paddle mixer with the Maddog. Available in both an electric-powered motor and gas-powered 4-cycle Honda engine, the Maddog can mix up to 120 pounds of material in about a minute. It weighs only 40 pounds, making it easy to transport and operate in confined spaces. The electric version is ideal for interior projects.
Identifying the need
Penn Hulburd, CEO of RMH Ventures, says the realization of the innovative concrete mixing solution involved years of research and development, spearhead by Dennis Riley, one of Hulburd’s partners.
“Dennis had been tinkering with the idea 12 years ago, trying to find a way to improve cement mixing,” Hulburd says. “With my experience in business start-ups, we teamed up to conduct more research on the construction industry, particularly the concrete construction industry. Identifying that there were only two methods of mixing small batches of concrete, the drum mixer and the paddle mixer, we set our sights on developing a product that fit somewhere in between those two existing products.
“We wanted to develop a mixer that was lightweight, self-contained, and could mix X-quantity of material quickly,” Hulburd notes. “Most importantly, we wanted to design a mixer specifically for the professional concrete contractor. We’re not interested in the do-it-yourself market.”
Focused on the general contractor, concrete contractor, rental companies, industrial supply houses and industrial supply catalogue business, RHM Ventures conducted six months of field evaluations with the final product before launching the product.
“It was important for us to get input from professionals in the field on how the mixer performed, and whether or not it met the needs of professional contractors,” Hulburd states. “We needed input from general contractors running 25 crews in the field to independent contractors working on multiple small projects. With that information we were able to make small adjustments, and we continue to do so as contractors suggest ideas.
The Maddog Portable Mixing System has been officially out in the market for three years at a price point around $1,200. The portability of the 40-pound mixer in its storage/mixing tub make it for professional contractors to set up and quickly begin mixing as much as 180 pounds of concrete in 2-3 minutes. It’s just as easy and quick to clean the mixer in 2-3 minutes.
A contractor’s perspective
Neal J. McKenny of Fortuna, Calif., is a general contractor who quickly became a believer in what the Maddog could do for his operation.
“I’ve been waiting seven years for a product like this to hit the market,” McKenny says. “I saw it displayed at WOC (World of Concrete) and I knew this is what I had been waiting for. It’s so convenient when you have a project inside, like a fireplace.”
McKenny also points to the economy of the portable mixer over the drum mixer he utilized in the past.
“The problem with a big drum mixer is that the rubber edges of the blades wear out and then you end up mixing an extra bag just to fill the sidewalls of the mixer” he explains. “Unless you had a pretty stringent maintenance schedule for your drum mixers, you just excepted the fact that you were going to waste a bag of mix each time you used a drum mixer.”
“The portability of the Maddog makes it ideal for most projects McKenny and crew work on. With most concrete mixes available in pre-mixed bags, the Maddog system makes quick work of having a batch ready to go in a matter of minutes.
“I’m the only one on my crew that does the masonry work, so it’s nice to know I can get setup and running in a matter of minutes and quickly clean up when I’m done,” McKenny says. “I’ll even use it when I have 20-30 blocks to set. If I’m doing an entire wall, I’ll generally use a drum mixer just because of the quantity of mix that kind of project requires. But for most projects that require more than one batch of concrete mix, it’s so easy to mix another tub in a matter of minutes and then get back to work.”
