For nearly two years, bringing the TrafficPrinter to the US market has been a vision that we at Trysil RMM Inc. and MRL have passionately pursued.
We, as a team, have worked hard to bring you a demo unit that will travel across the United States demonstrating how we can take the road marking industry to new levels. Experience firsthand how the Traffic Printer enhances safety and efficiency, reducing job time by more than fifty percent. Witness it yourself at one of our upcoming events!
Following the demo tour
As the US representative for Trysil RMM, it is only natural that I (Marilyn Saulsbury: Head of sales and business development) be present during the demo tour.
As a natural born adventurer, the idea of touring the country with the demo unit intrigued me from the very start. In the beginning stages, it was presented to me that I would be flown out to each location, put in a hotel, and given a rental a car to get around.
I grew excited about this but wondered how it might affect my personal life to be traveling and living out of hotels for six months to a year. I wondered who might be willing to watch my cat Goose every two weeks and how she might adjust to the instability of my upcoming travels. Nonetheless, I knew this was part of the deal and I settled on the idea that everything would work out.
An idea of adventure
For months, I patiently awaited the demo tour and continued to prepare for it on my end. Then, in April of 2023, I embarked on a vacation that would bring back the travel bug in me that had lay dormant since COVID stopped the world from spinning.
For the first time in two years, I recalled the sensation of openly exploring and embracing the challenges of unfamiliar surroundings. Instantly, I started brainstorming ways to sustain this sense of adventure. Upon brainstorming, I realized that the demo tour presented the opportunity to live life on the road full time.
Before long, I presented the idea of purchasing a sprinter van to the team. After all, it would help us save money, offer stability for Goose and I, enable me to join the demo tour for its entirety, and, most importantly, fulfill a bucket list item: VAN LIFE! Practical, cost effective adventure, it was a win win.
In January of 2024, I found my home on wheels. A 2006 T1N Mercedes Benz sprinter van that just so happened to be the winner of Gutted: season 1. At the start of February, the adventure began as Goose (passenger princess and the new Trysil RMM mascot) and I embarked on a 28-hour drive from Minnesota to California to attend ATSSA in San Diego.
ATSSA
This was the first year attending ATSSA that MRL and Trysil RMM were in official partnership. To represent this collaboration, we joined MRL in their booth alongside the newly assembled demo unit. It was exciting to see our vision of partnership come to fruition.
This year, Trysil RMM was represented by four individuals: myself, Erik Bakken, Jon Kjetil Jutulstad, and Endre Krogsrud. The mission for this years ATSSA was heavily focused on garnering interest in the demo tour, with sign up sheets posted throughout the booth. We have a ways to go but ATSSA provided an excellent starting point in building a database of people across the United States who are interested in helping us be successful in launching this product.
Using information gathered at ATSSA, we have begun to map out the route for our demo tour. We strongly appreciate your assistance, across various states, to present this technology to DOTs, municipalities, and anyone else you believe plays a role in approving it. If you would like to attend a demo or host a demo, SIGN UP HERE. More information to come!!
Testing at MRL in Billings
After a week in San Diego, it was time to embark on another long drive. En route to Billings, Montana for testing, I had a new passenger, my father Erik Bakken. What was meant to be a nineteen hour drive turned into a five day scenic route that took us through Las Vegas, Zion National Park, and Cody, Wyoming.
We arrived in Billings on a Monday morning. The rest of our testing team trickled in by plane on Monday and Tuesday night. On Tuesday the 13th, we began to go through a thorough testing process in which we began to familiarize ourselves and the printer with US material. Over the next several days, we tested different viscosities of material, working to fine tune settings on the printer in order to produce the best results for the demo tour.
This is my first entry in a series of which I will update this blog to follow my adventures alongside the demo tour. I hope to see you somewhere along the way!!
Marilyn Saulsbury
Head of Sales and Business Development, Trysil RMM Inc.