Jon Kjetil Jutulstad, CEO at Trysil RMM, is proud to have gained a bridgehead in the USA and Canada with the recently signed contract with MRL for the Trafficprinter technology.
“We have chosen the best partner in MRL. They are the largest player in the United States. If we succeed in this, it will be ground-breaking within the road marking industry in USA. This is probably the world’s largest market for road markings and could be the start of an adventure for us”, Jutulstad says.
MRL and Trysil RMM signed a formal agreement to cooperate Just a couple of weeks before the ATSSA convention in Phoenix, USA.
MRL enthusiastic
“It gives us a foothold in the USA, and it was important to finish the deal before the convention to be able to exhibit together. MRL were also very enthusiastic”, he says.
When ATSSA took place at the end of February 2023, MRL and Trysil RMM had booths side by side in the large exhibition hall.
Jutulstad also tells that Trysil RMM caused considerable attention when they were showing “The Piano”, which is the part of the Trafficprinter that do the printing.
“We were the star of the show by having completely new technology. Many people were interested in what we had to show. At the same time, they would like to see “The Piano” mounted on a truck to understand how it actually works”, he emphasizes.
Must give the right impression
Building a demonstration truck is a central part of the formal agreement. MRL adapts a truck in USA, to make it ready for mounting a traffic printer in Norway. Then the vehicle is sent back to MRL in USA.
“We are doing it this way now because it is very important to put together a good truck. We will also take control and check if it does a proper job to give the right impression when doing demonstrations in the US. During this period MRL will send people to us and we will send people to follow the traffic printer to them. The demo truck will be ready in the autumn and will tour the USA all next year”, Jutulstad says.
During normal business with orders and later deliveries, the assembly will not take place in Norway. There will be sent a Trafficprinter assembly kit to the USA to be mounted on MRL trucks there.
Increased traffic safety
The CEO also says that one of the features that makes people interested in the technology is that Trysil RMM’s technology provides increased traffic safety.
“When we print arrows, letters, and markings, we do it by machines, whereas most people today do this by hand. When you do road marking from inside the truck, we remove the person from the road. This is an important safety measure because there are many serious accidents and casualties doing road marking with hand tools. This way we make people open their eyes to safety”, he says.
“It is also difficult to get hold of new employees because the job is considered dangerous and with low status by many. I would like to think that it has a bit more status and is a bit more exciting for today’s youth to sit inside the truck using technological solutions to do the job”, Jutulstad says.
In the Nordics as well
At the same time, he points out that traffic safety and road markings are also something people struggle with in the Nordic countries, because still a lot of the road marking are done by hand in the here as well.
“We have a good timing on coming up with this type of technology now. Most authorities and contractors have high attention on road safety, hence the high interest in what we do and how we do things. Beside the security aspect the Trafficprinter also is cost efficient. I think we are on the right course with this at the moment”, Jutulstad concludes.
MRL FACTS:
MRL is a Montana based company that specializes in building and distributing road marking machines. They are the leading manufacturers in this industry within North America. MRL will mount the Trafficprinter on the MRL trucks.
