...mounted on a five-axle trailer, which is pulled by a Kenworth C500 tractor with a hydraulic drive system on its twin front axles that give it all-wheel-drive capability in low-speed situations.

While owning the world’s largest concrete pumper comes with undeniable bragging rights, Paragini believes it also gives him a distinct competitive advantage. “What I sell is placement capabilities,” he explains, “and when you set this truck in the same spot as a typical 58-meter truck, the 70Z-Meter can cover 41% more square feet.”

Knowing that extra reach would come at a price, Paragini and Putzmeister engineers spent hours looking for ways to reduce weight and consulting with California Dept. of Transportation officials to optimize specs like axle loads. That up-front work has made the 70Z-Meter as easy to schedule as his smaller rigs, which he says gives him greater flexibility when responding to customers’ needs.

“This truck is just over 70 ft long and weighs 175,000 lb, but it is totally roadable,” Paragini explains. “If a client calls us at 4 p.m. to change the location of tomorrow morning’s job, we can just go where we need to go without having to scramble to get a lot of complicated special permits.”

One might think the 70Z-Meter’s size would present other mobility problems on the road and at the jobsite, but Paragini says that is not the case. “This thing has a turning radius of just 59 ft, which actually makes it the most maneuverable of all the large booms I have,” he explains. “With two steerable axles on the tractor and three computer-controlled steerable axles on the trailer, it tracks very nicely, even in tight spots where you are not able to swing wide turning a corner.”

While he has been pleased with the 70Z-Meter’s performance, Paragini admits the design process was every bit as much fun for him as seeing the finished product. “I have been in this business for 30 years, and pioneering these new concepts is what keeps it exciting.”