The Client
Landoll Corporation 
(Marysville, Kansas) designs, fabricates, finishes and markets a varied product line of light and heavy equipment in the transportation, material handling & agricultural industries. Over the years, Landoll has worked with a wide-range of high-profile companies, including John Deere, FMC, Snorkel, Caterpillar, Altec and Monosem. The company manufactures a diverse range of products, including earthmoving equipment and heavy equipment trailers in the farming industry to tactical vehicles for the US Air Force, Army and Navy.
The Problem
Because Landoll produces such a broad range of products for an equally eclectic set of industries, the company found itself facing a rather unique challenge: finding a software system that could meet the needs and demands of cost-estimating across a wide-spectrum of industries. The company needed an all-inclusive, flexible system that would produce accurate job quotes and process plans for an array of machining, fabricating and assembly jobs. In addition, they wanted software that would be easy to learn and that would provide cost estimators with the ability to quickly calculate cycle times and costs.
"Landoll has both manual and CNC machines, and we've diversified our lines to protect us from the up and down economy," said Scott Padgett, who serves as the company's 'Master Engineer'. "Because we have to quote such a wide spectrum of jobs, we needed an all-encompassing program that could help us meet those needs – and do it quickly."
How Costimator Helped
Landoll began its search in 2007 and were immediately impressed with what Costimator had to offer. Their Manufacturing Engineering supervisor Alan Koch participated in the search for the new system, and said his department recognized the benefits immediately.
"The best thing about Costimator is that even when the end-user has minimal computer experience or limited manufacturing knowledge – he or she can use the program," said Koch. "Our cost estimators work in a time-sensitive and highly competitive manufacturing environment. We found that with Costimator, they could produce consistently accurate estimates, regardless of their manufacturing experience. The software was incredibly accessible in that sense."
Later that year, Landoll bought and installed the system, and have seen the results multiply year after year since its implementation, some of which include:
- 70% faster turnaround times on estimates
- More accurate quotes
- Increased accessibility to cost-estimating process, leading to greater organizational efficiency
- A comprehensive program that can meet the varied demands of the industries Landoll services
"We get a consistent flow of requests-for-quotes into our department," said Padgett. "With Costimator, we can tweak a lot of our existing cost-models and builds to meet our needs. The models that come with the system are very easy to modify, and creating new ones is a very straight-forward process."
Scott Padgett, Landoll Corporation
Estimating Software
