July 17, 2026
Vermeer has unveiled a new material transporter aimed at improving efficiency and safety in ground-mounted solar projects. The new MT500 automates the pole layout process to enable accurate and repeatable placement of 10- to 20-foot W-beam poles on ground-mounted solar jobs with minimal labor.
Operated by one person at the touch of a button, the MT500 eliminates manual pile lifting, eliminating human error in the piling process on large-scale solar projects.
“Labor is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, from finding workers, training workers and then retaining them, especially with solar crews, as we travel across the country where the jobs are,” says Vermeer product manager Ed Savage, adding that certain aspects of installing large-scale solar “can become monotonous for the crews,” negatively impacting a solar company’s ability to retain quality workers. “That’s something we always talk to customers about, from an employment perspective, how can we help you with that?”
One aspect of the solar installation process that Vermeer looked at was laying piles in front of a pile driver – also called the shakeout process – which Savage described as one of the “major labor efforts” for installers. There are also major safety concerns when moving and installing these heavy poles, which can be as long as 25 feet and weigh up to 400 pounds.
“They said they had a lot of hand injuries, finger injuries, foot injuries from the falling poles,” Savage said of the customers he spoke to. “Currently, using skid steers or telehandlers with forks, you have one guy driving the machine, and then you have one or two people dragging or pulling the piles off, trying to get them into the right positions so that when the pile driver crew comes along, they don’t have to drag those piles far to tie them down to pull them up under the hammer of the pile driver. That doesn’t always happen, as far as good accuracy goes when people are involved are just trying to make those piles fall out.”
The MT500 automates that process, with the aim of alleviating workforce constraints and improving efficiency, accuracy and safety in the workplace. Compatible with third-party GPS systems, the MT500 uses point-to-point and row-to-row automation to accurately move across the solar field.
“To our knowledge, this is the first that will be commercially available as far as a machine that mechanizes and automates the process of laying or shaking out piles on the construction site,” says Savage. “One of our goals was because of that labor aspect, we know there’s a pretty high turnover rate among these crews, to make this thing easy to learn. How do we make it easy to train on? We challenged the design team early on to go through a full cycle with one push of a button on the remote, from grabbing that stack on the MT500, putting it down at the appropriate waypoint that’s on the digital map, and then moving the machine to the next waypoint and getting it ready to start that cycle again.”
The machine handles stacks from 10 to 25 feet long with a payload capacity of 5,000 pounds, allowing it to carry a full bundle of stacks, which Savages says typically weighs 3,500 pounds. The extra capacity provides a safety measure for heavier bundles.
Hands-free approach
The MT500 operator stands to the side of the machine during the shaking process.
“It’s a hands-off approach, as far as the stack is concerned,” Savage says. “You have one operator there operating the button on the remote control. You still have a skid steer or telehandler that loads a new bundle when it runs out, but it’s a very hands-off approach, as far as touching the heavy stacks. That’s what customers were asking for.”
Each bundle contains 23-25 posts depending on the length and profile used for the project. A crew may need to refill the MT500 once or twice per row, depending on the size of the installation. Savage says the goal was to install an average of 600 to 800 poles during a 9- to 10-hour shift.
“That is what a good average team can now do manually with two to three people,” says Savage. “That is something we are very honest about with customers. This may not be better than your superstar team, but it is consistent all day long. He won’t be tired after lunch or want to take a nap. It will not be worn out at the end of the shift. It is a very consistent process, and they like that because it makes it easier for them to predict and budget for their next job.”
Link machines for accuracy
The MT500 can be combined with Vermeer pile drivers, such as the PD25R released in September 2024. Both machines work from the same digital maps to ensure accuracy. In addition, the basic layout of the machines is also the same, which guarantees ease of use for the operators.
“We’ve approached this in a holistic way, so everything from the remote is in the same remote that the PD25 is in,” says Savage. “There might be a few different switches because of the different functionality, but it will be very easy for someone to go from a PD25R to an MT500, or vice versa.”
Both machines share similar features.
“If you put these two machines side by side, a PD25 and an MT500, you will notice a lot of similarities,” says Savage. “The engine unit is the same, so the same engine, the same hydraulic system, so your hydraulic filters, your air filters and your service points are the same on both machines. The undercarriage is the same, so your tracks are the same. Just the customers we’ve shown it to, they’ve loved that. It just makes service and training easier for their technicians.”
Safety on board
The MT500 has a number of safety features.
“One of the first things is an orange beacon,” Savage says. “As soon as you switch on automation mode, an orange beacon flashes on the machine, so that everyone in the immediate vicinity of the machine knows at any time that the arm can move automatically, or that it can automatically follow the machine. That orange beacon warns everyone that it is in automatic mode.”
The machine also has two methods of detecting obstacles in the workplace.
“What we also do from an object detection perspective is we have mechanical bump bars at each end of the machine,” says Savage. “If they hit something, they spin down and the machine shuts down and the movement stops. The other thing we have for object detection is Lidar at each end, so it senses a certain distance from each end of the machine, and as something gets closer it starts to slow the speed of the machine, and as it gets closer and closer it stops, so we have redundant safety measures there for object detection.”
Another feature lies in the hands of the operator.
“The other thing we have, which is quite common on all our equipment, is a red emergency stop button on the remote control,” says Savage. “If the operator sees something he doesn’t like, he can press the red button and the movement stops.”
Flexibility in the workplace
Rubber tracks maintain ground pressure at 6.4 psi (44 kPa), reducing ground disturbance and allowing the machine to operate in wet conditions. With a ground clearance of 30 cm (12 in), the MT500 can handle uneven terrain in a variety of job site conditions. A 74 hp (55 kW) Tier 4 Final/Stage V Rehlko engine powers the machine without the need for DEF fluid. The machine has a fuel capacity of 35 gallons (132 L).
No major disassembly is required to change locations. Stow away the stacking rack and arm and the MT500 is ready to go, measuring 80 inches wide and 175 inches long in transport mode.
The MT500 integrates with the VermeerOne platform and provides real-time machine data to help operators and fleet managers proactively manage maintenance and performance. The machine is supported by the Vermeer dealer network, with local service and support available where contractors work.
Tags: commercial and industrial, equipment, ground mounting, piling, utility scale, Vermeer
