Soil Connect says these features include a regulatory component that will allow users to keep track of materials from origination to destination.
The digital marketplace is also launching an e-ticketing service to improve the transport and management of soil and aggregates.
Under the paper system, Soil Connect insists tickets are often illegible, accidentally discarded or lost altogether, resulting in a significant loss of time and productivity for contractors.
The digital version facilitates transparent transactions that help users save time and money, the marketplace adds.
Soil Connect founder Cliff Fetner says: “As a third-generation builder and developer, the most frustrating part of the job for me was how I continually saw technology change the game for other sectors but bypass the soil and aggregates industry. Our goal in launching Soil Connect is not just to create a marketplace, it is to establish the first pure-play one-stop shop for the industry. Making it easier for these individuals to find or dispose of materials was a critical first step, and the e-ticketing function takes it to the next level, further integrating the platform and advancing our objective of supporting the entire transaction from end to end. It’s also entirely contactless – an important attribute during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The funding round was led by TIA Ventures, a New York City-based fund that invests in companies and a venture capital firm Heartland Ventures.
Max Brickman, general partner of Heartland Ventures, says: “Our investing model brings technologies from the coasts to our construction-focused partners in the heartland. Part of our diligence process encourages investors in our fund to become customers as a way to validate that the technology solution is solving a real problem. Through conversations with our fund investors, it became very obvious to us that the sourcing and transport of dirt and aggs is an enormous pain point, and Soil Connect has proven to be the perfect solution."
Construction professionals interested in transacting on Soil Connect can create a profile on the website.
