The Ligchine Story
Ligchine™ was founded in 2007 by Peter Ligman and his uncle, Gary Ligman. As a concrete contractor in the early 2000s, Peter, like many concrete contractors, rented laser-guided screeds to grow his company and take on larger projects with more stringent specifications. Peter found the commercially available rental screed machines too large, difficult to move from job to job, and too expensive to own for a contractor trying to grow their business.
Ligchine was born from Peter’s motivation to design an innovative Laser-Guided Screed™ that was accurate, durable, versatile, and affordable.
Having grown up on a farm in a small midwestern town, Peter had a lot of experience building his own labor-saving tools and machines. When Peter told his father about his idea to potentially purchase a screed, his father suggested he go to the shop on the farm and build his own laser-guided screed. Peter went to work using parts, pieces, and components found on the farm and easily sourced locally. A prototype was built and taken to a local job site, where Peter proceeded to screed concrete with it. The SCREEDSAVER Laser-Guided Screed was born that day.
Peter’s uncle Gary was a successful businessman and saw the prototype at a family gathering. Gary agreed to join Peter and start the company Ligchine International, Inc. Together, they transformed Peter’s groundbreaking new product into a commercially available option for other contractors looking to own a laser-guided screed.
With Gary moving into retirement and Peter’s continued desire to develop new products, Ligchine brought in outside investors to leverage the foundation they built and help grow the company. With new investors and ideas around the table, the company has added talented, experienced individuals to the leadership team to help drive the company for many years to come.
A History Of Innovation
Ligchine’s customers have been at the core of our development efforts. Listening to our customers throughout the company’s history has allowed us to continually introduce products that impact both their productivity and profitability.
Some of the innovations that Ligchine has developed and brought to the laser-guided screed market are:
- Wireless remote-controlled screed operation
- “Zero turn drive” capability on a boom screed
- All-terrain track drive system on a boom screed
- A boom screed transported by a ¾ ton pickup truck
- One-touch control that sets vibration, downriggers, and auto-level system
- 360-degree rotating undercarriage
- SCREEDSHIFT™ technology
Ligchine’s roots are in listening to our customers and designing sensible products. For many years to come, Ligchine will continue to develop new products for the construction industry and explore adjacent markets.
In addition to developing innovative, labor-saving products, we intensely focus on customer service as a key part of our culture. The industries we serve work long hours and perform hard work. We hire employees who understand what it’s like to work under pressure and have an intense commitment to serving the customer. That is part of our culture, and it’s what we value.
