Case Study: VEMAC Tilt-Up Concrete Staining Pilot – El Paso, TX
We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.
The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ...
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.
Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.
Other uncategorised cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Case Study: VEMAC Tilt-Up Concrete Staining Pilot – El Paso, TX
VEMAC used Lucid Bots’ Sherpa Drone to stain tilt-up concrete panels 3.4× faster with zero lifts and 100% safer operations. The pilot in El Paso proved that drone-based automation can dramatically cut labor time and costs while improving speed and safety on large-scale construction projects.
3× Faster. Zero Lifts. Same Great Finish.
When VEMAC needed to stain a series of large tilt-up concrete wall panels, they faced the same problem many builders encounter: slow, expensive, and risky work at height. Setting up lifts, repositioning between panels, and sending crews up and down all day consumed time, labor, and budget.
Lucid Bots’ Sherpa Drone changed that.
In a pilot on a 400 sq. ft. panel, Sherpa Drone applied two full coats in just 13 minutes, compared to 44 minutes with a traditional man lift. The crew stayed safely on the ground the entire time.
Sherpa Drone reduced labor time by 70%, eliminated lift use, and proved that vertical finishing can be done faster, safer, and more efficiently.
Why Tilt-Up Matters Now
Tilt-up construction is experiencing a major resurgence, driven by the rapid growth of data centers, logistics hubs, and large-scale industrial buildings.
Developers and general contractors are choosing tilt-up because it’s faster to build, structurally durable, and cost-effective for massive footprints. However, the finishing process—especially staining and coating—remains one of the most time-consuming steps.
That’s where Sherpa Drone comes in. By automating coating at height, Sherpa Drone removes one of the last manual bottlenecks in large-scale concrete construction, helping crews meet the high-speed demands of modern industrial projects.
The Challenge
VEMAC’s teams pride themselves on quality. Their finishing standards demand smooth coverage, consistent color, and no missed areas. But on large tilt-up projects, production speed was limited by lift logistics. Each new panel required new setup, safety checks, and careful maneuvering—costing valuable time across an entire site.
With project timelines tightening and labor costs rising, VEMAC needed a faster, safer, and more scalable way to apply coatings.
The Sherpa Drone Solution
Sherpa Drone is Lucid Bots’ aerial work platform designed for large-scale exterior maintenance and finishing. It replaces lifts and scaffolding with an intelligent, tethered drone system capable of precise spraying, washing, and coating applications at height.
At VEMAC’s El Paso job site, a Sherpa Drone equipped with a stain sprayer module applied two coats of H&C Colortop concrete stain. Operated by a ground pilot and supported by a two-person crew, the drone maintained consistent coverage and uniform finish across the test panel.
The entire process—from takeoff to the final coat—took less than 15 minutes, with no workers leaving the ground.
The Results
The Sherpa Drone dramatically outperforms traditional methods in both efficiency and safety. It completes two coats over 400 sq ft 3.4× faster (13 minutes vs. 44 minutes) while eliminating the need for workers at height, making the process 100% safer. Setup and teardown times drop by 85%, and the drone’s coverage rate improves from 9 to 61 sq ft per minute, a 6.7× increase in productivity.
Safety and Efficiency in One Flight
Each Sherpa Drone flight keeps the entire crew safely on the ground. There are no harnesses, no OSHA lift paperwork, and no exposure to height-related risks.
Crews can focus on mixing, material prep, and quality checks while the Sherpa Drone handles the vertical work. This parallel workflow boosts overall site productivity and reduces downtime.
Real ROI in Minutes
With Sherpa Drone, VEMAC achieved:
- 65%+ reduction in labor hours per panel
- 100% elimination of lift rentals
- 70% reduction in total application time
Across a large project with dozens of panels, this performance translates into days of time saved and measurable labor cost reductions.
Why It Matters
For modern contractors, productivity and safety are the key drivers of profitability. Sherpa Drone enables both:
- Speed: Complete vertical coating work up to 3–5× faster
- Safety: Keep every worker on the ground
- Consistency: Smooth, repeatable coverage across every panel
- Flexibility: Swap payloads for painting, staining, washing, or inspection
VEMAC’s pilot showed that Sherpa Drone isn’t just a prototype—it’s a practical way to modernize how tilt-up and exterior finishing work gets done.
Looking Ahead
After the success of this pilot, VEMAC is exploring Sherpa Drone for additional applications including media blasting, surface prep, and protective coating. These operations share the same challenge: repetitive, at-height labor that slows projects down.
Sherpa Drone’s ability to automate these tasks at scale positions it as a key tool for the next generation of construction and maintenance workflows.
See It in Action
Ready to skip the lifts?
Schedule a live demo and see how Sherpa Drone can cut your labor time in half—or better.
Related Articles
Lucid Bots Podcast
How Ryan Godwin is Transforming Exterior Cleaning with the Sherpa Drone
Dive into the future of exterior cleaning with Ryan Godwin, the visionary behind Lucid Bots. Discover how Ryan is leveraging cutting-edge robotics to revolutionize cleaning for buildings and outdoor surfaces—boosting efficiency, safety, and sustainability.