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Adapting to change and exceeding customer expectations
Winter 2013
Change is constant. Nothing could be truer for contractor Blake Winchester, Winchester Excavation. The Kaysville, Utah, businessman has more than two decades of experience in dirt work, the last six as the owner of his company. He's regularly evaluating his business and making changes to meet the business climate and customer expectations.
Winchester is able to keep up with customer demands with reliable equipment, including a Doosan 225LCV and S75 mini excavator that he purchased from Mesco, the local Doosan equipment dealer in Salt Lake City. With this combination of equipment and a knowledgeable staff, Winchester has become one of the area's best excavating companies.
"We excavate for residential and commercial site development, including subdivisions, townhomes, single-family homes and commercial buildings," Winchester says. "Two years (2009 and 2010) were pretty tough, but 2011 was the best year we ever had. I think it's because of our ability to meet our customers' needs. We've been called out to jobsites at 2 a.m. because they needed to pour concrete at 6 a.m. We're willing to get out and do whatever it takes, to make sure they can do their scope of work. We pride ourselves on integrity and honesty."
A shift in his type of work has helped Winchester keep his business in the black. "We had to adapt to what was going on," he says, responding to the declining housing market in the Salt Lake City area. "We've always done a little commercial, but the last two years we've done a lot of commercial work. We perform site development — excavating and grading — for general contractors."
Excavating at new shopping center
In 2011, Winchester and his employees were working at a new open-air shopping center in Farmington, Utah, called Station Park. "We were their onsite contractor and we dug a lot of foundations for new buildings, plus miscellaneous odds and ends; whatever they needed done," Winchester says. "We did a lot of the building pad preparation and backfilling for department stores and nearby strip malls, as well as underground pipe work and storm drains. We rented a DX225LC for use with our two excavators."
CenterCal Properties was the retail development company in charge of constructing the new shopping center. Farmington is just north of Salt Lake City and was selected for the new shopping center because of its location along I-15/Highway 89 and the new Utah Transit Authority Commuter Rail. According to the company's website, the new shopping center consists of approximately 800,000 square feet of retail, entertainment, restaurant, office and hotel space.
At a second commercial job in Kaysville, Utah, Winchester installed a new storm drain and sewer and water lines. The 7-metric-ton S75 Doosan excavator had the perfect amount of dig depth and reach for the utility project.
"The machine was just the right size, and the rubber tracks allowed us to go anywhere," Winchester says. "For example, we drove across sidewalks and curbs and gutters without damaging the surface. Also, it's a big enough machine that it will load a dump truck while sitting on flat ground. Due to its size and ability to get into tight places, yet have the ability to perform like a bigger machine, made it very convenient.
"The smaller excavator uses less fuel and has fewer maintenance costs, without sacrificing productivity," Winchester adds.
In 2012, Winchester has been just as busy with commercial projects. He completed excavating and grading projects at Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning in Perry, Utah — a new K-8 charter school. "We did all of the site prep at the school," he says. "We operated the 225LCV to remove 30,000 yards of fill dirt and loaded it in dump trucks. We did that in January, and then we created the building pad. We have multiple buckets for the excavators that we match to our excavating needs, including a 36-inch bucket for the 225LCV."
For smaller excavating needs and final prep work, the S75 excavator is a good fit for Winchester. "Recently, we operated the S75 excavator at the school to finish-grade the site for the landscaper, and we installed some of the underground infrastructure, including sewer, water and storm drains," Winchester says. "We have a 1-foot bucket that we use with the S75 excavator, mainly for digging trenches for electrical conduit or when we're working along an existing foundation." In addition to the bucket, Winchester has a plate compactor attachment for compressing the soil when he's done excavating.
While he was finishing the charter school construction project, he was also excavating and grading for a building pad for a new Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Layton, Utah.
Fuel savings
As far as excavators go, Winchester has tried many brands, but Doosan rises to the top of his list. "I've run every brand of excavator out there," he says, "and I have yet to get in an excavator that impresses me like the Doosan machines do. One of the biggest considerations for us is fuel consumption. The fuel consumption, compared to other brands, is far less. I've told my Doosan dealer numerous times that a different excavator will use 80 gallons of fuel in one day. My Doosan excavator will get two-and-a-third days out of the 80-gallon tank."
Winchester purchased his DX225LC crawler excavator about five years ago and has logged roughly 4,000 hours. "The Doosan excavator is really smooth, with easy-to-use controls," he says. "I like the balance of the machine. It has plenty of power for what we use it for, and I never have to run it at full throttle. It's just a good machine."
Dealer support
A strong relationship with his local Doosan dealer has played a part in Winchester's continued success. He says it was his dealer who introduced him to Doosan and lends credibility to the company's construction equipment.
"Part of why we got involved with Doosan was because of Mesco," Winchester says. "I've done business with Mesco for 20 years, and when they started selling the Doosan line, we started running them and we liked the products. We've used them a lot, often renting loaders and excavators. When I have friends who need a machine, I send them to Mesco. I tell them, ‘once you sit in my Doosan excavator and run it for a month, you'll be down there purchasing one.' I wish that I could sit in it every day, shut the door and dig."
Like a family
Winchester says many of his employees have worked for him for 10 or 15 years, following him from project to project. One person in particular is his wife, Sandy. He says she has good business relationships, and that she has helped put some deals together. "I think part of our business success has been treating people right so they can live their life, too," he says. "We try to take care of our employees. I tell them, ‘it's not my company, it's all our company, and it takes all of us to do our part and make it successful.' It's a little like family."
With loyal employees, reliable Doosan equipment and dealer support, Winchester will be able to sustain and grow his business, and adapt to changing customer requirements.
