Contractors talk about the machines they've chosen and how those machines help them meet the challenges of the jobs they do.

By Joseph Lynn Tilton

No matter the size of the operation, or whether the operating climate is Mediterranean or subpolar, when it comes to excavators, selecting the right machine is critical to long-term success. Excavators are called on to traverse 2:1 rocky slopes as well as maneuver through dead-level bogs, all the while economically removing the overburden as called for in the contract, whether that overburden be solid rock, sand, mud, or merely snow and ice. Excavators can even be called on for tree and brush pruning and removal.

Steep and Tight

"Besides being a full-service landscape construction company, we also offer homebuilders a unique package," declares Craig Tarzia, owner of Misty Mountain Landscape in Camino, CA. "We do all the dirt work outside the foundation, including utility trenches, retaining wall systems, and drainage needs. We use Bobcat excavators and own two 325s, three 331Ds [one with steel tracks], and a 337."

This owner of a company in the Sierra Nevada foothills that brings in some $1.5 million a year with 23 employees points out that all of his excavators are equipped with a hydraulic thumb. "That attachment is used every day, whether grabbing a boulder, picking up a piece of pipe, or helping to double the amount of dirt the bucket can move. Thumbs are a must."

Tarzia confesses that, thanks to the Mediterranean-type climate, he's able to work his machines to the limit year-round, with each machine and its dedicated driver employed at least eight hours a day. So why he didn't buy larger models to do his work faster? "Many houses in California are just 10 feet apart, which means a fence at 5 feet. We do about 50% of our work between houses, and the smaller size allows us to do the entire grading process with our machines. We don't have to do any hand grading.

"We work even in the rain. With a Bobcat excavator and loader working as a team, we'll go down one-to-one slopes and up two-to-one slopes and do so with low ground pressure so we don't compact the soil too much. Our [strong suit] is that we've never had a client miss a house closing because of weather. Sure, when Mother Nature's really unloading, we'll stop for the day, but we'll be back the next morning."

Tarzia, who has been in business for himself 11 years and in the industry 25 years, says he frequently gets calls to repair builders' mistakes for new houses, often doing digs next to house foundations where sub-drains and waterproofing were not installed properly. "In Camino we had to dig down 8 feet along a cinderblock wall for 100 feet, waterproof that wall, and install a French drain system. It was on a 2:1 slope for 40 feet, and that's where the excavator and loader worked as a team to move dirt out and backfill the entire trench with gravel."

One particular job, installing a retaining wall, had just 6 ft. of working space - too tight even for a backhoe. "We're building walls every week. The contractor typically needs the wall in three days, but it would take five to do it with jackhammers. With our excavators we can do it in two."

Environmental Cleanup

In Edmonton, AB, Maxim Excavating Ltd. specializes in removing contaminated soils, with 30-ft.-deep digs not unusual. "Twenty feet is fairly standard," states Duane Leptich, vice president and part-owner of this firm that bills $2 million­$3 million annually. "Our off-road fleet of motorized vehicles includes four Link-Belt excavators. Three have typical front dump buckets, but one, a 240, has the Allu bucket, which breaks down the soil and aerates it to get down the ppm [parts per million]. This reduces the need to haul soils off-site."

He adds that while the company takes on projects year-round, working with contaminated soils is done only during summers. "That's because the material needs to air out. Another attachment used for contaminated soils is the Mitsui Mike, which we have mounted on a 2800 Link-Belt. We call it a blender because it blends the soils a meter deep and helps get the ppm down to acceptable standards."

Leptich also is a believer in tracks for excavators. "We need the weight and traction both to get deep enough, to have a machine stable enough to dig that deeply. Also, because we are excavating service stations, there is a need to dig under the building. It's not unusual, for example, to go 12 feet past the foundation and 12 to 18 feet deep to get the contaminated soils out. Then we'll use a Hoe Pack on one of the excavators to side pack the surface back up 7 feet, and finish the job from inside the building with hand labor and a smaller Bobcat."

Digging by the Kilometer

While other contractors measure their work in feet and yards, Darryl Inglis, owner of Inglis Excavating 60 mi. west of Winnipeg in Portage La Prairie, MB, relies on his odometer. That's because 80% of his work is scraping drainage ditches where the ground is flat. "I was with another firm for five years before I began digging on my own 20 years ago with an old Case Drott 40. Today I have a Daewoo 200W, and I go after municipal and provincial jobs," he relates.

Inglis gives an example of a typical municipal job. "Because of the flatness of the land, it doesn't take much to block a drainage ditch, causing the farmland to flood. In Manitoba, municipalities oversee the work as a service for all land within their boundaries, including farmland. The ditches themselves average 4 feet, but a lot of times I'm only taking 6 inches out, so there's a lot of horizontal movement.

"One municipality had done 30 miles of ditch cleaning themselves. But they had put in a couple hundred field drains attached to that ditch, and each was plugged. I did that project from the road, reaching 25 feet, scraping the bottom of the field drain, then moving to the next plugged drain. It took me 30 minutes per plug, pulling out an average of 200 cubic feet per plug."

He adds that the other 20% of his work is brush cutting. "My machine is a wheeled excavator. I'll cut down a clump of brush with a Promac 52-inch saw that can handle material 6 to 8 inches in diameter, then go on the road to the next clump rather than having to drive slowly along the berm or having to load and unload a track machine between clumps." He points out that the machine also handles small trees, and a man with a chainsaw follows behind to take the trees down to ground level.

"The concerns are visibility and safety, but not taking the ground cover itself. Also, with my cutter I can grind down the material so it can be left on the site. Other methods require some means of hauling away the material and finding a place to dump it. Labor is quite expensive here, and so is the cost of disposal. With this Daewoo and the brush cutter I have the horsepower and transport speed to make it more economical for the city or province."

Because his is a one-man operation, Inglis seeks work anywhere from headquarters to the United States border and in the provinces bordering Manitoba. He declares frankly, "I go a lot of miles. I'll average 6,000 kilometers a month, though I'm at home most nights. But I'm driving three hours a day besides working 10 hours on average in the summer."

When winter comes, digging is finished because the ground is frozen for 2-6 ft. "That's when I brush cut, stopping only for big storms," Inglis explains. "I've cut brush at 30-below [Celsius], thanks to a heated cab. When it's really cold I plug in the block heater so I can start my excavator in the morning. Once it's started I'll turn on the cab heater and it takes just 15 to 20 minutes to have it warm enough to work."

It's also during this time that he hires out his machine for urban snow removal. "In a normal winter I'll be busy in March cleaning ditches and culverts of snow so the melting water can flow. This avoids flooding in towns and ponding out in the farms. Usually that will keep me busy for a month to six weeks but last year snow was so scarce I only got eight hours." This contractor adds that he plans to stay with rubber because there are so many track excavators around. "With rubber I can't always work in the mud, but I have to accept that."

Windows of Opportunity

While other contractors focus on new excavations or large projects, Dale Kringle, president and founder of Precision Concrete Cutters in Fargo, ND, keeps 15 employees busy specializing in retrofitting basements. He states, "Our mission is cutting, removal, demolition of concrete structures, and specializing in installing basement windows and window wells. We look for work within a 500-mile radius and take jobs ranging from a few hundred bucks to six figures." All of which helps Precision earn $1.75 million annually.

Kringle's firm has four mini-excavators, including two 331 Bobcats, a John Deere ZTS35, and a Kobelco 13 Gate Keeper. Because the focus is on finished sites, all are with rubber tracks. "Minis are ideal for getting in backyards," he points out, adding that a common job is when a homeowner decides to install a bedroom in an existing basement. The fire code requires a window large enough for the occupant to use as an exit in case of fire. "We'll do 300 to 400 window projects a year, and such a project takes four to eight hours. We can cut through 27 inches of concrete with a Dimas Cushion Cut and can even do a 12- by 14-foot garage door in 12 inches of concrete in three to five hours."

Why so many different brands of excavators? Kringle responds, "We had the two Bobcats, and we found they didn't have zero swing clearance. We are working up against houses all the time, so we got the John Deere two years ago and the Kobelco this year because they have zero clearance in the turns. Further, the Kobelco is just 35 inches wide and can get through doorways. We can drive through a gate without having to take time to remove the fence.

"Why have workers spend all day digging with a shovel when, in less than an hour, they can have the hole dug and continue to work?" he asks. "It's much harder to go down when digging by hand, and enthusiasm wanes as the hole gets deeper, and we typically dig 7 or 8 feet."

Kringle also uses quick-change attachments, including buckets with teeth for rock and smooth buckets for sand. "We keep busy year-round and we're outside most of the time. Just one excavator has a heater, so we dress for the climate. It takes a three-man crew for window jobs. One digs, the other hauls the dirt away in a skid-steer, and the third is inside the basement preparing for the cut. We use water-cooled saws, but water use is minimal so disposal is not a problem. Water typically runs down in a dug hole, into the drain tile, or just into the soil itself."

He reports that backfilling varies from job site to job site but can range from several yards to 100 yd., depending on the terrain. "Window wells are part of the window project, and 3 feet is the code on those, so 6 or 7 yards is typical. If we're digging out foundations for an add-on to the house, then we move a lot of dirt."

Kringle says their commercial concrete removal utilizes the excavators with a breaker. "We can't blast, so we try to break and remove by lifting. We reach up high to push walls over, grip pieces, and load them in waiting vehicles. We break up foundations and footings with slow, ultra-high-pressure rock splitters. Again, we're using the minis because of mobility and the need to get in places too tight for the big machines."

Taking Care of the Customer

In Milwaukee, WI, Ken Heitman, president of Heitman Inc., a company formed in 1953 by his father Arnold, states that his company's focus is basically site grading, excavating, and trucking the excavated materials elsewhere. The company has 22 employees, with a total of eight family members actively involved. Its focus is within a 75-mi. radius, primarily so their people can get home every night.

"Our equipment lineup includes four Link-Belt excavators," Heitman says. "We excavate through all kinds of material, including peat and black soils. Jobs will range from $5,000 up to $1.5 million. Sometimes we'll take a one-day job. We don't get many, but we take them because they're usually for a contractor we do a lot of work for. It's our way of taking care of the customer." Still, the goal is to do the smaller jobs at a profit, so they're careful when bidding such projects. If the contractor's job is particularly small, they'll offer to do the work on a time and material basis.

He gives an example of a larger project. "We started one in the fall of 2001 and finished it in the spring of 2002. It was for an apartment complex. We excavated 35 to 40 feet down, removing peat and marble for a two-lane road that totaled three-quarters of a mile and included parking alongside the road. In that case we used our scrapers and put compacted clay back in the cavity. We trucked the peat and marble a mile and a half to another place to dry out, then another business sold it as topsoil.

"We're Link-Belt users because they have a lot of power and they're quick. We'll keep one for 7,000 to 8,000 hours and not have to put any money out for repairs. We've had 15 of them so far." He adds that a daily service check, a fulltime mechanic, and a computerized maintenance program help keep the machines working until it's time to trade them in for newer models.

The only attachment Heitman uses is a breaker bar for the mini-excavator. "It's the only attachment we need. We have enough power to break the concrete with the larger machines without adding a bar. Besides, virgin land accounts for 80% of our work, with the other 20% having to [redo] what somebody else did." He reports that regulatory constraints make excavation more and more difficult in Wisconsin, but adds, "By the time we join the project, it's been approved. All regulatory matters are in the hands of the main contractor."

So what's the biggest challenge this upper Midwest operator faces? "Finding good employees!" Heitman remarks. "We train a lot of our employees. They start out as laborers and they work up to operators."

Extending the Machine's Life

Dave DeYoung, vice president of operations for DeYoung Trucking & Excavating Inc. of Lake Villa, IL, prefers to keep his machines for 8,000-10,000 hours before looking for replacements. "We do all our own maintenance and cleanup in the field or in the shop. When it comes to an excavator, the biggest thing is dealer service and parts as well as manufacturer backup. For example, with my current dealer, if I need a part not in stock, he'll have it for me overnight. The dealer is probably the most important thing behind the machine we choose - after we've decided what size machine we need."

DeYoung's fleet of 20 motorized vehicles includes three John Deere excavators. Two of them are 200CLC and the third is a 330CLC. Although the family firm of nine fulltime employees with $1.0 to $1.5 million in annual business has used rubber-tire backhoes for supplementary digging, he's a track fan because of maneuverability and ground conditions. "We can go anywhere with them. Mud and elevation changes are never a problem. We can crawl over a pile of dirt or cross a bog without getting stuck."

Nor does his firm shy away from small jobs; they too want to take good care of their customers. "We do $1,200 jobs, such as digging a foundation for a stairway addition, with $850,000 the top in the size of a single contract for commercial or municipal buildings." He and wife Debra are founders of the company, with son Scott and daughter Jamie also part of the operation on a fulltime basis.

DeYoung adds that they seldom use specialized equipment. "When we do, then we rent it. But we are getting to where we need a small excavator with a breaker hammer and possibly a plate compactor. We're doing more and more work where we can justify owning such because, long term, owning will be cheaper than renting." He emphasizes that availability of rental attachments or machines is not a problem in his area, which is less than an hour north of the Chicago metro area.

Reaching the Rock

For Fritts Bachman, owner of Bachman Paving & Excavating in Chalfont, PA, rock is the biggest challenge for his six excavators. "We do general site work and we're in the field all the time. But with the rock around here in Bucks County, you need a track machine. We get quite a bit of elevation changes on job sites too." The firm has 38 employees and will do $3 million­$5 million annually, he reports. Their excavator lineup includes five John Deeres and a Caterpillar 315C. The Deere excavator lineup includes a 690C, a 690ELC, an 892ELC, a 450CLC, and a 330CLC.

With these machines, the company can take on jobs ranging from $50,000 to $1.4 million, with excavating, paving, site work, and utilities all part of the mix. Because of the rock, contracts often carry a rock clause in them. "One particular job called for separate water and sewer lines crossing the project at right angles to each other and near a quarry, so we had it test drilled before we went to work. The blasting subcontractor drilled, then blasted. We were to dig 28 feet down, and rock was just 4 feet under the surface. We had to go another 24 feet down, all of it in rock."

The 28-ft. depth was for the 3,600-ft., 12-in. sewer line and had to be sloped for gravity flow, with the 2,000-ft., 12-in. water line set at 5 ft. to get below the frost level. The water line ran parallel to the curb and street while the sewer was a trunk line running across the project.

Bachman's company has a total of 42 pieces of construction equipment, as well as support vehicles and excavator attachments, keeping Bachman Paving & Excavating on the go. One principal excavator attachment is a hydraulic plate tamper on the 690ELC, which compacts backfilled trenches so settlement never becomes a problem. He says, "We only get paid to do it once, so we like to do it right the first time."

When they can't blast, they use their 690ELC with a hydraulic breaker for rock. Two 953C Caterpillar track loaders equipped with quick couplers for forks and buckets are used for material handling and excavating. "They get around better in mud than rubber-tire loaders. Our John Deere rubber-tire TC54 has forks, a general purpose bucket, and a side-dump bucket, which is ideal for working in tight spaces," Bachman notes.

He points out that they've bought a lot of machines since beginning the company in 1969 as a part-time venture. "We do have a pretty stringent [preventative maintenance] program. We do lubricants every 250 hours, take oil samples, and pay particular attention to little odds and ends. For example, we make sure a machine's door latch is fixed if something goes wrong with it. Those who take care of little things don't have as much problem with big items."

During the off-season, machines are back in the shop for repair. If the repair, such as an engine job, is too much for the shop, it's sent to the dealer. "Primarily we shut down only for bad weather. We can do pipe work year-round if we have the work. We try to bid work to keep our people busy year-round."

One Man, One Machine

Although he has three truck drivers, Herb Campbell of AMC Mother Trucker on St. Simons Island, GA, has just one off-road vehicle. That's his Kobelco 320, which carries a two-yard bucket. "Mostly what I do is site work, land clearing, and demolition work. I put down stone and put pilings in - a little bit of everything. This Kobelco Blade Runner has five separate hydraulic systems and is set up to run any hydraulic attachment on the market. For instance, I have a Zeith four-in-one clam bucket, and I can run any kind of hammer, drill, turn a 360º rotation, run a nibbler, drive piles. Anything they've made for this size machine I can put on." He's even planning to get a stump splitter.

Campbell confesses that he bought the machine on the floor of the Las Vegas trade show last year. "I ordered the bucket when I bought the machine. I've had the machine four months now and the bucket just three. We're loading out trucks in half the time we used to. For example, we had one 25-acre job 50 miles south of Savannah just off I-95 on Route 17. It was all pines, with trees up to 12-15 inches in diameter, and called for 100% clearing. Instead of cutting the trees, I reached up with this bucket, opened the jaw, and bent the tree over, breaking it in half. Then I'd reach down and pull the stump out of the ground."

The resulting debris was burned in a pit. It took Campbell and his truckers five weeks to eliminate the old growth and prepare the site for industrial development. "We raked it with the big rake and a Cat 973 Track Loader in order to smooth the soil so the surveyors could get to it."

He and his wife Anita Marie, after whom Campbell named his company (AMC), are pondering a move to Savannah or Jacksonville. "There's more heavy industrial excavation work in those two towns and a couple possible customers who've heard about the machine, but we enjoy living on the island."

Looking back on his 15 years as an excavator operator, Campbell comments, "I've had guys who've run equipment 10 to 15 years but still were not good operators. Yet I've found others who needed just three to four days to become smooth. The excavator and its bucket are fairly simple to learn to use. The key, I think, is pride in what we do."

Journalist Joseph Lynn Tilton specializes in land and building issues.

GEC - March/April 2003

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