"When moving large amounts of earth like we do," says Jack Parker, vice president of Longhorn Excavators Inc. in Sugar Land, TX, "time is of the essence." He would know; he's been doing it for more than 40 years.

Parker got his start in heavy construction and earthmoving with his father in 1961. Eight years ago he reciprocated and did for his sons what his father had done for him. In 1994 Parker's sons, Greg, Mike and John, joined him in a new business venture. Today the fourth-generation Parkers work the Texas landscape as Longhorn Excavators Inc.

"My dad was a contractor, his dad was a contractor, I am a contractor, and my three sons are contractors," Parker says. "When we started Longhorn, we made sure to keep the traditions started years ago by our family. I learned from my father that hard work and dedication to getting things done right are keys to success. I passed those beliefs on to my sons, and we make certain our jobs are done right and always on time, if not ahead of schedule."

In addition to large earthmoving, sewer, and retention pond projects, Longhorn wanted to increase its earthmoving repertoire. In 1998, the company began constructing golf courses and with that found great success. Golf course construction is tedious work that requires long hours for both Longhorn employees and the equipment they operate.

Around the time Longhorn began submitting bids for its foray into golf courses, it also began looking into equipment to meet the demands of such large projects. What was found at the end of the search was Komatsu's PC400LC-6 excavators and, in late 2001, Komatsu HM400-1A articulated trucks.

"The first time we ran a dash-6 we were amazed at the speed at which our operator completed a cycle," Parker recalls. "We were sold on the machine pretty quickly." Komatsu's PC400LC excavators have been a staple in the company's excavator fleet for 15 years, and through changes and updates, the dash-6 model, according to Parker, "is the most productive excavator by far in its class." In fact, Longhorn operators began realizing productivity increases of nearly 15% over previous machines. By the end of 2001, Longhorn had expanded its fleet of dash-6s to 14 machines.

The 99,000-lb., 306-hp excavators are outfitted with 5.25-yd.³ buckets - larger than the standard bucket size for an excavator in this class, but Longhorn's productivity needs demand the larger bucket. "We have fantastic operators in our excavators," Parker remarks. "I like to say they are the best I've ever seen. They are able to heap the 5.25­cubic yard bucket and fully load a 40-ton truck in six to eight passes - all in under a minute. That's what I mean by the best I have seen."

The good fortune Longhorn experienced on the golf course projects prompted Parker to look at other areas where they were a fit. "The quick cycle times we were realizing on the golf course projects begged the question of why [we weren't] putting these machines on other jobs," Parker relates. "It was just a matter of time before we had them digging retention ponds, sewer trenches, and basements for large developments." Parker has found that he can expect the machines to work as hard as his operators push them. "There are days when an operator will work 14 hours. We know they can take that kind of punishment though. They are tough machines.

"We put an average of 2,500 hours on an excavator in a year," he continues. "We rely on those machines to stay up. If one piece goes down, it affects the entire operation, and for a company like ours - one that prides itself on coming in ahead of schedule - downtime is unacceptable."

Parker also understands that to keep his machines healthy, routine maintenance needs to be performed. "We have never even had to change a cylinder on the dash-6s," he says. "Routine maintenance at scheduled intervals is all we do to keep them running. The machines do the rest."

Truckin' the Way It Was Meant to Be

One job that caused Longhorn to pull out all the stops involved a large subdivision near Houston, TX, Parker notes. "We contracted to move 200,000 cubic yards of dirt in 78 days, but by having our best operator at the controls, we were able to complete that job in less than half the time we bid."

To move the massive amount of dirt generated at the site, Parker called his local distributor, Waukesha-Pearce Industries (WPI), to see what would be best for the job. WPI suggested Komatsu's HM400-1A articulated truck, designed from the ground up to be the most advanced truck in the industry. Parker explains, "WPI brought the trucks in and let us run them against competitive-model trucks. The results of those onsite tests were a 15% increase in production."

For this particular project, Parker first had to clear and burn 80 ac. of forest. Since Longhorn was looking at a $1,000 bonus for every day under the target date (but a $1,000 penalty for any day late), the ability to quickly move dirt was essential. In the first five days of the job, Parker says they were able to move 35,000 yd. and probably moved 6,000-7,000 yd./day. Because of the machine and the skill of its operator, the trucks ran on a four-minute cycle on a 1,000-ft. run.

Powered by a 430-hp engine and weighing 147,000 lb., Parker says the HM400 can go anywhere that he can send a 30- or 25-ton truck. As a result, he's witnessed the huge increases in production on jobs. "It doesn't take a mathematician to look at the amount of dirt we're able to move per day and the speed that we're able to move it. When you go back and put it on paper, it's about a $12,000 difference in the bottom line each month per truck. It's just unbelievable."

According to Parker, when they've gotten into some really wet conditions, other 40-ton trucks can't go where he can send a Komatsu. They get bogged down and stuck in the mud. Moreover, the machine has an excellent payload-to-weight ratio, with more than 55% of the total weight going to payload.

"Aside from installing factory upgrades or kits, we haven't had any downtime," he maintains. "If our operators had the opportunity to pick their own truck, this is what they'd take. "You just don't believe it. Some days, we were running 500 loads a day in sandy-type material. Boy, that engine's got the power to get in and out of pretty mucky situations."

GEC - March/April 2003