Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/548484
percentage of a contractor's equip- ment fleet be compliant with the latest emissions regulations. Allen sees using Tier 4 equipment as a competitive advantage. "It was a huge sacrifice and scary, but I think it's paid off," he says. Clients such as Southern California Edison require top emissions tier equip- ment, "and it gives us an advantage to have that equipment." While the entire industry has gone through the EPA emission regulations for new equipment, California contractors such as the Garden Grove-based R. J. Allen are also under CARB regulations. It prompted Allen to change his fleet management approach as the industry made its way through Tier 3 and Tier 4 Interim and now Tier 4 Final equipment. "We used to buy, but when it came to the point we always had to have the latest tier machines, we converted to three-year leases," An- drews says. By leasing, the company always got the latest emissions-com- pliant equipment, and "it helps out with machine reliability," he says. Now that Tier 4 Final appears to be the last emissions hurdle to jump – at least for now – Andy may consider going back to buying. The firm has a self-propelled fleet made up of primarily back- hoes and skid steers. Most main- tenance is done in house with a three-person shop and an on-call field mechanics truck. "We'll do a lot of breaking and use a Cat 450 backhoe with a hammer to get the production we need," Andy says. Operator and shop input is a key component of machine pur- chases, especially with the com- pany's core machines. "Some of our operators have been around for a long time and they like certain types of controls. We like to go with what they like," he says. He also sends a crew to World of Concrete in Las Vegas each year to check out new technology and products. "Shawn Ellis is in charge of our field operations, and he's always having our operators try out new things," he says. In addition to its regular slate of contract work, R. J. Allen also provides machine- with-operator-rentals to contractors and clients throughout its service area of southern California. Al- though it varies from year to year, this type of service work is roughly about 30 percent of the company's revenues. "Everything is a 10." "By far, they are the best contractor we work with in Southern Califor- August 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 80 contractor of the year | continued "I've cultivated a really good management team," Allen says. "I'm involved with supporting them, grooming them and making sure we're on the same page."