Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/764523
After two years as a pump operator, Young launched his own business, which Brundage- Bone Concrete Pumping later purchased. He worked his way up the larger company — from equipment operator to branch manager to national operations manager and chief operating offi cer — to become president and CEO. While his job evolved signifi cantly, one thing remained constant: The concrete pumps he worked with and purchased were almost always installed on Mack ® trucks. Throughout the concrete-pumping industry, approximately 86 percent of truck-mounted concrete pumps are paired with Mack chas- sis, and for good reason. "Mack caters to the construction industry, and particularly to the concrete-pumping industry, better than other manufacturers," Young says. Uptime is a high priority in almost every transportation and vocational application, but its importance in the world of concrete pump- ing can't be overstated. When downtime isn't an option A concrete pump is necessary when concrete needs to be poured in places a ready-mix truck can't access. High-rise buildings, stadi- ums and bridges are common examples, and Brundage-Bone takes on these projects and more in the three markets it serves: commer- cial, infrastructure and residential. Ready-mix trucks pour concrete into the hopper of the pump (typically powered by the truck engine), which pushes it through a placement boom to the area where it's needed, up to 210 feet away. In addition to solving the access problem, placing concrete with a pump is faster, safer and requires less labor, Young says. If a concrete pump fails or can't make it to the jobsite as scheduled, the entire project and site plan is thrown into disarray. "You could be on a jobsite with 20 ready- mix trucks waiting to deliver concrete to a pump," says Travis Timmerman, a Mack vocational sales fl eet manager who works pri- marily with the concrete-placement industry. "In that moment, it is absolutely crucial that the pump perform. If our truck breaks down, it can jeopardize the entire project." Many jobs require a constant pour, meaning concrete must be supplied with limited inter- ruption. "It is imperative that our trucks live up to the customer's expectations and the demands of the project," Timmerman says. "Our customers cannot afford to have a con- crete pump break down in the middle of a pour, and that is why we have invested so heavily in uptime solutions tailored to the concrete-pump industry." This level of understanding is unique to Mack Trucks, Young says, and the company's commitment to customer uptime is one of the main reasons Mack chassis comprise 99 per- cent of Brundage-Bone's fl eet of more than 500 vehicles. Brundage-Bone has tried other brands, Young says, and has always returned to Mack. No other manufacturer has a dedicated ser- vice and support group for the con- crete-pumping industry. A support hotline manned by professionals with extensive knowledge of the concrete-pumping industry and its equipment is available to customers 24 hours a day. Members of the support team have direct contact with concrete-pump man- ufacturers and installers, and dealer service centers. The concrete-pumping support line operates through Mack's OneCall™ system, with cases involving concrete-pump trucks routed to the dedicated support group. The team also is integrated with Mack's GuardDog ® Connect telematics network, which can detect issues and potential prob- lems in all Mack trucks and instantly report them to support staff and repair centers — often before the operator even knows some- thing's wrong. "With our GuardDog Connect System, we're constantly monitoring the truck's health to proactively identify fault codes that could result in a downtime event," Timmerman says. "Through the monitoring of these trucks, we are staying one step ahead of a potential issue, minimizing downtime and increasing our customer's overall productivity." While the concrete-pumping support group, GuardDog and the OneCall system function on a national level, they share information and action plans with dealers throughout the country, creating a seamless experience for 1 6 | BULLDOG | 2 0 1 6 V 3 W hen Bruce Young started out as a concrete-pump operator at age 20, he had no idea he would become CEO for the world's largest concrete-pumping company. AT WORK "One of the reasons we use Mack trucks is to maximize utilization. Being able to get our trucks on the road daily is important to us, and Mack has done a very good job of supporting us in doing that." Bruce Young, president and CEO, Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping courtesy Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping