James Cox, president of Casey Equipment and JCB of Chicago.
Many companies strive to implement a “people first, business second” approach, while also remaining profitable and successful. Casey Equipment Company Inc. held fast to that philosophy.
As the company celebrates its 45th year in business and 40th year as a JCB dealer —making it the longest-serving JCB dealer in North America — it's a good time to reflect on how the company has grown over the years and its plans for continued success in the years to come. At the top of the list is ensuring this “people first” philosophy shapes its growth every step of the way.
Shared Values, Shared Success
John Casey and Don Cox established Casey Equipment Company Inc. in 1971 in a 4,000-sq. ft. facility in Addison, Ill. For its first five years of business, the company offered only Insley hydraulic excavators and Layton towable asphalt pavers.
In 1976, Casey Equipment began researching new products to expand its offering and soon discovered a machine that was hot on the market—JCB's own invention, the backhoe loader. At the time, JCB offered the only machine of its kind in the industry, with its unique side shift option. Casey Equipment believed the machine to be a great solution for its contractor and municipal customer base. The company's JCB product offering gave it an immediate advantage.
In 1979, owner Don Cox's son and current president of the company, Jim Cox, joined the Casey Equipment team following his college graduation.
“Almost immediately, it was clear to me that partnering with JCB was the perfect solution for our company,” said Cox. “Our relationship with JCB was unique and we quickly realized how much our values aligned.”
Both JCB and Casey Equipment are family owned, third-generation businesses with a commitment to delivering world-class products to customers, followed up with exceptional after-sale support. Both also are committed to ensuring the customer is always top priority, according to the companies.
“As JCB continued to grow and offer more products, we grew with them,” Cox said.
Continued Growth
Today, Casey Equipment has three major locations, providing both new and used construction equipment and parts and service to the municipal, contractor and agricultural markets in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. The company also provides in-field service and a new fleet of more than 150 pieces of rental equipment. Casey JCB, a division of Casey Equipment, has three locations in the Chicago area, including Arlington Heights, Lemont and Rockford, Ill.
The company's product offering spans the full line of JCB equipment, including skid steers and compact track loaders, backhoe loaders, telehandlers, wheel loaders, compact and large hydraulic excavators, forklifts and compactors, in addition to Leeboy and Dynapac products.
Casey Equipment takes pride in its ability to provide quick and effective solutions to customer needs and has received many awards over the years for market share leadership, strategic product and customer growth and the opening of new facilities.
“JCB has been a significant contributor to maintaining this level of customer support,” Cox said. “JCB's the absolute leader in manufacturing innovative and fuel efficient equipment to meet customer safety, economy, visibility and operator comfort needs. The JCB skid steer loader is the perfect example of reinventing a machine to the needs of the customer and operator with its side-entry cab and single arm.”
Staying the Course
During the latest recession took place, Casey Equipment was forced to really take its “people first, business second” philosophy to heart.
“We closed no locations, kept and expanded our product offerings, increased our rental fleet and most importantly, we did not layoff or cut hours of a single employee,” Cox said. “I'm extremely impressed with our ability to persevere through the toughest of times and continue to put our people first. It's exciting to come out of that recession and add more products and great people to our support team.”
Casey Equipment has been able to remain profitable every year of the company's existence, including throughout the recent recession. Each year in business has brought the company its unique set of challenges, but also its unique achievements, molding Casey Equipment into what it is today.
“In 2015 we sold more JCBs to more different customers than ever in our history,” Cox said. “This was very exciting but we feel we're truly just at the tip of our possibilities as we help more and more customers in the construction, municipal and agricultural markets. JCB's founder, Joseph Cyril Bamford, believed that you should never be content. This is my belief as well and it's exciting to implement that belief day to day to continue improving.”
So what will the next decade bring to Casey Equipment?
“In ten years, I expect that we will have expanded both geographically as well as with our product offerings, as the right equipment becomes available,” Cox said. “While much has changed over the years, my favorite part of my job both then and now is building long-term customer, employee and manufacturer relationships.”
For more information, visit www.jcbna.com.
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