As Whalley Park nears completion, few people are as familiar with the site as Aaron Dziengelewski. He did all of the final grading on the portion of the property that has been cleared.

Having flexible equipment options for this project and others has helped Crestview Construction, Inc., a company started 28 years ago by his father, John, and partner, Bernie LeDuc, keep working in today’s unpredictable construction economy.

The firm, headquartered in Southwick, Mass., specializes in commercial and residential excavation. Big jobs require big equipment and Crestview has plenty of heavy iron — reserved for work that used to be quite prevalent.

More and more, however, the company is relying on its inventory of Bobcat machines and attachments — T190 and T300 compact track loaders, an A300 all-wheel steer loader and 337, 341 and 435 compact excavators — to get work and complete jobs efficiently. The machines and attachments were purchased from Bobcat of Greater Springfield.

“We don’t always have large jobs these days, but our Bobcat equipment allows us the versatility to take on smaller projects and portions of bigger jobs as well,” Dziengelewski said. “Our Bobcat loaders and excavators are the least expensive machines we own, and for the right kind of work, they are the most cost-effective.”

Dziengelewski said Bobcat equipment is ideal for projects such as new retail stores and restaurants.

“In these settings, larger equipment just wastes your time. We had one grading job inside a foundation where we had to work around a series of pillars. We couldn’t even get our dozer in, so we relied on our T190. It worked great and produced a very accurate grade.”

Fuel-Efficient

Fuel costs are another significant factor.

“With a Bobcat loader you may use 20 gallons of fuel in a day compared to 70 gallons with a big loader,” he said. “In this economy, that’s important.”

He also notes that his company and others have to travel farther these days to get work.

“If you have to go a distance it is much easier to transport a Bobcat machine with a trailer and a pickup truck instead of using a big truck and trailer.”

The dozers at Crestview Construction aren’t on the job as much anymore.

“The compact track loaders are much easier to use, and can do just as much work,” Dziengelewski said. “It’s the same story with the large backhoes. Our Bobcat excavators are much more efficient.”

Dziengelewski notes that many bigger firms are looking for smaller jobs and smaller companies are taking on bigger jobs that do not suit their equipment.

“We are fortunate to have our Bobcat machines that allow us to go both directions — bigger or smaller,” he said. “They are useful on so many different sizes of jobs. There is always something for our Bobcat loaders and excavators to do. They are a great complement to our larger equipment.”

This article was reprinted with permission from WorkSaver Magazine Summer 2011 issue.

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