When he needed a new attachment for his Komatsu PC220LC6, Tom DeLisa, a New Jersey demolition contractor, picked up the phone and called his Bodine dealer, Percy Ransome, of Ransome Equipment Sales, Mt. Laurel, NJ.
Ransome had sold him his old stand-by Bodine HDDM-225 heavy-duty grapple for his five-year-old Komatsu PC220LC3. But now he was ready for a bigger grapple that was quick-connect compatible.
Ransome recommended Bodine’s new All-Pro Big Bite grapple and ordered it quick-connect compatible. The Big Bite has a 26-percent higher capacity than other grapples in similar weight classes, and is much sturdier than the normal contractor’s grapple. “I can sell the quick-connect and Big Bite for less than what other dealers are charging for the grapple alone,” said Ransome.
DeLisa is using two 100-yd. (91.4 m) tractor-trailers to haul away the demo debris from the former 100-unit Regency Motel on Route 9 in Howell, NJ. According to DeLisa, “The Big Bite is great — it loads ’em — and gets them out fast.” The contract for the demolition was awarded by Mark Moseson, of Aspha Management.
DeLisa and his father formed a garbage and recycling business in 1975, long before it was politically correct to refer to garbage as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). In 1999, DeLisa sold the business to Republic Services, along with the 175 roll-off and approximately 2,000 small residential containers it took to service his customers, and went looking for something new to do.
Bound through sale of his waste collection business to a “non-competition agreement” with Republic, the move into demolition seemed like a natural, and so DeLisa Demolition was born, still a family business employing only four non-family workers.
DeLisa said his demolition company razes buildings, mostly houses, a few apartment buildings, and it has taken down a couple of motels.
“The Big Bite with the quick-connect works well; it’s easy to mount and dismount — easy on and easy off — safer, with no pinched fingers, and it saves time,” said DeLisa. And, he said with a smile, “You know time is money.”
