When not battling blazes in Savannah, Ga., Scott Barksdale, Jeff Goldman and Michael Ward like to play in the dirt.

The three members of the Savannah Fire Department own their own landscaping company, Dirt Worx Unlimited LLC.

Barksdale, a captain, started his own company with just a single tractor doing grading and foundation work. Having grown up on a farm, this was a natural fit for Barksdale. He later joined with Goldman and Ward.

The three partners and six employees of Dirt Worx, all of whom are Savannah firefighters, are always on rotation at the work site, so they don’t have time for machines to go down.

“Time is money in this business,” Barksdale said.

That’s why they chose two JCB 190Ts for their landscaping business. The productivity and reliability the machines provide are two of the main factors behind their choice.

The firm has worked on various jobs with Ernest Homes and Tidal Homes — most notably SweetWater Station and Highland Falls.

Goldman applauded the customer service he received from Low Country Machinery’s Doug Ramsey and Chris Shea when shopping for machinery.

“Chris is why we bought it,” he said. “He and Doug are excellent.”

Not to mention, the well-known single-arm of the JCB 190T, “is probably one of the best things about it,” Ward said.

The single-arm provides Dirt Worx comfort in knowing that when anyone gets in or out of the skid steer, they can do so safely.

Shea recognizes that it’s the trust, loyalty and friendship of customers like Dirt Worx that help make Low Country successful.

“It’s my job to help my customers get their job done and I’m happy that Low Country can be a part of Dirt Worx’s success here in Savannah,” he said.