(L-R): Flint Construction & Forestry Division’s Phillip Murphey; Gaskins & Co.’s Greg Gaskins; and Dynapac’s Joe Seckinger assemble for delivery of the new Dynapac FC1600C.
Flint Construction & Forestry Division, better known as Flint Equipment, was the first distributor in North America to sell the very first all new rebranded Dynapac red and white paver. Phillip Murphey, Flint territory sales representative based at the company's Grovetown (Augusta), Ga., location, with the help of Dynapac Southeast dealer sales manager Joe Seckinger, worked together to deliver the first machine, a Dynapac FC1600C commercial class paver. The machine shares the same model number as its predecessor, but is now the newest machines bearing the Fayat Group name and rebranding. Dynapac's red, white and grey goes back to the roots of Dynapac and has gone away from the yellow machine color, which will be the same for all rollers and pavers moving forward.
The buyer of the new FC1600C was Greg Gaskins, owner of Gaskins & Co., a grading and paving specialist based in the Augusta, Ga., area. Gaskins said that he has done business with Flint in the past and just recently bought a machine for milling purposes from Murphey, and decided the timing was right for a new paver.
This purchase was Gaskins first Dynapac purchase, but not his first experience with Dynapac. Gaskins said he received his “paving education” with his father's company where they had Dynapac rollers. His father was engaged in providing larger scale road work, and that's where Gaskins learned the business.
Greg Gaskins started Gaskins & Co. in 1990, and has always maintained a small-scale business model, which is currently seven employees and just one full-time paving crew for commercial paving such as parking lots, driveways, repair work, etc.
“I've done some city street work, but not much,” Gaskins said.
Quality equipment is the cornerstone of the operation and Gaskins said he has no margin of error in his business.
Gaskins now has two pavers, which means he can simply replace his old paver with the new Dynapac FC1600C. Gaskins said the old 2005 paver has served him well and has “lived out its life.” Primarily the new Dynapac is a replacement paver, which will do much more than the previous paver and will provide higher capacity paving and greater paving widths. Gaskins said the more efficient Dynapac machine will ultimately provide a higher quality finished product.
The features of the new paver will allow Gaskins to run a more efficient paving crew, which is primarily achieved with the new material feed system. Having augers that extend and retract with the screed makes material transfer much more effective while greatly reducing the task of shoveling asphalt.
“If you watch a video of other manufacturer's machines, you'll always see a man standing beside the machine shoveling material. All too often, in my company, that man is me,” Gaskins said.
Gaskins also likes the seating of the Dynapac machine, which can be adjusted offset on either side, rather than permanently fixed behind the machine. This provides for greater visibility to the edge of the paving job and to the front edge of the hopper. Additionally, the electric screed on his new paver means he no longer has to deal with propane.
Gaskins never operated the new rebranded Dynapac model prior to purchase and has not really had a chance to run this type of paver, yet based on his past experience with Flint and Dynapac, he has all the confidence in the world in this machine. He said he's been dealing with Flint for years and they've helped him with repair work and machine purchases in the past and he has great confidence in them.
“We'll take care of the minor filter work, etc. on the new Dynapac machine and leave the major stuff to Flint. It's anticipated that the first job for this machine will be on repaving of a music store parking lot on Washington Road in Augusta, Ga., in January.
“The size of this machine is perfect. Not too big…not too small, but with road class paving machine features that make it the best fit for us. I think the Dynapac machine is a very well-built machine at a reasonable price point. I'm really looking forward to producing a higher quality job for my customers. As far as Flint, they've been great to work with.”
Gaskins concluded by saying he did his research, and was extremely thorough. He compared and contrasted the Dynapac to other machines in the marketplace and found the machine purchase he made to be a very good buy.
CEG
This story also appears on Forestry Equipment Guide.
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