Heavy Machines Inc. (HMI) held a grand opening and open house May 8 to celebrate its re-location from Longview, Texas, to a brand new facility on 5200 Hollywood Ave., Shreveport, La.

The official move took place in July 2012. More than 150 guests made their way to the event, which included a ribbon-cutting conducted by the local Chamber of Commerce, and a crawfish boil with fried fish, jambalaya, plus all the “fixings” catered by Shaver’s Catering of Shreveport, La. Plenty of heavy equipment was on display and factory representatives on hand to provide walk-around demonstrations and Q&A sessions.

Manufacturer promotional items were given away and prizes were awarded, including an LSU golf bag and a Yeti cooler. An LBX excavator rodeo was held, and David Strong Jr. of Strong’s Construction, based in Shreveport, won the first place trophy.

The entire staff of the Shreveport location worked hard to make the event a success and received outstanding support and prize item contributions from the representatives who turned out from Kawasaki, LBX, Sakai America, and Liebherr.

According to HMI representatives, the open house was just another way to reach out to customers to show them first-hand what this new 3,600 sq. ft. (334.5 sq m) office and 12,000 sq. ft. (1,114.8 sq m) warehouse has to offer, including parts and service capabilities as well as storage for equipment inventory. The facility features eight drive-through service bays and one outside wash bay. HMI provided the opportunity for customers to meet the staff and learn about 24/7 parts and service.

Heavy Machines Inc. is corporately based in Memphis, Tenn., and has other Southeast locations in Gray, Tenn. (formerly A.E. Finley), and Shreveport, La.