Hayne “Mac” McCondichie, 84, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., died recently after a brief illness. Hayne was born in Waycross, Ga., on February 19, 1929. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and in 1953 with a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering. On April 3, 1954, Hayne was married to the former Mary Katherine Davis of Milledgeville, Ga. They were together more than fifty-two years building a family, traveling the world and setting a shining example of love and their enduring commitment to one another.

Hayne began his business career at nine-years-old selling newspapers on the corner in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and was successful enough to buy his mother a new refrigerator at age 10. After Georgia Tech, he spent a short stint in Paris with the U.S. Army and later helped design the first generation of satellites in Huntsville, Ala. In 1958, he started working for Yancey Brothers Co., an Atlanta-based Caterpillar heavy equipment dealer, and in 1961 he started Trax Inc., one of the first used heavy equipment dealers in the country.

At its height, Trax Inc. had branch offices in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Kentucky and was one of the largest Hitachi and Volvo-Euclid dealers in the United States, while still maintaining an active presence in the domestic and international late-model used equipment markets. In 1991, Mac sold most of his equipment operations to Marubeni, a large Japanese trading company, and focused on used parts and older used equipment. Hayne ventured into the commercial real estate business in the early 1970’s and was involved in development projects throughout the Southeast. Most notably, he sold the land to the city of Atlanta for the fifth runway.

For nearly 40 years, Hayne stayed active in both heavy equipment and real estate while flying back and forth weekly between his oceanfront home in Ponte Vedra and his office in Atlanta. Although known as a tenacious entrepreneur, Hayne was generous with his success, supporting many charitable causes. A month after his 80th birthday, Hayne traveled on a church mission trip to Guira de Macurijes, Cuba.

Hayne is survived by two sisters, Frances King of Ponte Vedra and Farrior Byron of Ponte Vedra; four children, Gail Hawkins of Cumming, Ga., Alexa McCondichie of St. Augustine, Susan Warren of Atlanta, and Steve McCondichie of Newnan, Ga.; eleven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Today's top stories

Blalock Crews Build TDOT's $67M Newport Bypass

New Bridges Part of Iowa's $114M Madison Avenue Project

Eagle Bridge Co. Works On Final Leg of U.S. 35 Upgrade

SAKAI Achieves Record Sales, Production

Takeuchi Recognizes Top Dealers at 2024 Dealer Summit

Equip Expo's Summer Giveaway Offers a Chance for Lifetime Trade Show Registration, Gift Card, Hotel Stay

Tennessee's Pugmill Systems LLC Expands Its Product Offerings to Include Concrete Plants

ASCENDUM Machinery Opens New Savannah, Ga., Facility