Jason Koon has heard the arguments for years.
Mini-excavators are easier to transport. Specialized machines are more productive. Backhoes have become the cleanup machine parked in the corner of the job site.
After nearly five decades in construction, Koon understands why many contractors think that way. He just believes they're looking at the machine all wrong.
Growing up in a family-owned contracting business before helping build one of the nation's largest utility contractors, Koon has spent nearly five decades solving problems on utility jobsites. Along the way, he estimates he has been involved in installing more than 2,000 mi. of pipe.
Through it all, one machine remained a constant.
“Every job I had, I always had a backhoe,” Koon said. “There was always one on my projects because I knew what it could do.”
JCB photo
That philosophy continues to shape the way Koon approaches construction today. Rather than building larger crews, he has intentionally built his business around equipment that can take on multiple roles throughout the day.
“I have more equipment than I do people by choice,” Koon said. “I'm not trying to work harder. I'm trying to work smarter.”
For Koon, the conversation has never been about whether a backhoe can out-dig an excavator or out-load a wheel loader. It's always been about capability – how many problems one machine can solve before the day is over.
It's Never Been About Digging
For Koon, the value of a backhoe has never been measured by how quickly it digs a trench.
If that were the only job on a project, he'd be the first to admit there are machines better suited for the task.
“There are absolutely days when a mini-excavator is the right solution,” Koon said. “I've got both. I use both.”
The difference, he explained, is that a trench is rarely the only job that needs to be done.
“When we were building utility projects, I wasn't picking pipe up with a backhoe anymore. Everything had gotten bigger,” Koon said. “But I could run down the right-of-way, clean up behind the crew, fix somebody's driveway, move a steel plate and take care of all the little jobs without tying up another machine.”
That experience shaped the way Koon evaluates equipment. Rather than asking which machine performs a specific task the fastest, he looks at how much of the workday it can cover before another machine — or another operator — is needed.
“It was never about being the best digging machine,” he said. “It was about being the machine that kept the whole job moving.”
Attachment Advantage
JCB photo
For Koon, versatility doesn't stop with the machine itself.
“I fell into the mini-excavator trap like everybody else,” Koon said. “Then I realized how much capability I could add back to a backhoe with the right attachments.”
Modern backhoes have evolved into multi-purpose platforms. With quick couplers, auxiliary hydraulics and the right attachments, a single machine can tackle excavation, material handling, demolition and utility work without expanding the fleet.
As labor becomes harder to find and equipment costs continue to rise, Koon believes contractors should evaluate attachments the same way they evaluate new equipment purchases.
“People get hung up on the cost of an attachment,” he said. “They don't think about what it replaces. If I don't have to bring another machine, another operator or another trailer to the job site, that attachment paid for itself.”
Koon's perspective was shaped in part by time spent working alongside contractors overseas, where he saw attachments used very differently than they often are in North America.
“In Europe, they're trying to make one machine do more,” he said. “Here, we'll buy another machine before we buy another attachment.”
One attachment, in particular, has changed the way Koon thinks about the backhoe: the tiltrotator.
By allowing the attachment to rotate 360 degrees and tilt independently, a tiltrotator dramatically reduces the need to reposition the machine. That added flexibility expands what a backhoe can accomplish from a single location while improving precision when handling materials, grading or working in confined spaces.
“Adding a tiltrotator provides significant versatility that is often overlooked in our market,” Koon said. “For example, it allows you to use forks to position supplies with more precision and at greater heights than a standard loader can reach. We regularly use our tiltrotator with various other attachments, including a tree shear, a variety of buckets, a grade beam, a single shank ripper and a compactor.”
“I've invested about 25 percent of the tractor's cost into versatility,” he said. “That versatility pays me back every time I take the machine to a job site.”
Putting Versatility to Work
For Koon, the true test of any machine isn't what it can do on paper. It's how it performs over the course of a workday.
His current project in the mountains of northwest Georgia puts that philosophy to the test every day.
The Cloudland development spans approximately 30 acres of steep terrain and includes roads, utility infrastructure and multiple cabin sites overlooking a bluff with views stretching across Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Building the project requires everything from clearing trees and trenching utilities to grading roads, handling materials and preparing building pads.
Rather than assigning a different machine to each task, Koon relies on one machine to carry the workload.
JCB photo
Most days, he's on site handling the excavation and utility work himself with a JCB 4CX. For someone who has operated nearly every generation of JCB backhoe since childhood, it's fitting that the machine is JCB's commemorative one-millionth backhoe loader.
But for Koon, the significance of the machine extends well beyond its commemorative status.
“When I bid this project, I had a 3CX,” Koon said. “I started it with a 4CX. I'm probably 25 to 30 percent ahead of where I expected to be because of the difference in capability.”
That increase in productivity isn't tied to one specification or one feature. It's the result of a machine designed to handle multiple phases of the project without constant interruptions.
The productivity gains aren't tied to a single feature. Four-wheel steering, equal-sized wheels, quick couplers and attachment compatibility allow Koon to move between tasks without constantly changing machines or bringing additional equipment onto the site.
For Koon, those capabilities don't replace specialized equipment. They reduce the number of times he has to stop what he's doing, switch machines or bring additional equipment onto the site.
“It's like having a wheel loader that happens to have a backhoe hanging off the back,” he said.
That's exactly what Koon has been chasing throughout his career– not a machine that's best at one task, but one that can keep the project moving no matter what the next task happens to be.
More Than Digging Machine
Koon isn't suggesting contractors replace every excavator or wheel loader with a backhoe. Every machine has a purpose, and every job requires different tools.
But after nearly five decades in construction, he believes too many fleet decisions begin with the wrong question.
Instead of asking what machine performs one task the best, he asks a different question:
What machine will keep the project moving?
“The best machine isn't always the one that's best at one thing,” Koon said. “It's the one you don't have to stop using because the next job comes up.”
After nearly 50 years in construction, that's why every one of Koon's job sites has had a backhoe.
