The merger of sales, rental and great service is a simple idea, but is a rarity in the used equipment business.
This vision has become a reality when Construction Hydraulics Inc., a Columbia, SC-based service company for heavy equipment and over-the-road trucks, joined forces with the May Heavy-Equip Rental & Sales II LLC. The new venture has resulted in a used equipment dealer and rental outlet with full service capabilities.
Jim Hills, owner/manager based in South Carolina, said that Ray Twitty and Construction Hydraulics have built “a strong reputation and such a loyal following in Columbia” since Twitty started the company seven years ago.
The acquisition of Construction Hydraulics not only brings a higher level of service to May, but also a stronger sales and marketing aspect to the business experience of Construction Hydraulics, which Hills said will positively affect both customer bases.
All five Construction Hydraulics’ employees will maintain their positions with May, and Twitty will serve as the shop manager of May’s new Columbia facility under construction. The 12,000-sq.-ft. building will include eight bays.
“It will allow us enough capacity that service work will become a major focus of our company,” Hills said. “The service end will allow us to sell the equipment and then take responsibility for it long after the sale.”
He plans to add two more field service trucks to the fleet, for a total of six.
But, that’s not all that will be new in Columbia.
Three new salespeople have been added to the team: Stephen Pascoe will cover the Greenville and Spartanburg area, Bryan Mims will cover Myrtle Beach and Kevin Grant will cover Charleston and Beaufort.
Recently promoted Sales Manager Gary Middlebrooks, who has worked at May for a year and a half, will supervise the new trio.
To ensure May is heading in the right direction during this time of expansion, May Heavy-Equip Rental & Sales Inc. hired Jim Bingham as general counsel. Bingham oversees the legal end of the business and assists with strategic planning.
All of these changes come just two years after May arrived in South Carolina, when Hills decided to partner up with Jacob May.
“There was a niche that wasn’t being filled,” Hills said. “South Carolina didn’t have a used equipment distributor with a broad range of all types and brands.”
He takes pride in the capabilities of May’s service department. May has devoted a lot of resources to ensure that its technicians are up-to-date on the intricacies of all late model equipment brands.
Because of the broad knowledge working in May’s shop requires, “We are committed to hiring the most talented service techs in the marketplace.”
Even after a hectic time of growth, Hills said there are still more plans for the near future.
In the next six to eight months, May will explore the idea of building a full-service paint facility either in Columbia or at the Lexington branch where May has been in business for nine years. The company recently purchased three transport trucks, which are available to assist with its rental and sales business.
At the Lexington, NC, location, May has acquired three acres of additional yard and storage space and added two new salesmen to the North Carolina sales team. Matt Smith will cover eastern North Carolina, and Paul Carpenter will cover the western part of the state.
In another two to five years, Hills said the company plans to add locations in western North Carolina and coastal South Carolina, as well as construct a service facility in Charleston or Myrtle Beach. CEG Staff
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