Triangle Equipment Co. has been busy lately. Opening two new Bobcat dealerships in the past three years, the company is staking its claim into the South Carolina compact equipment market.
It opened its first facility in that state – Bobcat of Myrtle Beach – in September 2001, having been already established in North Carolina with three facilities: Bobcat of Johnston County in Garner, which opened in 1999; the Wilmington location, which was opened in 1986; and its first facility off Highway 70 in Morrisville, which was incorporated in 1980.
Although it now has four locations stretching throughout two states, Triangle Equipment Co., did have its humble beginnings. Richard Glover and his daughter, Barbara Mangum, purchased Piedmont Bobcat in 1977. “It was very small, located on back of another business,” said Steve Mangum, vice president and son-in-law of Glover. Mangum came onboard with the company at first coming on to help the company in his free time during weekend, holidays and vacations in 1980, then as his current position five years later.
The early 80s was also another turning point for the company when it took on the Lawn and Grounds Care Division of John Deere equipment along with already established Bobcat offerings. The rental offerings of the company have consisted mainly of Bobcat products, Mangum noted. And when the Wilmington branch was established, it became a Bobcat-only store. In 1999, Triangle Equipment decided to go back to offering only Bobcat services to its customers and started the Johnston County location as a mainly service location. “That [the facility] was done more from a service standpoint. It was another geographically different area than we were in. Our customers were not always happy with the drive through I-40 traffic,” he explained. As a result, the branch was built to service those on the other side of Raleigh.
Service is important to Triangle Equipment Co. According to Mangum, the company recently purchased two full-size field service trucks on the road in Raleigh. All of Triangle Equipment’s service mechanics routinely attend Bobcat’s service schools. Shops for its technicians are climate-controlled and all have exhaust drops to keep the emissions down. All the locations also have oil separators and treat wash water. There are seven technicians in Raleigh, three at the Johnston County store, two in Wilmington and one at the Myrtle Beach location.
The company offers preventative maintenance programs to customers as well as rental replacement machines when equipment is being serviced. It also is approaching approximately a half a million dollars in parts inventory, Mangum said, and over-the counter availability of 85 percent.
Satisfying customer needs is a goal with Triangle Equipment. By opening the Myrtle Beach store, so close to the Wilmington store, Mangum said it makes it so that the company can cover the eastern part of the Carolinas. “It’s a nice mix. Some people like the Wilmington store, some like Myrtle Beach. People can go to one or the other,” he said. Plus, multiple stores in the same general area make it easier to swap equipment and parts when needed. “It makes it nice because we can get equipment at one if it isn’t at the other. With parts, it’s the same,” he said.
“My son Kevin runs the Myrtle beach store. He is aggressive for the rental side of it. He came up here [to Raleigh] to get a planer overnight because a customer needed it in South Carolina. It’s the same as if we get behind at Triangle, we can get some service help from Johnston County or one of the other locations.”
Even Mangum is feeling the benefits and downside of running multiple locations. “I drive a little more than I am used to and I’m away from home one night a week.”
But, he can’t complain, he said, not with all the activity going on in the company the past few years, and especially with the only nine-month-old facility in South Carolina. “It’s a different market for us, just like Wilmington. It’s a very different market than the Raleigh-Triangle area…We moved people from Raleigh down there and hired a sales rep from a Bobcat dealership in Cincinnati. We wanted to take experience down there.”
Fortunately, he added, the company has four branches where the employees have been there for the long haul. “About half of our staff has been here about 10 to 18 years. One employee has been here since 1979. We have mechanics who have been here for 15 to 16 years. Barbara Mangum has been involved since the beginning. We have a very low turnover here,” he said.
The main reason, he believes, for the employee loyalty is because of the relationship that is present day-to-day. “We try to maintain more of a family atmosphere here. They are not only employees, but also friends. We respect that a great deal. Barbara and I recognize that they are such an integral part of the company’s success. We sleep better at night knowing the quality of people we have here. I can go through the four stores and not find a weak link and I am fortunate for that,” Mangum explained.
Mangum said he thinks unity is the reason why the company has such a sound customer base. “We have a low turnover so our shop people, parts department, sales reps and so on can build relationships with our customers and that makes them stay with us.” The company has also recently added bilingual personnel to its stores because “we’ve seen such an increase in our Hispanic customer base and want to be able to service our customers in the best way possible,” he said.
A Look Into the Future
As the third generation begins to take positions within the company, Mangum said Triangle Equipment is looking to the future with high goals based on the same founding philosophies that started the company. He said he sees, “additional consolidations and changes in the company structures with new products coming down the pipeline. There will be changes in what sales reps sell. They will sell even more of a variety of Bobcat equipment instead of just skid steers. We will see that growing as Bobcat continues to acquire companies and increase its product offerings. Their goal is to be a major compact equipment supplier.”
From the service end of it, Mangum sees Triangle getting involved in more electronics and training for technicians. “Finding good, quality technicians with all the new electronics is a challenge,” but the company will reach that goal.
As his son Kevin runs the Myrtle Beach store, Mangum said he hopes his other son, Brian, will take some role in the company some day, after college and a few years experience.
But that’s a few years down the road. For now, Mangum noted, “I can’t complain about much. We definitely didn’t see two stores in two years, we’ve been lucky. We have not been hit as much by the economic downtown as others have been and we have been very fortunate. The big challenge for us now and in the years to come is being able to handle the range of equipment that will be here in the next 10 years.”
His attitude toward the success of the company is simple. “Hopefully you get fortunate to find yourself with a good product and a good name. Despite competition, as long as we continue to provide customer service and let that be the top, then the rest will come. Sales will come. We give customers the service they are looking for and they will stay with us.”
For more information, call 919/596-1995.
