However, if you ask president Rob Beal why people should buy from him, the answer is simple, “Because my dogs are hungry.” If you spend any time at all talking with Rob, you will soon find his good selection of mini excavators, fork lifts, track dumps, and medium duty trucks also comes with a good sense of humor.
Aside from that, Rob says that their new location is a plus. Located in Oregon just off of I-205 at 7100 NE Columbia Boulevard, they have a better frontage and more space.
That’s where you will find another difference according to Rob. “We’re not a car lot, we don’t hold you hostage.” On top of that, Rob says you can pay however you like, “Write a check, get help with financing… you can even put some of our stuff on a credit card – and score yourself some extra air miles.”
That’s probably why ACE sees so many return customers. Rob says new customers are great, but he’s always surprised at how many come back again. They either come in to upgrade their equipment or come back with a friend who needs help with a purchase. But the real reason so many return is probably best summed up when Rob said, “All our smiling personalities here.” Even so, their wide selection, ability to help with shipping and transportation, and a constantly changing inventory probably figure in as well.
All of this allows them to help just about anyone. Most of the big companies buy new, but the small guys want the most bang for their buck,” Rob says. “They don’t need the depreciation. Why spend $50,000 versus $15,000 to get what you need?”
Getting what people need is what they do well. Since 1997, Rob has traveled overseas at least once a year to get used equipment. Most of it comes from Japan, but other pieces come from Taiwan, and on occasion, China.
For Rob, getting the pieces overseas just makes sense because a good deal of equipment in the states is manufactured there (Japan) anyway. Low hour machines by big name manufacturers, like Komatsu, ensure that parts and service will be available.
Each piece is then checked out and put on a container ship or a roll-roll (a large ship that transports vehicles that roll their cargo on and then roll it off at its destination). Warranties depend upon the individual piece, but most have at least 30 days. “If something’s going to happen with a piece of equipment like this,” Rob says, “it’s going to happen within the first week.”
And Rob knows his equipment. Prior to this, he and his brother Ray Beal ran auctions for industrial construction equipment. They held auctions four or five times a year. After noticing a demand in the Portland market for mini excavators, they decided to set up shop.
The two brothers, Rob and Ray, work with a third partner, Jeff MacKenzie. According to Rob, Jeff came to them because he “really digs the equipment.” Besides, he had worked for Konica for twenty-plus years and needed something to do.
Rob says that twenty years of experience helped the two brothers take their auctioneering business and shape it into what it is today. “We were used to auctions,” Rob said, “here today, gone tomorrow, but Jeff helped as a facilitator and planner.”
The three partners - Rob, Ray,and Jeff – serve as president, secretary,and vice-president. But titles apparently don’t mean much. “When we flip a coin next week, it could all be the other way around,” Rob says.
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