The Construction Gang

Atlas Professional Services - EC20B Volvo

One day about three years ago, John Downing was working as a construction inspector for the City of Albany, Oregon, when a friend complained that he didn’t like his job. John challenged his friend to strike out on his own, but the friend shot back: “Why don’t you go start your own company?” Downing decided to take up the challenge, and within three weeks he had incorporated Atlas Professional Services, Inc. and was on his way to building his own dream specializing in trenchless, pipe bursting jobs.

Incorporating was the easy part. Downing hasn’t forgotten how excruciatingly difficult the first couple of years were: “Pipe bursting/pipe tv equipment and a vac truck cost a lot of money, but I found a support from the equipment guys who extended great terms to me. In fact they seemed to believe more in my company than I did.”

Using a Grundotugger pipe bursting machine from TT technologies, Atlas takes on jobs large and small, especially those in sensitive areas. Last year, the Independence Heritage Museum in Independence, Oregon, needed to have a line replaced, but the existing pipe ran under an historic tree. A traditional open trench approach would have brought down the tree. The Grundotugger made quick work of the replacement, leaving the tree safe and secure.

The system works equally well in tight residential lots with its new partner the 3,500 lb Volvo EC20B mini excavator. The EC20B, like the rest of John’s start-up equipment, is a used machine that he picked up for an outstanding price in Kent, WA. One of the unique features of this excavator is its variable-width chassis which gives an operator extra stability at full extension while the narrow setting reduces the overall width to less than 3.3 ft allowing it to move through a narrow opening with no problem.

backyard of a 1908 homestead. Its compact frame allowed them to maneuver it into tight spaces and snug up against the back deck to complete the replacement of an existing clay pipe line. The 360 degree visibility is an added safety feature for this kind of residential work. Downing said that it took him a little time to get used to the controls on the EC20B, “but once you get used to it, you actually fall in love with it.”

Downing and crew take obvious pride in their work: “When I left the City of Albany I had no customer base, so from the start I have tried to set a high standard of quality.” That shows in details large and small. They strive to leave a very shallow imprint on a job site, raking and reseeding lawn, compacting soil, and providing a warrantee against settling for one year.

In addition, they go out of their way to take care of their customers. Downing got a call on New Year’s Eve 2007 from a young couple on a private sewer line who had run out of sewer service. Atlas went out right away and got to work on a very tough job which they couldn’t finish that afternoon. Before they left for the night, the crew approached Downing because they wanted to work New Year’s Day to complete the job. So, at 7:00 a.m. the next morning they were all at work getting the young couple back on line.

That’s customer service.

JCB 8040 Excavator

Blimey!  The English are back with a secret weapon in the guise of this classy nine and a half thousand pound, zero tail-swing, compact mini excavator, the JCB 8040.

On yet another rainy day in Washington state - this time on a five acre residential lot in Ravensdale – I met with Stephen Hehr the owner of Pipe Construction LLC who was preparing a section of ground for a 56’x44’ shop with his newly purchased JCB 8040 mini excavator.

Hehr hasn’t felt a hint of buyer’s remorse in the six months since he purchased the excavator from Brim Tractor: “I really like the look of this machine and its power, and I liked the guy Nathan who sold it to me. He wasn’t pushy. He just showed me everything there was to know about this 8040.”

Buying locally and from a reputable company was essential to Hehr’s decision: “I wanted a local company that would stand behind their product, and Brim does that.  They stock genuine JCB parts and also guaranteed that if my excavator was ever to break down they would replace it with a new one while mine is in the shop getting fixed.”

Several decades have passed since Brim Tractor first opened their doors, and they’ve proven themselves to be a solid company that has built its reputation on strong business ethics. Brim now operates eight stores throughout Washington and Oregon which gives them an excellent platform from which to develop and support the JCB line of excavators.

Of course it’s also true that a dealer is only as good as the support it gets from its supplier, and this is where the British manufacturer JCB excels with its 24/7 North American Parts Depot. And, although they are ranked as one of the top three construction equipment manufacturers in the world, they are still a family business.

Planning for a large government project forced Hehr to analyze the pros and cons of purchasing a new excavator versus renting one.  Hehr figured rental fees would be around $25,000 which worked out to be more than half of the purchase price of a new excavator. He was also very confident that he could pay it off within two years. It was a no-brainer to buy, and the JCB 8040 has proven to be a wise purchase.

The JCB 8040 has an innovative body style that is sleek but not just for the “wow” or “cool” factor. The curved 3 mm thick pressed steel body panels give the operator excellent visibility and component protection, and from the digging position the offset boom and neatly confined hoses routed over the top of the boom give great visibility. The interior has sporty, fully adjustable seating, ergonomically designed joysticks, and aluminum foot pedals that fold up to give the operator ample foot room. The internal canopy height is around 5’ and very spacious, so someone like me at 5’ 10” and 230 lbs finds the entry and cabin space to be very comfortable.

Although Hehr’s machine has a canopy, I did get a chance to inspect the cab version down at Brim’s Pacific, WA location, and I was surprised by the generous size of the entry. I’ve found the door access on larger machines to be much tighter.

Flipping open the hood to the access points reveals a surprisingly clutter-free space. The18 gallon diesel tank is tucked in behind the hydraulic hoses, and the 45hp Perkins engine is placed off to the right hand side. A grease gun holder is also cleverly located there. Access to the color coded hydraulic hoses is easy, and if there is ever a hydraulic leak, the radiator is safe from potential contamination due to a barrier positioned between it and the hoses. That was a big plus for Hehr. And, the barrier protects the
hydraulic hoses from the radiator heat.

Power and simplicity is the name of the game with this machine. A single-load sensing variable piston pump automatically controls flow and pressure, saving more money by delivering hydraulic oil as needed. Whether switching, digging, curling or craning, the fluidity of controls and incredible power offered by this machine are impressive.

A changeover switch on the left hand joystick allows the operator to alternate from boom-swing to auxiliary service such as a thumb, which is controlled by the far right aluminum foot pedal turning the boom left 60° and right 65°. When the boom is in operation, the swing is controlled by tilting the pedal left or right, and when the thumb is in operation the left and right tilt opens and closes the thumb.

Using the thumb and bucket, Hehr easily ripped out Douglas Fir tree stumps and swung and fully extended the boom to deposit the stumps onto a burn pile without noticing any loss of power or experiencing machine tilt even though the boom was opposite to the blade.

The blade performs as designed. During the recent snowstorms, Hehr used the blade as a snowplow, very effectively curling the snow off to the side rather than gathering it up over the blade.  Whether that seems like a noteworthy feature or not, it certainly was to Hehr.

The Future

Competing in today’s economy is challenging but the 8040’s agility, power and simplicity will make it stand out from the crowd. Seasoned and novice operators alike will warm to this machine the minute they take the controls.

Finally, considering how much rain we get in Washington, I asked Hehr why he didn’t go for the cab version. His answer would make any Scotsman proud: “For the additional 5k I’ll just buy myself a new coat.”

Brim Tractor can be contacted at 800-258-7181 or 888-863-9004