Equipment East is relatively new to the equipment distribution business, but the eastern Massachusetts company has more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry and has already proven adept at knowing what it takes to make its customers happy: simply put, because of the company’s contracting background, it knows how to work closely with customers to provide the right equipment and attachments for the job at hand.
Three of its customers recently shared their success stories about working with Equipment East.
GP Aggregate
Located just north of Boston in Gloucester, Mass., is the GP Aggregate gravel pit. The company, which operates in the Cape Ann area, sells its processed gravel to local contractors and municipalities.
The pit needed to invest in a new rubber-tired loader and was looking to buy a larger, more stable loader than it currently had in its fleet. After considering many makes and models, GP Aggregate decided to purchase a LiuGong model 856 4.5 cu. yd. (3.4 cu m) loader equipped with a Cummins engine.
“We looked at quite a number of comparable sized and equipped loaders and decided that the LiuGong 856 best suited our needs,” said Paul Butman, the director of the gravel pit. “It is sized perfectly to handle the needs of our quarry,”
“LiuGong was not a brand that we were familiar with so we asked Equipment East’s sales representative, Jim Mullen, if they would be willing to bring the machine to our quarry and let us try it out for a while. They were more than happy to accommodate us. Within a few days we were very comfortable with the LiuGong machine.”
Although the LiuGong machine was not equipped with all of the bells and whistles that are available in [other] brands, added Butman, he saw some very good engineering thought behind it, including an automatic greasing system.
“That’s great when you are relying on your employees to keep machines properly maintained,” he said. “I have always lived with the philosophy of keeping things simple. Here at our quarry, we have a very simple application. We don’t need to spend piles of extra cash to have a cab loaded up with a lot of extras, which in reality, complicates the operation of the machine, and frankly, it’s just more things that can go wrong with the machine.”
Endicott College
Located on Hale Street in Beverly, Mass., Endicott College is located on a 235-acre oceanfront campus.
During winter, removing snow from the acres of parking lots, recreational areas, sidewalks and hiking paths throughout the campus is challenging enough. Add to that, though, the hazards of plowing around the thousands of students and hundreds of faculty members who make their way in and out of the campus and that makes for a very high potential for liability problems.
Keith Buckley, director of grounds of the university, had been looking for a safer, yet effective way to approach snow removal.
By the nature of their design, the skid steers Buckley had been using did an adequate job in snow removal. But they had some visibility issues, making it difficult for the operator to be completely aware of people moving in and out of his line of sight. As a first step in relieving some of this stress, Buckley investigated alternatives that would offer better visibility and, because of the tight quarters of many of the walkways and parking lots, a machine that would improve maneuverability.
The solution was a Yanmar model V4-6 compact articulated loader.
“This machine has proven to be everything that we were looking for,” Buckley said. “It’s very stable, smooth to operate and has tremendous mobility and maneuverability.”
“One of the most desirable aspects of this machine is the elevated position in the cab that the operator is working from,” he added. “He has an almost totally unobstructed view of everything going on around him. In addition, the Yanmar diesel engine operates very quietly, which gives the operator a better chance of hearing any warnings that may be shouted out to him. We have been very satisfied with the services provided by Jim Mullen and the rest of the staff at Equipment East. Jim [Mullen] was able to work with us to initially rent this machine to make sure that it was going to meet our needs, and we are now in the process of converting the machine rental over to a purchase.”
Spencer Contracting
Spencer Contracting of Salem, Mass., is involved in a wide range of construction projects, including underground utility work, site development, and demolition work. in March 2011, owner Peter Spencer purchased a LiuGong 915D excavator from Equipment East.
When Spencer first began exploring the idea of putting LiuGong machines from Equipment East in his fleet, which includes 27 machines, he was drawn to the savings. But, he was aware that equipment reliability, serviceability and support also were critical to his bottom line. So he initially worked with Rich Zibell of Equipment East to arrange a rental of the LiuGong 915D excavator.
“After renting the machine and putting it through its paces, I decided that moving ahead with the purchase was a good idea,” Spencer said.
“We have operated the LiuGong machine since last spring and have put about 1,000 hours on it. We were already pretty confident of the support that we would receive from Equipment East. In the past, we had rented crushers from their fleet and we have been very comfortable with the service and response time Equipment East has given us.”
After operating the LiuGong machine for a year, Spencer said he knows he made the right decision. “The machine has very strong cycle times, which really comes into play when doing demolition work. We recently tore down five houses with the LiuGong and my operators noticed that the machine was very tight, very fast, just a good overall machine.”
About Equipment East
Located in eastern Massachusetts, the company offers sales and rentals throughout most of New England. The company is owned and operated by Giovanni Albanese and Andrea Ciano. The company’s support staff includes sales representatives on the road, factory-trained technicians and mechanics ready to service, support, maintain and troubleshoot all the equipment lines the company represents.
Although Equipment East is a relatively new name for equipment distribution in New England, the Albanese name is well recognized within construction circles.
In 1978 Giovanni and his brother, Marco, founded Albanese Brothers as a large utility contracting company doing major water, sewer and pump station projects. In 1991, Giovanni and Marco separated their companies. Giovanni and Andrea founded Albanese D&S Inc., and in September 2009 the pair started Equipment East, turning the day-to-day operation of Albanese D&S over to the younger generation.
Equipment East represents LiuGong, Yanmar, CEC, Geith attachments, BTI, Ramfos, hydraulic hammer and other attachments, and Keestrack portable crushing and screening equipment.
For more information, visit www.equipmenteast.com.
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