Construction Equipment Guide
470 Maryland Drive
Fort Washington, PA 19034
800-523-2200
Mon October 08, 2018 - Southeast Edition #21
James River Equipment recently celebrated the grand opening of its expansive new facility in Winchester, Va.
The new plant, located at 245 Yardmaster Court, occupies 37,000 sq. ft. and features a 21,000- sq.-ft. shop, 5,500-sq.-ft. parts warehouse, a 2,300-sq.-ft. track shop with track press and a 3,400- sq.-ft. wash rack.
“We have a capacity of about 20 to 25 large machines, from all facets, really,” said Doug Roan, the Winchester general manager. “We've reconditioned an R60 Euclid in the winter. We've dealt with hydraulic contamination issues, cylinder issues, engine rebuilds. We've rebuilt a considerable number of breakers.”
Land prices and the growth of business at James River's Manassas store decisively influenced the choice of the new location. The company continues to operate at its Manassas location, but it felt land-locked there, with only 5 acres and no room to expand.
The Winchester facility, just 50 mi. away, occupies 20 acres, purchased in 2006, and the company soon will close on an additional 19 acres, of which it will sell 5 to 7 acres along Route 11, preserving another 10 to 12 for future expansion and to control who moves in next door, Roan said.
“If you go to our Manassas yard, you can barely get a LowBoy truck in and out of there some days,” he said. “Here, we have the room. We built it and staffed up on a lot of technicians just to carry the overflow from Manassas and a few other stores. We have been able to get things turned around.”
The new machine shop boasts full-service in-house fabrication, with line-boring as well as mill and lathe capabilities, and an electrical hydraulic track press that can handle anything up to a 100,000-lb. crawler. In addition, the plant's two machinists have more than 30 years' combined experience.
With the Winchester shop serving quarries and large-site development contractors in six counties, business is booming, said company President Mark Romer.
“It's amazing the way Doug and his team have pulled together to grow business and built this new store,” Romer said. “Growth in the team is really more important than the physical facility, but they have done a really nice job with the building, and we are very proud of them.”
CEG