In an effort to bring close, convenient service to customers in South Carolina as well as provide a new growth opportunity for the company, J.W. Burress recently expanded into the state with a new facility in Columbia.
The branch, which the company opened in October, is located on 4425 Bluff Rd., two miles east of I-77.
Renovations were done to the existing 10,000 sq. ft. facility that included an expanded parts area in the back of the building; an updated parts facility in the center of the building; a remodeled service management area which includes a service writers office, manager’s office and tool room; and an additional parts counter. These renovations were completed in December, according to Jim Hills, general manager of South Carolina for J.W. Burress.
The Columbia branch boasts four bays with 24-ft. overhead clearance as well as an additional enclosed wash bay at the back of the building that can double as a fifth bay for equipment repair, Hills said. “We have four road service trucks to cover the central part of South Carolina [the midlands and the low country] and we will draw from the Charlotte and Arden, NC, facilities that will offer us eight service trucks to cover the upstate part of South Carolina in addition to their normal coverage areas in North Carolina.”
Right now there are 11 employees at the branch, Hills noted. “We are continuing to add people even right now as there is a demand for them. We will soon need more service trucks to keep up with the present demand.”
The company, he said, plans to add both parts and service personnel as the business grows in the state. “We have hired employees in the service and parts departments who have contacts in the area and long-time experience, so that even as a new company, there is a familiar feel for the contractors in the area.”
As with the other branches of J.W. Burress, the Columbia facility will cover the full line of Hitachi product including mini-excavators, excavators, lattice boom crawler cranes, articulated trucks; the Euclid-Hitachi line of rigid frame trucks; and the Fuchs line of scrap excavators and material handling products. Customers can also expect to see the Vibromax line of compaction equipment and asphalt rollers, Tramac hammers and the National Crane boom truck line at the location.
Hills also added that the company has 95 to 96 percent of its parts in stock on the shelf. “What we don’t have in stock, we can get overnight out of one of our other nine branches or from factory depots,” he said.
J.W. Burress provides 24-hour service with a contact number for after hours. “All of our service and parts personnel are connected on the the contractors’ network radio system. If a contractor needs our service any time of the day, it is available,” he noted.
All of the staff at the Columbia branch has both parts and service training for all products offered at the location.
As a full-source distributor, J.W. Burress offers much more than just equipment to its customers.“We can lower contractors’ costs by offering a high level of expertise when it comes to the maintenance of their products, especially as the machines get more specialized with computers and sophisticated hydraulics.”
The new Columbia facility offers a lot to J.W. Burress as it does to its customers. “It [the new facility] offers us a growth opportunity in a new market as well as allowing us to take our 20-plus years of experience with Hitachi and 60-plus years of experience in the equipment industry and expand that into a state that we have never had a franchise in before,” Hills said.
With all these benefits comes a few of the company’s goals. “We would like to go out into this marketplace and provide the same level of support that we have been able to do for our customers in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina,” Hills replied. “We also would like to offer our customers here in South Carolina a new alternative that’s professional and dependable. We take our company motto, ’Whatever it Takes’ to heart.”
Hills looks to the future with a positive attitude. “Even in times of economic downturn, there seems to be public sector work that is being bid and some projects already in progress. We think 2002 is going to continue to offer new opportunities and be a promising year for us.
“Within a year, we anticipate expansion into Charleston. In two years, we expect to add a facility north of Myrtle Beach in order to give our coastal customer base more localized service,” he said.
For more information, call 803/776-8465.
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