Stories from the Job Site

Debi and Barry Schlouch of Schlouch Incorporated.

"The philosophy is pretty simple," says Barry Schlouch, owner of Schlouch Incorporated, a site preparation contractor in southeastern Pennsylvania. "Get up in the morning and give it our best. Excellence in safety, excellence in quality, excellence in production - if we do a good job that day, it positions us to do a good job the next day."

Schlouch used this mantra to start a husband-and-wife operation in his basement with just $2,000. Their firm generated $495,000 that first year, but 24 years later it has grown to 350 employees and $65-million in revenue. Along the way, his firm has been lauded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the number-one place to work among large firms and recognized by OSHA with several prestigious safety awards.

Based on a 65-percent customer-retention rate, many of Schlouch's customers consider his company the number-one contractor in Pennsylvania as well.

Solutions-driven
When Schlouch Incorporated recently won a bid to prepare a 25-acre building pad for a new Target store in their area, they didn't know that the owner's closing and permit delays would postpone the job for an entire month, which meant an September start for a job that had to be completed on November 30. Scheduling for other pads in the retail complex had to be accommodated, and winter weather was bearing down. The bottom line: too much earth to move, too little time.

"We came up with a proposed solution where we would work 24/7," Schlouch explains. "The township didn't permit around-the-clock work, so we went to the township - on our own - to present the benefits of getting this project done while the weather was still good. We obtained approval, and we're going to make it on schedule for the customer."

Lights, action, and a Deere 850J
Schlouch Incorporated marshaled its resources and brought in lights for the type of around-the-clock job usually reserved for urban interstates or other high-traffic road projects. They also brought a Deere 850J Crawler Dozer equipped with a six-way PAT blade and a Trimble GPS system.

"I really enjoy running the 850J; it's a strong, powerful, well-balanced machine," says Jamie Brown, an operator for Schlouch. "The six-way blade is very versatile. It lets us finegrade and do bulk dozer work."

It's when fine-grading that the dozer's GPS system makes the most difference, according to Brown. "The Trimble GPS system on the John Deere 850J is a very useful tool. It lets us place material more efficiently, anticipate problems, and see where the infrastructure is going to be so we can manage the job better."

John Deere 850J Crawler Dozer with Integrated Grade Control (IGC)

Barry Schlouch discovered Deere early on in the development of his business and has been counting on the company as a partner ever since.

"We bought our first John Deere 850 about 10 years ago, and now we have about 25 dozers and excavators," Schlouch says. "The versatility and the hydrostatic technology of the dozers are still up with the best. We get excellent product support through John Deere and our local dealer - the people at John Deere get to know us and our needs, and they deliver value. That's what keeps us up and running."

Business acumen
While a passion for safety and investing in his employees fuels Schlouch's work on a daily basis, good business sense sustains and grows the company over the long haul. And John Deere is also a big help in that regard.

"The owning and operating costs of John Deere equipment are very competitive," Schlouch says. "When we purchase equipment, we look at owning and operating costs upfront, and then we divide it by productivity. We'll take all the information from all the manufacturers, and then we'll do a productivity test by either demonstration or a look at history, and that will give us the lowest unit cost. The pieces we've acquired from John Deere give us the lowest unit cost, and that's why, along with reliability, we go with them."

Schlouch also factors in fuel costs, more important than ever to consider in today's economy. "It has an amazing effect when you calculate the life cycle of a piece of equipment over seven years like we do," he says.

"Many times the sale price of the machine can be higher, but when you factor in the fuel consumption, it can actually lower it to a more competitive rate. The resale value of John Deere equipment is also very good. When you add residual value to fuel consumption, you see the key reasons why Deere comes out on top."

By doing his homework, Barry Schlouch has once again achieved his goal of positioning his company for doing "a good job the next day."

Schlouch Incorporated is serviced by Plasterer Equipment
Company, Inc., Lewisberry, Pennsylvania.

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