Stories from the Job Site

Ten short years ago, Todd Claiborne graduated from college and launched his business with a cell phone and a dump truck. He didn’t own a car, so he used the dump truck on dates. Now Claiborne Hauling Contractors LLC owns 60 dump trucks and a fleet of excavating equipment, and has become the largest vocational trucking contractor in Knoxville, Tennessee. "We’ve doubled every year we’ve been in business," says Claiborne. "In 10 years we’ve grown to 141 people."

By 2000, there were four dump trucks and a new excavating business started with a single skid-steer loader. Basically, Claiborne hauled dirt to building sites on the first shift, then spread topsoil on the second shift.

Outworking and outthinking the competition is the main ingredient of Claiborne’s business plan. Working around the clock was common. On one project in late 2003, Claiborne trucks would stockpile aggregates during the day and haul them to backfill utility trenches at night.

"None of the quarries were open at night." Claiborne didn’t begin his excavating business with John Deere equipment, but started to convert to Deere in 2004 when he bought a 650J LGP Dozer. "I used it to grade building pads and handle finish work on residential and commercial building sites," notes Claiborne.

Claiborne’s fleet of John Deere equipment grew right along with his business. He currently runs three 850J Dozers, a 310SG Backhoe, the original 650J Dozer, a 450J Dozer, a 605C Crawler Loader, and a CT322 Compact Track Loader.

What prompted Claiborne to switch to John Deere? "Price, service, and ease of use. Deere was better than Brand X on all three of those counts. I can get more production, and the visibility is 10 times better on those Deere dozers. The hydrostatic drive on Deere dozers is easier to operate and control than gearbox transmissions. We call our operators ‘The Joystick Generation.’ They grew up playing video games with joysticks, so this transition was easy for them."

"The hydrostatic drive lets people work more at their own speed, instead of being limited by the gears," Claiborne says. "An operator can increase ground speed as he becomes more proficient. Production also improves because you can turn on a dime."

And Claiborne appreciates the service from his local John Deere dealer. "Uptime with Deere equipment has been very good, and if anything goes down, the dealer gets me a loaner. He treats our people right."

Growth in excavating
Claiborne’s business strategy is to grow the trucking side of the business first, then add excavating equipment to match hauling capacity. "You need to have the trucks to support your excavating capacity," Claiborne explains. "We can’t take on any more excavating business if we don’t have the trucks for it. When I start subbing out too much for trucking, then I buy more trucks." For right now, he says 60 trucks are enough — and he’s looking to add earthmoving machines.

Claiborne operators recently demonstrated three brands of dozers. The verdict? Let’s just say the John Deere 700J Dozer won the bouquet. "We’re impressed by the hydrostatic drive, the power, and the visibility of this machine," says Chris Etters, Grading Division Manager. Etters also noted that the engine compartments on Deere dozers narrow as you move from the cab to the front, which improves visibility at the blade.

High production
Currently a large project showcases Claiborne’s earthmoving capacity to the max. The Merchants Town Square project requires excavating 200,000 cubic yards of earth from a borrow site in Knoxville. The fill is then trucked to the shopping-mall site six miles away. While one 850J Dozer pushes dirt to the excavator at the borrow site, two other John Deere dozers work the fill. An 850J Dozer spreads dirt away as trucks dump it at the fill, and the 650J works the slopes. Meanwhile three articulated trucks are moving dirt on-site at the fill.

"We’re averaging 350 to 400 loads a day," says Claiborne. "It will only take us 38 to 45 working days to move the 200,000 cubic yards, depending on the weather." In the latter stages of the project, a John Deere 544J Loader will pick up and carry 60-inch-diameter reinforced concrete pipe sections for storm drainage.

"Everybody said that 544J won’t pick up those 60-inch pipe sections, and I said it would," says Etters. "We looked it up in the spec book, and sure enough, that loader has plenty of lifting capacity."

"John Deere has been a great partner in helping us to research our equipment needs and find the right technologies for our earthmoving projects," says Etters. "People still want the most value for their dollars, and when you can provide that using John Deere equipment, it’s an automatic home run."