As the third generation of his family in the construction business, Tim Colatruglio knows the importance of quality equipment. He believes buying Kubota compact equipment for his concrete company, Encore 1 Inc., gives his business an edge.
“I know that we have the best equipment and we can perform at our best. When you are hired to do a job, your customer expects you to get it done in a timely manner. With Kubota, we feel we are operating as efficiently as possible, which allows us to achieve a higher profit margin,” he said.
Encore, based in Delaware, Ohio, primarily works on light commercial and multi family developments in the Columbus area. “We work for the handful of developers we have carried for 10 or 15 years, and we do a lot of flat work foundations, slabs, sidewalks, etc.,” he said. Recent projects have included The Mirada, a four-story apartment development by Vision Communities that has a variety of outdoor amenities, such as pool decks, that required concrete work.
Encore began using Kubota equipment two years ago, and the company currently owns two KX080-4 excavators and two SSV75 skid steer loaders Colatruglio also just purchased a Kubota SVL75 track loader. “The SVL75 enables us to work in muddy, difficult working conditions. I feel that it is the most comfortable and powerful mid-sized, track loader on the market,” he added. Previously, Encore used Case skid steers and Caterpillar excavators.
Colatruglio found Kubota equipment attractive for several reasons, including durability, power and reach, and serviceability. The comfort of the operator’s cab was very important to him. “It is important that the operator is comfortable and confident in the equipment regarding reliability and safety,” he said, and both Kubota machines meet that standard.
“The excavator has great visibility, you can see everyone around you. It has the power and speed to keep up with our demands. The skid steers offer more power and higher lift for transporting material and loading it onto dump trucks,” he added
Operators love the machines, which are equipped with a climate-controlled cab and radio. “In the winter, our guys are comfortable and warm, which allows us to get peak productivity, even in frigid conditions.”
Encore uses the Kubota excavators for footing work. The skid steers are the real workhorses, Colatruglio said. “When they are not being utilized in foundation work, we are using them to move gravel, transport materials, or for slab preparations. To keep up with the volume and speed of work, we need to have efficient equipment” like the Kubotas.
“The Kubotas have been very reliable. We have had zero mechanical failures.” Encore uses Columbus Equipment Company for service and PM needs on the Kubotas, and the arrangement has worked out well, Colatruglio said. “When we call for service, the mechanic always gets to us in a timely manner. We know they are going to service our machinery as quickly as possible. That’s a real contrast with other dealers we have used. We have waited for weeks for a piece of equipment to come out of service. When we need to produce and don’t have reliable equipment, we are losing money.”
Columbus Equipment Company sales representative Robert Reynolds has been extremely helpful, Colatruglio noted. “He brought us three different types of excavators and was happy to let us demo them until we could select the equipment that was best for us. No other salesperson has ever done that for us.”
The Colatruglio family has been in the concrete business for decades. Tim’s father, Patrick, started pouring concrete for Tim’s grandfather Gino, who was a homebuilder. Patrick started the concrete business in 1972 and Tim changed the name to Encore 1 when he took it over. Now Tim’s son has joined the business.
Tim’s expertise in concrete extends to a second business he owns, Adjustable Kicker, which produces and sells a product he patented in 1999. “Adjustable Kicker is an adjustable, reusable bracing system that eliminates the waste and inefficiency of traditional wood bracing to brace and retain concrete,” he explained. The product has been sold all over the world and has been used in a variety of high profile projects, including emergency bridge construction to repair damage from Hurricane Katrina and in construction of the Kansas Speedway. The project manager for the speedway estimated using the Adjustable Kicker saved more than 2,000 hours of labor.
Colatruglio exhibits Adjustable Kicker at World of Concrete annually, and that’s where he first saw Kubota compact equipment. As the designer of a smart, efficient product, he recognized the smart, efficient design of Kubota’s skid steers and excavators.
Investing in reliable, efficient equipment is the only way to go, he said. “When you’re on a jobsite and your equipment fails, you are behind schedule. It can easily become a losing proposition.” With Kubota, he knows there is no danger of that happening.