In the world of rental equipment, the highest compliment for a piece of equipment is that it’s durable. At ICR Equipment Rental, Sales & Supply in Bellaire, Ohio, Takeuchi compact track loaders and mini excavators have earned praise for their durability over and over.
Ken Ware, owner of ICR Equipment Rental, first started using Takeuchi equipment with his contracting company, ICR Contracting, around 2004. “When I bought the first Takeuchis, I felt they were reasonably priced. When I found out how good the quality was, I stuck with them,” he said.
ICR Contracting works primarily for the coal industry, with Murray Energy as its main customer, and the contractor uses the Takeuchis for water lines and other projects.
About 11 years ago, Ware purchased a rental house in Bellaire and made the contracting company’s Takeuchis available for rent on weekends. “We started out with the Takeuchi compact track loaders and excavators, and we’ve stuck with them,” Ware said. “It’s been a really good, durable machine. In the rental business, we just have to grease them up and send them back out.”
ICR Equipment has a large fleet of Takeuchis, with an emphasis on TL8, TL10 and TL12 compact track loaders. The company also rents out the TB216 compact excavator.
Customers for the compact track loaders and compact excavators range from homeowners to large industrial customers, including 40 to 50 oil and gas companies in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia, according to Jeremy Myers, a sales rep for ICR Equipment.
“A lot of oil and gas companies rent the Taks for well sites. They use them for everything from the start of construction of the well pad up through when the rig is running. They like to keep them on hand all the time, because they are multi functional and dependable. They use them through the entire oil and gas process,” Myers said. Coal companies also rent the units, he added.
Customers like how versatile the compact track loaders are. “If someone is digging a ditch, we can add a trencher attachment. When we rent them to asphalt companies, we can add an asphalt grinder,” Myers said. “The Taks are a great fit across a broad spectrum of applications.”
Some customers will call in advance to make sure a TL10 or TL12 is available because they prefer the Takeuchi compact track loaders over the other brand of skid steers ICR rents out.
Myers echoes Ware’s comments about the reliability of Takeuchi equipment. “They are very dependable, and in the rental world, that’s huge. People who rent equipment might not even know how to run it, so the machines take a lot of abuse, but we’ve had minimal issues” that require repair.
He has been with the company for two years and in that time, “I don’t recall ever having to send the Takeuchis out to be serviced. If anything did need service, it was user error—someone ripped off a hydraulic line or something. In my two years here, I’ve watched people just destroy equipment, and the Takeuchis have stood the test of time.”
Ware and his ICR companies have been customers of Columbus Equipment Company’s Cadiz branch for more than a decade. “We couldn’t have experienced the growth we’ve had without Jeff Freeland (sales rep) or Dan Minnis (branch manager),” Ware said. “If we need equipment, they get right on it. They have been very good to work with.”
“The Cadiz branch is a wonderful group of people. Everyone from the parts and service department to the sales staff is great to deal with, and they are willing to go above and beyond if need be,” Myers said. While an ICR staff mechanic handles most repair work, “If we run into a place where we’re stumped, we reach out to Columbus Equipment Company, and they are always helpful.”
Ware has purchased dozens of pieces of Takeuchi equipment in the last eight years. Since they are so durable, appearance has become the determining factor in when to sell or trade the units. “I keep them until they start looking bad,” Ware said.
ICR rents out just about anything you can find on a construction site, from full size dozers and excavators to road signs. It also rents equipment aimed more at local homeowners, such as drain snakes and floor sanders. Another major department is industrial parts and supply sales—ICR sells items ranging from bolts to hard hats to gas detectors and FR workwear.
With such a large and varied inventory and fleet, it’s easy to see why Ware and his employees appreciate the durability of the Takeuchis. “Grease it and send it out again” is the kind of equipment that keeps a busy rental house humming.