Rental Customer Story
Pickett Industries Provides Environmental Management Services and Heavy Civil Construction
Mindful of Benjamin Franklin's words of wisdom, Pickett Industries aims to "waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both." Pickett Industries has been in operation since 1947 with its headquarters located in Bossier City along with satellite offices throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas. The company provides a variety of environmental management and heavy civil construction services that include landfill management, landfill cell construction, solid waste disposal, mine reclamation, and dredging.
Pickett Industries also operates Nashoba Construction, a wholly-owned subsidiary that services the oil and gas industry by performing site preparation including building pads, roads and levees. "We work in a lot of rural areas that most people have never heard of, yet, in almost every instance, a Cat dealership is just 30 minutes away," said Deuce Sinagra, Equipment Manager for Pickett Industries.
Deuce noted Cat's dealer network is more accessible to Pickett Industries than other dealers "who are sometimes 90 minutes to two hours away."
"If we have a piece of equipment go down and a mechanic is more than two hours away, we've just wasted a day," he said. "But if someone is 30 to 40 minutes away then it makes a difference. That's why we primarily buy Caterpillar equipment because we get better support in those rural areas." Pickett Industries completes high-caliber work with a large fleet of heavy equipment, most of which is Caterpillar.
Deuce explained that Pickett maintains its partnership with Louisiana Rents because of its quality customer service and support. "We have a good relationship with them. We have confidence in the people we are dealing with. We have a good working relationship with Louisiana Rents," he said. "Richard Winfield (Bossier City Louisiana Rents Branch Manager) works hard to tailor programs to fit our needs. When I ask Richard a question, the answer is typically favorable. That's why I know our relationship with Louisiana Rents is going to pay off. He's here no less than once or twice a week."
Since a construction company's net worth is impacted by the value of its assets, Deuce said, if you're putting that money in an asset that quickly depreciates you're not getting a return on your investment - another reason why Pickett invests in Caterpillar equipment. "I have Cat equipment, which I bought five years ago, that I could sell today for what I paid for it," he said. "That's the beauty of Caterpillar equipment. It holds its value. You can't do that with some brands."
In addition to previous Cat purchases, Pickett rents equipment from Louisiana Rents to supplement its fleet during equipment downtime or when the fleet is committed to other projects. "We are a production oriented company. We need dirt moving equipment and what I found out from some dealers is they don't have a lot of that big equipment because of the investment, because there is a lot of risk involved. Louisiana Machinery has invested in our markets which is the oil industry and mass excavation business" he said, "When it comes to our needs Louisiana Rents stocks that type of equipment".
For landfill work, Pickett rents Cat D6N and D6R's which are used to spread dirt onto the landfill location as well as clear and strip the topsoil in order to get to the subgrade. Cat 330 and 345 Excavators are used to load new material into the landfill and Cat Articulated Trucks for hauling materials. Pickett Industries also uses Water Trucks. Usually these Water Trucks are used for road maintenance, but they are also used to condition the soil. "A lot of times in the landfill industry you have to meet certain compaction requirements. In order to do that the clay has to be at a certain moisture rate. We put the trucks out there to water it down to get optimum moisture." Deuce explained. At paper mills, Pickett uses Cat Excavators from Louisiana Rents to dig out ponds and use Cat Skid Steer Loaders to assist in cleaning around tanks and silos and to move dumpsters.
"Those are running 24hrs a day and 7 days a week." Deuce says. Cat D6N and D6R dozers are also used to build the landfills and shape areas that will store the paper byproduct. As part of its business plan, Pickett Industries has taken advantage of a number of its rental agreements, which include an option to purchase equipment. "When you add up the rent you pay on a piece of equipment, and you keep it a while, you can make it attractive to buy. That is an important consideration for us. It's not just a rental rate," he said. "Being able to capitalize on our investment in rental equipment is a precursor to buying equipment. That's one way we add to our fleet. There are some companies that have come to us with lower rates but are unable to match the level of product quality and support."
Deuce Sinagra has made it clear that "Louisiana Rents and Louisiana Machinery are a big part of Pickett Industries' success." To discover how Louisiana Rents can help your businesses rental needs, contact Louisiana Rents today at 1-800-766-4070.
