Left: The Milne brothers operating the Cat 303C CR Mini Hydraulic Excavator and Cat 246D Skid Steer Loader. Above: Keith Milne utilizes the Cat 246D Skid Steer Loader on the residential pool project.
“The biggest single factor for going with Cat is their tremendous service and support,” says Kevin. “If any of our Cat machines were to go down, I could call Hawthorne Cat, and they will have a solution for us that will get us up and running as soon as humanly possible. Even if they don’t have a part in stock, they will tap into their amazing supply chain and service network and have that part to us by as early as 7 a.m. the following morning.” Keeping their machines up and running is of utmost importance to KML and their bottom line. “Keeping our machines healthy and working is everything in this business. Downtime is a killer, and we need a company like Hawthorne Cat that we can depend on in any and all circumstances,” says Keith. “I started working with Matt Higgins, our Hawthorne Cat Sales Representative, in 2008. I have dealt with a lot of salespeople over the years, and Matt is the best. I call Matt for everything. The guy knows his machines, and he even knows
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the competitor's machines. If he doesn’t have the answer, he will not stop until he finds one.” KML has added several units to their fleet over the past year or so and two of these were Cat machines from Hawthorne Cat. “We were replacing some of our older machines in 2016, and two of these included a Cat 246D Skid Steer Loader and a Cat 301.7D Mini Hydraulic Excavator. I can’t say enough about these and all of our Cat machines. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times. As soon as Cat decides to manufacture a three-foot wide machine, we will own several of them. You just can’t beat Cat.” Keith Milne points out that, in general, growth in the pool excavating business can be a bit of a challenge. “When we do a job, the customer knows that an owner and a Milne family member will be on that job, operating equipment and supervising every move. It would be difficult to even think about stepping away from being this hands-on and attempt to find
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and manage the operators that are trained and experienced in our special niche,” says Keith. “Having said this, I do think that there is room for expansion with our company with the bigger grading and excavating jobs, and I think that will be our growth area over the next five to10 years.” Another challenge that KML faces on almost a daily basis is finding a home for all of the dirt they are loading onto 10 wheeler trucks and exporting off job sites. “We deal with dirt brokers and have developed other sources for moving all of the dirt we excavate and export from these jobs. It is an ongoing challenge, but one that we have always seemed to keep a handle on. I enjoy operating equipment and love working with my dad, wife, and brother every day. It’s a labor of love, and we are all just like a bunch of kids playing in a sandbox with our Tonka toys.” For more information, please call KML Contracting, Inc. at (951) 326-0530. Cc
www.calcontractor.com