Bee Equipment 40th Anniversary

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Steady Growth Marks Bee’s 40 Years West Texas Paving Dealer Makes Customer Service Its Hallmark

In perhaps the most laid back corner of Texas, an equipment dealer fits right in and is not offering any apologies.

Bee Equipment, like its home city of Lubbock, Texas, and its owner, Everett Monroe, is less flashy than its competition.

Lubbock is not Dallas or Houston, or even Austin. And, well, it really doesn’t want to be, either.

Likewise, Bee Equipment is not like some of the other equipment dealers in Texas and, no, it really doesn’t want to be.

“We’ve been called laid back in our approach,” Monroe said, “and I don’t think that’s unfair.”

Surviving the ups and downs of the economy in West Texas requires a unique approach to business, and Monroe has apparently found that key for Bee Equipment as he leads the paving and compaction dealer into its fifth decade.

The company is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and the future looks as bright as its past.

“My philosophy at the time was to have the right people in the right spots to succeed, and give them a plan to do it, and I guess that thinking hasn’t altered much since.”

Everett Monroe Bee Equipment

Early Years Founded in 1981 by Bill Green, Robert McHam and Charles Nance, Bee Equipment primarily sold and rented used earth moving equipment.

Green had been a salesman for a large equipment manufacturer and saw an opportunity to break off. The company started with a single service bay and a small office.

McHam and Nance sold their interest in 1984 to brothers Miller and Hugh Daniel.

Green retained his ownership stake until his death in 1993. During this period, the company first began selling new equipment by taking on the Dynapac line in 1985.

A young Monroe, who was hired as a salesman for the company in 1984, was instrumental in “convincing” the owners that there was a market for Dynapac’s compaction equipment. After some “arm twisting,” Monroe and fellow salesman, Larry Green (owner Bill Green’s son), persuaded the ownership group that there was a huge

opportunity to sell Dynapac machines to municipalities in Lubbock and surrounding cities and they acquired the right to represent the product.

Broce Broom was added to the lineup in 1986 and the company began selling LeeBoy equipment in 1999.

The Daniel brothers bought out Green’s widow in 1994 and the two owned the business until 2002.

During this period, Monroe, acting as GM, largely ran the operation.

Monroe Takes the Reigns In 2002, when the Daniel brothers were looking to exit the equipment business, Monroe was eager to go all in.

“Through a local banker, we were able to put together a deal to buy the company,” he said. “It was a deal that probably could not happen today, and it definitely could not have happened without David Jones.”

What started as a rental fleet of 10 machines in 1984 would grow to a count of more than 200 four decades later.

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The original Bee Equipment facility as it appeared in 1982.

In what many might have considered an over leveraged deal, Monroe bought out the Daniel brothers in 2002.

David Jones, a banker for Lubbock-based City Bank, instead saw a low-risk lending opportunity based on the character of the buyer.

“Everett was the reason for the company being successful,” Jones remembered. “He’s the best businessman I know. He knows heavy equipment so well. He would take me to the Ritchie Brothers auctions and he would know the value of every piece sold within a few dollars.

But most of all, we hung our hat on his character. Honesty, integrity … there just are not a lot of people like him.”

City Bank remains a partner of Bee today, and Monroe and Jones remain friends 20 years later.

Everett Monroe, Bee Equipment president and general manager.

Growth Pattern New ownership did not bring sweeping changes to the company, Monroe said.

“I really didn’t make broad changes to the company,” he added.

“Most of the employees were people I had hired as GM anyway, so they were kept.

“My philosophy at the time was to have the right people in the right spots to succeed, and give them a plan to do it,” he added, “and I guess that thinking hasn’t altered much since.”

The dealership would see changes though, and they began in earnest less than two years later.

Seeing potential for significant growth, Monroe added a second building to the facility in 2004, while also doubling the company’s physical footprint to more than 12 acres.

Over the ensuing two decades, what started as a rental fleet of 10 machines in 1984 would grow to a count of more than 200.

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Bee’s service and parts departments are now housed in a seperate building just west of the sales and administrative offices.

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deal with.

And, in addition to the oil market, the Lubbock regional economy is affected by the cotton industry. Lubbock is at the center of the largest cotton growing region in Texas, the largest cotton producing state in the United States.

When the cotton industry does well, businesses throughout Lubbock also thrive, according to The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech’s student newspaper. The cotton industry is not only affected by international demand (Texas is a major exporter of cotton), but weather also plays a huge role in the farmer’s profitability, and that trickles down to most businesses in the region.

Still, according to Monroe, “we have never laid anyone off.”

Over the past 10 years or so, Bee has been awarded the number one dealer award for Dynapac once and has been a top 10 Talbert trailer dealer on numerous occasions.

Today, in addition to Dynapac, Broce Broom, LeeBoy and Talbert Trailers, the company is a dealer of Rosco, Midland and CMI Roadbuilding.

Best Kept Secret Despite the rapid growth curve, Monroe stuck to his business philosophy.

“We were not flashy then, and we are not flashy today,” he said about the conservative thinking that has kept the company on track through good times and bad. “We’ve always made sure we saved for the eventual rainy day.”

And in West Texas, those rainy days can be counted on, perhaps more so than in most other U.S. markets.

“We’ve seen three serious downturns in business that were very significant,” Monroe said. “I remember in the 1980s we’d sell a D5 for about $30,000 and we had a hard time getting $10k for the machine during the recession of the early 1990s.

“After that, our business suffered a 40-percent loss of revenue during the financial collapse of 2008, and then about 20 percent last year due to COVID and the downturn in oil prices.”

The aforementioned economic declines do not include the more frequent ups and downs of the oil market, which Monroe has learned to

The Modern Company Currently, highway work makes up about 40 percent of Bee’s business, while an equal amount comes from oilfield projects. The remaining 20 percent is mostly commercial development.

The oilfield could easily be a greater share than 40 percent, but Monroe is not sure he wants it that way.

“Work in the oilfield is twice as tough on rental equipment as the commercial side,” he said, “and it comes with a significantly higher credit risk as well.”

And that’s okay, since, as Monroe said, “The future for construction equipment is bright. Hopefully we’ll get a new infrastructure bill soon and there will always be a need for new highways and bridges.”

Acknowledging that oil will remain a part of their success going forward, he added “and we’ll always need oil, too, at least in our lifetime.”

Something else remains just as certain about the future at Bee Equipment.

“We're not real splashy,” said Monroe. “Most of us here are Lubbock born and bred. What we really care about is being the best at what we do, where we do it. We won’t change going forward.”  CEG

“Everett was the reason for the company being successful.

He’s the best businessman I know.

He knows heavy equipment so well.”

David Jones Citi Bank

An aerial view of Bee Equipment’s lot circa 2007. After purchasing adjacent property for expansion, the company occupies 14 acres along Slaton Highway, Lubbock’s equipment row.

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The sales team at Bee Equipment (L-R) includes Rusty Swan, Everett Monroe, Mike Kuehn, Robert Bean and Jarrod Swan. Dynapac has been a mainstay line at the dealership since the 1980s.

Bee is the dealer for both LeeBoy and Rosco equipment in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.

Contractors will find all the necessary equipment for their paving and earthmoving projects at Bee’s location on Slaton Highway.

“We were not flashy then, and we are not flashy today. We’ve always made sure we saved for the eventual rainy day.”

Everett Monroe Bee Equipment

Over the years, Bee has garnered many awards from manufacturers they represent, including Dynapac’s dealer of the year in 2000. Pictured (L-R) are previous owner Miller Daniel, Art Kaplan, Dynapac president at the time, Miller’s daughter Audrey, and Everett Monroe.

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Everett Monroe (third from L), president of Bee Equipment, accepts the 2013 Dynapac Paver Dealer of the Year award.

David Jones (L) took a chance on Everett Monroe and his business in the early days.

West Texas contractors have come to rely on Bee Equipment and Dynapac for paving projects from Wichita Falls to Midland/Odessa.

Keeping their customers’ down time to a minimum has always been the main goal of Bee’s service department.

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“Most of us here are Lubbock born and bred.

What we really care about is being the best at what we do, where we do it.

We won’t change going forward.”

Everett Monroe Bee Equipment

In addition to its onsite service department, Bee’s mobile service is offered from Wichita Falls to Pecos, as well as the oil fields of New Mexico.

The Rosco CSV chip spreader from Bee has made pavement preservation simpler for their paving contractors.

Bee technicians work on a Cat D6, part of the company’s huge rental fleet. Bee offers service on all its new equipment lines as well as the the entire fleet of rental machines, consisting mostly of late-model Cat equipment.

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Jobsite Problem Solvers

The Right Iron for Heavy Dirt Jobs, Highway Projects or Municipal Work From the oil fields of Pecos to the northern panhandle. From New Mexico to Abilene.

Bee’s equipment can be seen in a multitude of settings. Whether it’s a Cat rental machine or the latest paving equipment from leading manufacturers. Heavy dirt jobs, highway projects or municipal work, it is hard to drive through West Texas or New Mexico without seeing evidence of Bee’s customers at work.

Everett Monroe and his team see themselves as jobsite problem solvers, and their customers seem to agree.

When Sweatt Construction of Artesia, N.M., was contracted to do the site work on a 96-acre project near Loving, N.M., that would eventually be home to an XTO Energy (a division of Exxon Mobil) refinery, energy compressor station and cryogenic plant, it ran into some unique challenges.

“We were going to crush on site, but there was so much yardage that we would have had to do an incredible amount of trucking," Sweatt’s Doug Fortner said. "And then … the customer presented us with some additional time constraints, and we knew we could not meet their deadlines crushing with conventional methods. We needed to crush and then compact, and time was going to be a factor."

Fortner remembered using a CMI Rexpactor nearly 40 years earlier in a similar application. It worked well then and speculated that it would save both time and money now compared to bringing in a crushing plant.

“We had done the site next to this and so we knew what the rock [caliche] would be, and knew it was ‘soft' enough to use the Rexpactor to both crush and compact," he said. "We hadn't heard much about CMI over the last few years, but were told by Mike Kuehn, our representative at Bee Equipment, that the company was making a ‘comeback' of sorts."

“Mike [Kuehn] and his team in Lubbock are awesome. They are attentive and punctual regardless of the hour. Our needs are important to them. We like that. ” Doug Fortner Sweatt Construction

They agreed that the Rexpactor would save time by eliminating the need to handle the 350,000 yds. of dirt and rock four times, as they would have to do with a traditional crusher. In addition, because the Rexpactor compacts from the bottom up, they could do the water processing while compacting, saving even more time.

"Mike [Kuehn] and his team in Lubbock are awesome," he said.

"They are attentive and punctual regardless of the hour. Our needs are important to them. We like that. Even beyond the CMI products, if I need anything that isn't in their inventory, they'll get it for me. They are all about service and training, and we got both when we needed it."

T&T Earth Movers Inc. uses equipment from Bee on nearly all its jobs, like the work completed in 2018 on the new livestock building at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene. The Seminole-based contractor was responsible for all site demolition, dirt moving, concrete work and asphalt paving on the project and accomplished all aspects of the work with the help of Bee. Less than a decade old, T&T's business has steadily increased and so has its fleet; the company now has more than 75 machines, including 17 dozers, nine graders, eight wheel loaders, eight compactors and 25 dump trucks, almost all of which were purchased from Bee Equipment and almost all through the RPO program.

Company President Terry Suarez is now beginning to build T&T's paving capabilities, and is turning to Bee for that, as well. All three of his LeeBoy pavers have been purchased from the Lubbock-based dealer.

Bee’s Kuehn remembers the process of getting the contractor up and running the paving business.

“Terry decided they wanted to be in the asphalt business, so they wanted to talk about distributor trucks and a paver,” Kuehn said. “We set them up with a LeeBoy 8616, but it kept overheating and they'd have to finish with a LeeBoy 1000, which is a much smaller machine. This went

A Bee Equipment Dynapac F800T repaves a road in West Texas.

Bee’s equipment often performs in less than ideal conditions, as was the case during a windstorm in Orla, Texas.

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Late-model Cat graders, dozers and excavators are always available from Bee’s rental yard. The company’s fleet numbers total more than 200 machines.

Sweatt Construction called on Bee for a major refinery project in Orla, Texas. In addition to Cat earthmoving machines, Rexpactor compaction equipment from CMI-Roadbuilding also played a key role.

In West Texas and the Panhandle, when contractors have compaction needs, Bee and Dynapac are the names that come to mind.

Rosco’s Maximizer 3 asphalt distributer is part of Bee’s lineup of paving products.

on for a couple of weeks, and we just couldn't figure it out. But there was no panic. We just kept working on the problem, and we eventually brought LeeBoy personnel in to help. We found out he was running the electric screed all day, which was not the way it was designed to be run.

Before long, and with LeeBoy's help, everything was good.”

The contractor-dealer relationship goes way back in this case.

“When I first called on them, there was one trailer in the yard … that was it,” Kuehn said of T&T. “Terry’s sister was behind the desk. Now they utilize two equipment yards, two large buildings and a concrete plant.

“The first piece we sold them was a D6R and the second was a Cat 950G loader,” Kuehn added. “They still have both and they both look great.” (Both were initially on Bee’s RPO program, but Suarez eventually purchased both machines.)

“We appreciate the faith they have put it us,” Kuehn added.

Bee Equipment’s machines have been instrumental in large and small jobs across the region, including Interstate 27, the Marsha Sharp Freeway in Lubbock, Goodyear Tire’s test track near San Angelo, and numerous major oilfield projects in Texas and New Mexico.  CEG

Bee’s line of compaction equipment from CMI-Roadbuilding includes the Rexpactor SP3. The machines saved the contractor time and money on a major project in the oilfield near Orla, Texas.

“We had done the site next to this and so we knew what the rock [caliche] would be, and knew it was ‘soft' enough to use the Rexpactor to both crush and compact.”

Doug Fortner Sweatt Construction

Bee Equipment’s machines have been instrumental in large and small jobs across the region.

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Meet the Team

Rusty Swan – Sales Manager Coming to Bee Equipment from Warren Cat in 1997, Swan has seen a lot of changes in the equipment business over the last 25 years in Lubbock.

“My grandad was a dirt contractor,” Swan said. “So, I’ve always been around equipment, especially earth moving equipment. It always intrigued me. But the last couple of decades

Those were the early days when computers were nearly unheard of in a company of its size.

“I typed all the invoices by hand,” Ford remembered. “And I did payroll all by hand as well.”

Her diligence paid off as Ford recalled getting the first company computer in 1994.

Ultimately, she was named office manager

Mike Kuehn

Rusty Swan

has brought a lot of change to the industry.

“When I came to Bee, there was only us and one other equipment dealer along Slaton Highway,” said Swan, “so the competition is much more intense now. But we like it that way.”

The mile-and-a-half stretch of road east of Lubbock is now home to at least eight dealerships, featuring most major equipment lines.

Any other major changes in the industry? “It is all about finding help now,” Swan said. “It is very difficult to find help in all departments, but especially qualified technicians.”

Swan still maintains a sales territory, but his responsibilities as sales manager keep him in the office a good part of the time.

“I’m behind the desk a lot now, but still enjoy getting out to see our customers as often as I can,” he said.

Swan has two grown children, two grandchildren and is engaged to his fiance Sherri Cornett.

Mike Kuehn – Territory Manager Kuehn has been with Bee for more than 18

years and has a unique perspective on the business, having performed jobs ranging from landscaping to key account sales.

Kuehn joined his father-in-law’s company in 2003, just after Monroe bought the enterprise.

“My first job was cleaning the yard,” he remembered. “Then after a year or so, Everett allowed me to work on landscaping the property.”

Eventually Kuehn was promoted to “internet sales” and ultimately became an outside sales rep in 2008.

Today, Kuehn manages sales from south of Lubbock all the way to El Paso – an area that includes nearly all of the oil rich Permian Basin in Texas.

Working with oilfield contractors, highway builders and local commercial contractors, what he enjoys most is being part of something bigger.

“I really enjoy being part of building something that will endure,” he said. “I have worked on large paving jobs and major projects out in the oilfield. Projects that will be a part of our region for decades.

“Interesting projects make the job fun,” he added. “We worked with one of our contractors to pave the Goodyear Tire test facility outside of San Angelo recently.”

Vickey Ford – Office Manager The “Queen Bee,” as she is affectionately known, has been with Bee equipment for 35 years. Hired as a receptionist in1986, Ford quickly moved on to the billing department.

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Vickey Ford

in 2002 when Monroe took over the company.

More than 35 years later, Ford said she has done a little of everything at Bee. “I honestly think I could sell a machine if I had to,” she said modestly but with a dash of pride.

What has changed since the company’s “new” ownership took over?

“Oh, the growth for sure,” she said. “We never grew like this before Everett bought the company.”

In addition to her duties as office manager, Ford maintains the unofficial title of “Company Historian.”

She is the mother of five, along with eight grandchildren.

Jarrod Swan – Territory Manager Swan joined the Bee family in 2010 and represents the company in Lubbock and eastern New Mexico. Jarrod Swan is the nephew of sales manager, Rusty Swan.

A graduate of Texas Tech, Jarrod Swan said the equipment business is just a natural fit for him.

“I’ve been around equipment all my life,”

When fully staffed, his service department employs eight full-time technicians, two of which are field techs. Bee’s mobile service area includes a four-hour radius around Lubbock, including the cities of Amarillo, Odessa, Midland and San Angelo in Texas, as well as Hobbs, Carlsbad and Roswell in New Mexico.

The service area includes all of the Permian Basin.

McKee is quick to point out that he is looking for two diesel techs for immediate employment. Recruiting and hiring qualified mechanics continues to be a challenge for Bee as it is for all equipment distributors.

A native of Odessa, Texas, McKee is married to Becky and has two grown children.

Randy Fleming – Parts Manager A native of nearby Floydata, Texas, Fleming brings years of experience as a Cat service supervisor and front counter parts of Warren Cat to his position as parts manager at Bee.

Jarrod Swan

Robert Bean

Swan said. “I like anything that moves dirt and always have.”

Most of Swan’s business is in the Permian Basin, so needless to say 2020 was an interesting year for him.

“A lot of my business is in the oilfield,” he said, “which has been very crazy the last two years. Although it was a challenging time, there are lots of highs to go along with the lows. I’m not sure what the new norm is, but it is always a fun ride.”

Whether in the oilfield or on a highway project, Swan said he gets great satisfaction from “watching a new project take shape.”

Swan and his wife Lezlee have a 4-year-old son Jaxon and 2-year-old daughter Locklyn.

outside, meet new people, what could be better?”

Robert Bean – Municipal Sales Bean heads up sales and rentals to municipalities in Bee’s entire sales area. In addition, he services commercial customers in the north panhandle of Texas, including Amarillo.

The newest member of Bee’s sales team, Bean has found a home at the dealership and in the construction industry.

“Coming from the retail world, I knew that was not where I was meant to spend all of my career,” Bean commented. “I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to learn the equipment business. It has changed my life.”

A student of the art of selling, Bean said he enjoys the process of identifying and filling the needs of his customers.

“The amazing thing is some sales are handed to you, and others you work hard and long for,” Bean said. “You just have to keep knocking on doors, and good things happen for you and the customer.

“And no two days are the same,” he added.

“Things are constantly changing. I get to be

Quentin McKee – Service Manager Service Manager Quentin McKee is responsible for maintaining Bee Equipment’s rental fleet of more than 200 machines as well as servicing equipment purchased from Bee. McKee had previously worked at Bee, but returned two years ago as department manager.

His years of experience include more than 20 years as a diesel mechanic before moving into management.

Randy Fleming

“Since most of our rental fleet is Cat equipment, my experience really comes in handy here,” Fleming said of his 15 years at Warren Cat. At Bee, Fleming’s department provides parts for all of the dealership’s new equipment lines as well as being a source for Caterpillar parts.

His department includes Tanner Price, parts advisor; and Manny Hampton, courier.

“I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every minute of every day I’ve worked at Bee,” said Fleming. “This was the best move I ever made coming here.”

Randy is in his sixth year as parts manager.

He has two grown children and one grandchild.  CEG

Quentin McKee 17

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‘Like Family’

For Bee Equipment, Business Bonds Make For Lasting, Successful Relationships In the cell phone industry, providers coined the term “friends and family” a few years back to encourage multiple users on a single phone plan.

Bee Equipment was practicing that business philosophy in the construction world many years earlier. And frankly, if a down home feel is not what you are looking for in an equipment supplier, this might not be the place for you.

Office Manager Vickey Ford put it succinctly. “It’s like family here at the dealership,” said the single mom of five children that she brought up during the early years of her 35-year career at Bee. “Honestly, I feel like Everett [Bee Equipment President Monroe] helped me raise my kids.”

Monroe and Ford are not related, but the lack of a genetic connection in no way minimizes the familial business bond between them and all Bee team members throughout the company.

For other Bee team members, though, becoming part of the team was in their genetics.

Monroe’s son-in-law, Mike, is a sales rep and handles many of Bee’s key accounts.

Sales Manager Rusty Swan, a veteran with more than 20 years at Bee, said his relationship with Monroe is more than just employer-employee.

They’ve become close friends, in part because “Everett believed in me at the beginning, and I’ll never forget that,” he said.

Swan’s nephew Jarrod has 12 years of experience under his belt as a member of Bee’s sales team.

Terry Suarez (R) of T&T Earth Movers is both a customer and a friend of Bee’s. He credits the dealership with helping start his business in 2008 and has purchased more than 75 machines from Mike Kuehn.

Visiting the dealership it is sometimes difficult to tell who is related and who is not. The whole place is reminiscent of the lyrics to the country song that say in part: “Down home, where they know you by name and treat you like family. Down home, a man's good word and handshake are all you need.”

The friends and family plan extends to the company’s customer base as well.

Monroe recalled many customers that helped him through the years and he has always tried to reciprocate.

“Many of my customers that have helped me through the years have

“Honestly, I feel like Everett [Monroe] helped me raise my kids.”

Vicki Ford Bee Equipment Vickey Ford, “The Queen Bee”, began her career over 35 years ago. She said the staff at Bee Equipment are as much family as they are co-workers.

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“Many of my customers that have helped me through the years have become close personal friends.”

Everett Monroe Bee Equipment

become close personal friends,” he said, singling out Doug Walterschied of J. Lee Milligan, an Amarillo contractor.

“Doug has been a customer for more than 35 years,” Monroe said.

“We’ve actually helped each other through difficult times more than once. We have always been able to talk openly, and he has become a very good friend.”

A few years ago, Terry Suarez, a young emerging contractor at the time, was becoming frustrated in his search for an equipment supplier.

“I was 25-years-old,” Suarez said. “Dealerships didn't even take me seriously. Basically, they didn't want to give me the time of day.”

Eventually Suarez called Bee, primarily because “I drove by it all the time,” he said.

“Wow, what a difference,” he remembered of his initial call. “The receptionist put me on with Everett, whom I later found out was the

Jim Adair, former employee and long time Bee friend, passed away in 2007 after a successful career selling heavy equipment.

owner. After talking to me for a few minutes, he turned me over to Mike Kuehn, and we were on our way to being in business.”

While T&T’s fleet has increased to 100 machines, nearly all purchased at Bee, the Suarez and Kuehn families’ friendship has mirrored that growth.  CEG

Model SPF-8

NO permit hauling with folding Hopper & Blades

Congratulations Bee Equipment for your 40th Year, So far!

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CONG GR A ATUL TU ULA ATIONS TIONS ON

We are pro oud to partner with w Bee Equipm ment as they celebrate 40 4 years of servvice and supportt to the constructio on industry.

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LeeBoy LeeBo oy salutes our friends and partners at Bee Equipment Sale es in celebrating this histo orical milestone.

AS DEP EPEN ENDA DABL BLE AS Y YO OUR D DA AY IS LON ONG.

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