Page 26 • May 19, 2021 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Tremendous Growth in S.C. Spurs Blanchard Machinery In the construction equipment business, staying on top in the marketplace means working hard and investing wisely to remain there. The executives that operate the leading companies are always thinking ahead and planning for the future. That is certainly true for Rozier and Boyd Blanchard, who alongside their father Joe, run South Carolina’s highly successful Blanchard Machinery Company and its 12 branches across the Palmetto State. As the only certified Cat equipment dealer in South Carolina, Blanchard Machinery has had a significant role in the tremendous growth and construction in the state over the past few decades — a growth that is trending upward at an exponential rate. South Carolina has positioned itself as an attractive destination for people and companies to relocate to from other areas of the country. As a result, a wave of new construction has led Blanchard Machinery to better serve contractors through its branches in Greenville, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Haile Gold Mine, Columbia Main, Columbia Compact/Rental, Florence, Myrtle Beach, Hilton
The renovation project has already led to the construction of an additional acre of concrete at the Summerville site to improve Blanchard Machinery’s contamination control and provide a clean area for customers to pick up and drop off their machines for service.
“We knew that we needed to do things to enhance our customer experience in Summerville so that when they walk through the door, they are greeted with a world-class customer retail facility,” said Rozier Blanchard, vice president of machine sales. “By putting money back into Summerville, we will enhance our footprint and our capabilities. That includes doubling our parts warehouse capacity, growing a new hydraulics hose shop space by 60 per“We knew that we needed to do things to enhance our customer experience in Summerville so that when they walk through the door, they are cent and adding four service bays. We greeted with a world-class customer retail facility,” said Rozier are also going to store more new, used and rental equipment and develop a new Blanchard, Vice President of Machine Sales. area where customers can get on a tracHead, Walterboro and Summerville, the latter of which tor and push around some dirt to get a feel for the machines serves the burgeoning Charleston market. if we are unable to take it out to a job site for them.” Blanchard Machinery’s Summerville location is booming The company plans to complete the multi-million-dollar as the area it serves is undergoing a surge in new home starts expansion in November. and manufacturing construction, the latter of which includes “When it is done, we believe Summerville is going to be Volvo, Mercedes, Boeing and Google facilities in the low the premier equipment dealership facility in the Southeast country to go along with the expansion of the South Carolina and it’s just the first renovation in a heavy capital investment Port. plan that we have over the next five to ten years across all our The Summerville branch, in addition to energy and rental facilities,” said Boyd Blanchard, vice president of product businesses, stocks Cat and other manufacturers complete support at the family-owned Blanchard Machinery. line of compact and heavy construction, paving, forestry and The expansion will bring the total number of service bays agriculture equipment. to 24 at the Summerville location, with 12 bays in the main shop, four in the rental service area and eight in the truck Becoming a World-Class Retail Site center. As a result of its growth and the company’s commitment For years, a major component of the company’s to providing world class customer support, the Summerville Summerville operation has been its hydraulics services busibranch began an extensive renovation project in 2020 ness. The new expansion will add 60 percent more capacity designed to enhance the Blanchard Machinery customer to the hydraulic hose shop and triple the number of hose experience by providing a modern facility. parts stocked, a move that illustrates the dealership’s com-
mitment to establishing a true one-stop shop for its customers’ hydraulics needs. “Whether its Cat, or any other OEM, we are going to have the ability to build a high-quality hose at a competitive price and do so in a quick-turnaround time,” said Boyd. The renovation project has already led to the construction of an additional acre of concrete at the Summerville site to improve Blanchard Machinery’s contamination control and provide a clean area for customers to pick up and drop off their machines for service. “We are also continually growing our rental fleet at that location and the new rental store will be located in its own renovated building, one that serves as our energy facility,” he added. The increased capacity of the branch is squarely focused on the layout and functionality of the facility, although Boyd indicated they are always looking to add qualified technicians to the team. But another key goal of the dealership upgrade is to create a better, cleaner working environment for Summerville’s approximately 120 employees, while also increasing productivity and ensuring staff retention and recruitment. “This upgrade of the branch is two-fold in that it ensures that our customers know that the expansions we are making are done to serve them, and for our employees, we are redoing all the locker rooms, bathrooms and breakrooms and adding another training facility,” he added. Improving On Best Parts Stock in South Carolina The company emphasized that the new renovations will help it build upon the fact that it already has the largest onthe-shelf parts inventory in South Carolina. To go along with the 12 physical locations that Blanchard has, there also are more than 30 parts drop boxes located throughout the state
