“Everyone is lovin’ this Volvo Equipment. It’s quicker. It’s efficient. The production has certainly improved since we’ve gone Volvo”.

High Expectations. High Praise.

Dayton Pitts is Vice President of Operations for F&P Construction headquartered in Reno, Nevada with facilities in Carson City as well. Currently F&P is working on the giant Tahoe Reno Industrial Center located just off Interstate 80 a few miles to the east of Sparks, Nevada. When completed, this 104,000-acre complex will become the largest of its type in the world. In speaking with Dayton, he was quick to point out, “This is a serious job, with high demands and even higher expectations. We needed equipment that would get the job done and a dealer group that we could count on. We got both with Volvo and Arnold Machinery.”

As with most jobs of this type the day-today costs of operation and fuel efficiency are critical elements of the success/profit equation. “I think we have seen a huge improvement in fuel efficiency and the overall efficiency of the iron. It’s night and day between Volvo and our previous equipment. The machines are productive. When it comes to cost per hour or cost per ton, one of the biggest factors of that is uptime. If you are having to spend more time fueling the equipment, more time servicing it, more time working on it, your cost per hour or ton just skyrockets, and the Volvo equipment just runs. There’s been hardly any downtime.” This is high praise indeed from Dayton Pitts, who is on the job site for long hours every day and is responsible for the project’s bottom line.

We Just Keep Buying Volvo

F&P Construction was formed in 1991 by Randy Pitts and his family. Over time, this family-owned and-operated company has grown to become one of Nevada’s premier industrial, commercial and site development contractors. “We started with only one excavator and now I’m not sure how many pieces of iron we have. Last count it was around 180.” Previously the company had been loyal to the Caterpillar brand, but as the prices of the Cat equipment started to escalate and the service support of the dealership began to erode, Randy went on the hunt for a better deal. He started by trying a couple of pieces of Volvo iron and was impressed. “The equipment is fantastic, it just runs and runs. That is what we need. We don’t need to be working on the equipment all the time, we’ve got too much work in front of us for that to happen. And price, I mean, Volvo’s prices are there. The Cat machines don’t do any more work than the Volvo and they cost more. So we just keep buying more and more Volvo. I’m very impressed.”

It’s Tough Work

On this day, the company was installing another section of this massive site’s underground utility services. Several of the company’s Volvo tracked crawler excavators were trenching and backfilling in what could best be described as a steep, rocky mountain hillside. Asked how the Volvo excavators were doing, Randy enthused, “Well in this rock, it’s tough work, these machines earn their way and the Volvo equipment has held up and this is some serious rock. The breakout force, speed and cycle times of these excavators are exceptional. It’s the only thing the operators talk about.” However, this is not the only thing that the operators like about the Volvo excavators. “The cabs are very operator friendly. We work yearround out here, ten to twelve hours a day, sometimes six days a week. It gets pretty hot here in the summer time, easily into the low 100’s (degrees Fahrenheit) and well below freezing in the winter and the Volvos handle it quite well. Great air-conditioners, great heaters, air ride seats and adjustable controls, the operators love them. That makes a big difference in lack of operator fatigue and increased production every day.”