Illinois contractor brings in fleet of all new Volvo units as part of replacement program
WHEATON, Ill. – In astrological circles, the term “trine” refers to a time in which celestial objects are in a specific alignment with each other.
For Trine Construction Corp. in Wheaton, Ill., things certainly have been in line as of late, as the company has experienced success to the point that it recently replaced its entire fleet of equipment with new Volvo machines.
Ask Mike Rendina and he will tell you that everything is in fact OK for Trine, an underground and street rehab specialist that has experienced significant growth in the past 10 years. “It’s been a good haul,” said Rendina, the firm’s vice president.
Even during the recent economic downturn, Trine continued to post healthy numbers, Rendina said, growing an average of 25 percent per year.
Rendina is the architect of a unique equipment replacement program that ensures the firm’s equipment will be “fresh and clean” each day it is in service.
Trine recently took delivery of seven new pieces of Volvo equipment – four excavators and three wheel loaders – which Rendina said replaces the equipment of three of the firm’s sewer and water field crews. As part of the plan, Rendina intends to completely overhaul Trine’s fleet with new Volvo equipment every three years.
“We designed the 3-year replacement program for our own purposes, trying to accomplish certain goals for our company,” said Rendina. At the core of those goals, he said, are aesthetics and economics.
Trine Construction has gained a reputation among municipal customers as being a leader in residential utility and street rehabilitation. As a result, the majority of the firm’s job sites are “high profile” jobs, located in densely populated residential areas.
Equipment reflects company image
“I know one thing for sure,” Rendina said. “When you show up for a project in a residential area, the people living there and people traveling through do pay attention to your fleet. Your equipment is a reflection of your company.”
For that reason, Rendina feels his equipment must look sharp and says that the new Volvo equipment presents the best image for Trine.
“With this 3-year program, at any one time we’re trying to keep the entire fleet at a specific standard of performance and appearance,” Rendina said.
Alluding to performance, Rendina conceded that looks alone are not the only reason he chooses to keep his fleet new. “Mechanically we don’t have the down time with new equipment that we would with an older fleet,” he said.
Rendina noted that using newer equipment also means Trine is able to operate without a mechanic on staff. “We find this considerably more beneficial.”
McAllister Equipment Co. of nearby Alsip. Ill., is the Volvo dealer Rendina called upon to assist with the deal. He gives McAllister and its area manager Ken Peloquin credit for an apparently seamless remaking of his fleet.
“When you’re talking about switching out an entire fleet all at once, that’s not the easiest thing to do from a dealer’s perspective,” Rendina said. “Ken and the McAllister sales team worked with us every step of the way to ensure that everything was taken care of.”
Company launched in 1976
Trine was founded in 1976 by Mike’s father, Michele, an Italian immigrant who started the firm after brief jobs as a sanitation worker and as an assistant to a plumbing contractor.
It was Rendina’s mother, Lucile, who suggested the name “Trine” when her husband decided to start his own company. “She picked that name because as she put it, ‘it meant everything was in line,’” Mike Rendina said. “To us, it means simply ‘everything’s OK.’”
When Mike joined Trine in 1991, he was the fifth employee, excluding his mother and father. Trine’s fleet then consisted of two units it owned and two it rented. It now employs 25.
He said the company’s growth began in 1994 when the decision was made to steer the firm into general contracting for larger rehabilitation projects. Up until that time, Trine was primarily a subcontractor.
“We literally doubled in size overnight,” Rendina said, noting that between 1994 and 1998, Trine increased in size by another 500 percent.
Trine’s core business is underground construction and roadway/utility rehabilitation management. Prior to the recent decision to purchase all of the equipment the firm uses, Rendina said Trine had leased most of its fleet. Lower interest rates and the government’s new rules on depreciation have made it more cost-effective to buy rather than lease, he said.
“Besides, when you’re leasing machines you don’t want to be sinking money into repairs when somebody else owns the equipment,” he said.
Volvo was the clear choice
Rendina and his father had used Cat and Deere equipment. Trine’s fleet is now exclusively Volvo.
“We ran an 18-month study of maintenance and fuel costs between Cat and Volvo,” he said, “and Volvo came out on top.” Rendina cited Volvo’s durability and ease of maintenance.
“I can tell you that we weren’t going to sacrifice quality for dollars,” he said. “We weren’t going to make the decision based only on price. After we saw how well Volvo performed against Cat, we decided that over the long run, Volvo was the right choice for us.”
Trine’s fleet includes Volvo excavators and wheel loaders of assorted sizes, he said, so that his fleet will be able to accommodate most types of jobs without renting additional equipment. Trine’s excavator roster includes units ranging from the compact Volvo EC55B to Volvo’s 36-ton EC360B.
Rendina says he believes that Trine Construction is also unique in its decision to use a single manufacturer for its entire fleet.
“If you believe in something, you stick with it,” Rendina said when asked to describe the single manufacturer concept. “When we stay with the same brand for our fleet, we maintain our image and our customers know what to expect.”
Rendina said he also believes that when all models are from a single source, efficiency is gained while performing routine maintenance due to familiarity with a manufacturer’s configurations.
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