Blanchard Machinery Company held an appreciation day at its Pioneer South Carolina location in Lexington, S.C., on Nov. 20.

This was just one week after holding the same event at its compact equipment and rental store location in Columbia, with the weather cooperating a bit more for this one. The picture perfect day in Lexington provided an enjoyable backdrop for a well-attended event with lots to see and do.

The “rolling grille” was brought in and the Blanchard staff grilled burgers and dogs for their guests. During lunch, branch Operations Manager Lewis Armour called out the winning numbers for a vast array of prize drawings, many of which were donated by vendors. Representatives of Caterpillar, Firestone, Evans, Doppstadt, Peerless and others turned out to lend their help and support for the event.

For the highly skilled machine operator (and novices, too) there was a backhoe loader operator contest, with merchandise prizes for first- second- and third-place winners. Guests had the opportunity to register to win one of two Cat 277C multi-terrain loaders.

Parts and merchandise discounts also were available throughout the day.

The Blanchard Machinery-Pioneer South Carolina division facility in Lexington had previously been the main office for Pioneer and its largest branch location. After acquisition, Blanchard remodeled, in stages, the entire facility and created a more appealing working environment for its staff of 50 that work from this location. This branch provides sales, service, rentals, and parts for forestry and recycling equipment from Caterpillar, Doppstadt, Metso, Peterson, Prentice and Woodsman.

Key staff members gave tours of the facility throughout the day. The tour included a look at the “War Room.” Staffed by personnel who have more than 100 years of combined experience handling all warranty claims, standard work orders, and total maintenance and repair contracts, the “War Room” serves as the central point company wide for opening and closing all work orders. Blanchard representatives stated that the “War Room” has been instrumental in ensuring all work flow is done in a consistent manner.

In continuing the tour through the parts department, attendees saw just a portion of the 127,000 total line items stocked in the parts warehouse. The 14 bay shop area, which had recently been cleaned, painted and undergone modifications to the overhead lift system, was the final destination on the tour and was where lunch was served and folks had an opportunity for a bit of face time with their Blanchard and manufacturer representatives.

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