Louisville Paving and Construction’s new GXS165 hydraulic hammer is installed on a Caterpillar 336E L excavator and ready to tackle the area’s tough limestone.
Tracing its history back to 1919, Louisville Paving and Construction is a family-owned business serving both the private and public sectors in the greater Louisville, Ky., and southern Indiana area.
Managed by fourth-generation family members John and Joe Dougherty, the company shows no signs of slowing down, as it has continued to grow from its beginnings as a driveway paving company.
Today, the company has 463 employees, 50 over-the-road trucks and an impressive fleet of construction and paving equipment.
Recent projects include the paving work on Louisville's "Spaghetti Junction," where Interstates 65, 64 and 71 meet, and the widening project for I-64, which earned Louisville the National Asphalt Pavement Association's (NAPA) Quality in Construction Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement.
The company's new premier 20,000-sq.-ft. headquarters, situated on 15 acres at 13602 Terra View Trail in Louisville, stands as testimony to the company's ongoing success. Conceived, designed and built by John and Joe Dougherty, the new facility houses 10 service bays (four for truck service and six for construction equipment service) as well as office space.
A concentrated effort was made to incorporate local equipment for the building, including an overhead crane from Ohio's Cincinnati Crane & Hoist, a hydraulic truck lift from Indiana's Rotary Lift and a factory ceiling fan from Kentucky's Big Ass Fans.
Corey Brown, Louisville Paving and Construction's director of fleet and assets, attributes the company's success at meeting the needs of area customers to employing and retaining top-notch talent in the highway and heavy construction industry and equipping them with industry-leading equipment backed by outstanding service.
As a full-service contractor involved with both highway and heavy construction, the company owns a modern fleet of paving and site equipment employing the latest technologies for design, layout and GPS machine control for maximum quality, efficiency and safety on the job.
Brown explains that even the best equipment requires strong backing and support from those providing it. An example of this dynamic is the company's experience with Gorilla-brand hammers supplied by Louisville's new dealer, Boyd and Sons Machinery LLC.
Louisville Paving and Construction's relationship with both Gorilla Hammers and Boyd and Sons Machinery goes back a long way.
Prior to Boyd and Sons Machinery being named the Gorilla dealer for Louisville, Brown had relied on the dealership as a source for undercarriage and hard-to-find parts that other vendors had difficulty providing.
In truth, Gorilla hammers are nothing new to Boyd and Sons Machinery. The company has been the authorized Gorilla dealer serving Indiana from its headquarters location in Washington, Ind., for more than seven years.
The contractor also has had extensive experience with Gorilla hammers. Louisville Paving and Construction's first Gorilla was a GHB 150 hydraulic hammer that saw extremely heavy use for 10 years and that the company recently traded in for a new GXS165 10,000-lb. hydraulic hammer.
Brown explains the company was very happy with the GHB150's performance, but after 10 years of hard work, it was just worn out.
Brown also went on to compare Gorilla hammers with others that Louisville Paving and Construction has owned or rented. In the course of its work, Brown states, the company constantly has to deal with the area's limestone, which is notoriously hard and very unforgiving.
The company relies on hammers for work where it can't blast or to break up stone to be hauled away after blasting. In these situations, it needs a hammer that will hold up. Recently, an operator using a different brand of hammer broke five bits in 3 ½ weeks. With its recently acquired Gorilla hammer, the same operator has been working for 2 ½ months with absolutely no issues.
In addition to being impressed with Gorilla Hammers, Brown also has a great deal of appreciation and respect for Brent Rhinehart, his local representative of Boyd and Sons Machinery. Rhinehart has been with Boyd and Sons Machinery for two years, but he brings with him 20 years of industry experience, which according to Brown, is a major benefit. Brown said he appreciates working with an individual with Rhinehart's industry knowledge.
During the 10 years in which Louisville Paving and Construction has used Gorilla hammers, Brown also has gained a great deal of confidence and respect for Gorilla's Bobby Tedesco. Brown explains that Tedesco is very hands-on and said he has yet to find anything that Tedesco doesn't know about hammers.
Brown also found that product support from both Rhinehart and Tedesco has been exceptional from beginning to end. The two were on hand to oversee the installation of Louisville Paving and Construction's new GXS 165 hydraulic hammer and they've arranged to set up a training course for their operators and technicians.
About Gorilla Hammers
Backed by the largest hammer repair facility in North America, Gorilla Hydraulic Breakers supplies hydraulic hammers, demolition tools and hammer parts. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Gorilla primarily serves the U.S. hydraulic hammer market, but also has many customers abroad.
For information, call 888/81-GORILLA or visit www.gorillahammers.com.
CEG
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