For Jim Leighton, superintendent of Limestone Water and Sewer District (LWSD), water is the heart of his business.
In the few short months the company has been using the new JCB backhoe loader, the machine has already greatly proven its value to the company.
Water — we all need plenty of it to survive, yet most of us probably don't stop to think of just how we gain access to clean, fresh water daily. That is, unless it's your job to provide quality drinking water to an entire community.
For Jim Leighton, superintendent of Limestone Water and Sewer District (LWSD), water is the heart of his business. The company, located in Limestone, Maine, has been working hard to provide top-quality, clean water to local residents and businesses since 1912 through regular monitoring and water quality testing. In fact, the company was even awarded “Maine's Best Drinking Water” in 2015.
To manage the treatment of water and sewers, LWSD is constantly on the street repairing water services and sewer connections; upgrading manholes and water valves; providing hydrant replacements; and digging and repairing wells. To complete this work, the company relies on heavy-duty machinery that can endure long days and a multitude of projects.
In 1984, the company purchased its first JCB backhoe loader, which it still uses regularly today, for tasks from fixing water leaks and sewer repair to water valve and hydrant replacement.
“For 32 years, that machine has been our go-to, and it has helped us get our job done quickly and efficiently,” said Leighton. “It's a great feeling to have trust like that in a product, to be confident that it will work smoothly and not have to worry about mishaps or breakdowns.”
When it comes to creating a backhoe loader for excavating, loading and roading, JCB knows a thing or two. In fact, JCB was the inventor of the innovative backhoe loader design and remains the top backhoe manufacturer today — manufacturing almost half of all backhoe loaders produced in the world.
The Right Tool for the Job
In 2015, the team at LWSD recognized a need for a second backhoe loader to help them with an abundance of projects, so they began looking into options to ensure they would make the right choice.
“We did a lot of research as far as factors like price and how they work,” explained Leighton. “I also talked to my operator who would be using the machine daily.”
The team discussed three or four backhoes from different manufacturers, but they decided they would prefer to find another JCB machine.
“My operator loves using that JCB backhoe and has a smile a mile wide on his face every time he sits in that seat,” said Leighton.
Jim and his team then contacted Northland JCB, the JCB dealership they had worked with for parts on the old JCB machine.
“We've had a great relationship with the company over the years, and once again, they did not let us down,” explained Leighton. “Luckily, they were able to find us a newer model of the same JCB backhoe we'd grown to love that was in our price range with all of the options we were looking for.”
Thirty-two years later, Jim and his team still use the first JCB machine they purchased every day, along with the new JCB backhoe loader they recently purchased.
“It's remarkable that it still runs so well and is an all-around great machine,” said Leighton. “If you have a machine that lasts you that long without any major problems over the years, you want to stick with that brand of machine if possible. I'm so glad we were able to do that and we've been nothing short of impressed and happy with our decision.”
In the few short months the company has been using the new JCB backhoe loader, the machine has already greatly proven its value to the company.
“It just has astronomical amounts of power and the handling is so impressive,” explained Leighton. “It's much smoother running than others we'd looked at and even the older JCB machine. You can tell JCB has worked hard to keep a tradition of building the same high quality machines while updating them to further improve performance. We're finding that it really helps us step up the pace and saves us time.
“When a JCB backhoe lasts more than 32 years, you replace it with another JCB,” said Leighton.
For more information, visit http://jcbna.com/.
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