Earlier this year, Southeast Diesel Inc., based in Chattanooga, TN, was named a Sandvik Mining and Construction dealer for the state of Tennessee and 10 counties in Northern Georgia. The full service company will provide sales, service, parts, and rentals for the Tamrock Top Hammer drills, Titon DTH drills, Tamrock Axera underground drills, as well as Sandvik rock tools.

Southeast Diesel has been in business since 1984, when the company started primarily in fuel injection services. Over the years, the company expanded its offerings to include comprehensive equipment and engine service at its current facility that includes 14 drive-thru service bays.

“This was a good opportunity to tie in with an OEM with a unique line of equipment,” said Southeast Diesel’s Ed Holtzhower. “The Sandvik-Tamrock lines are good quality products that will fit into our sales and service capabilities very well.”

Holtzhower added that it is the company’s goal to have an ongoing presence with its target prospects in the road construction, utilities, heavy construction, site development, drilling and quarry segments of the market.

“We are also working toward a more aggressive presence in the Nashville market, where other manufacturers have held the dominant market share,” he said.

Sandvik’s Eastern U.S. marketing manager, Greg Hallett, said the company chose Southeast Diesel because of its “total commitment to service.

“In the past, we’ve had the traditional distribution in this market,” he said. “We were looking for a niche dealer who has a combination of sales ability and a complete commitment toward service. The quality of service provided by Southeast Diesel was the main reason we selected them to represent our products. We identified that the expectations of the customer base was to have locally based service for their equipment. It was apparent from the beginning that Southeast Diesel was committed to what we expected and would see this endeavor through to complete success. Thus far, it’s been a great partnership.”

The very first machine sold by Southeast Diesel, a Tamrock CHA 700, was purchased by Ben Coleman of The Rock Doctor based in Old Hickory, TN, and is working in the Madison, TN, area for utility work.

According to Coleman, “The machine has been doing an excellent job. I’ve been in the industry for 24 years and I’ve run all the other competing machines and I feel this machine is of a higher quality and believe I get much better service from Southeast Diesel than their competition.”

Coleman said that Southeast Diesel’s response time is excellent and the availability of parts “has never been an issue.

“The engineering of the Tamrock sets it apart from the others,” he said.

Southeast Diesel offers a complete line of machines from small, medium to large diameter machines “and you can pretty much find anything to suite your needs with Tamrock,” Coleman said. “Our dealer, Southeast Diesel, has quality people, and even though they are relatively new to the drill industry, they’ve been in the diesel and equipment business for many years and have a good reputation and a very competent staff. Their overall service is excellent.”

For more information, call 423/622-1006.

PHOTO: (L-R): Buddy Harper, Southeast Diesel; Greg Hallett, Sandvik Mining and Construction; Ed Holtzhower, Southeast Diesel; and Ben Coleman, The Rock Doctor, meet to discuss the productivity of the Tamrock CHA 700 on a job site in Madison, TN.

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