For those in the excavating business, building a fleet of machinery that can be relied on to take on the toughest jobs in the field is critical. This is why Terry and Todd Pecha, co-owners of A-1 Excavating, chose to use John Deere equipment for their specific needs.
A-1 Excavating: Starting from the Ground Up
According to Todd Pecha, it wasn’t always easy-going for A-1 Excavating in the early days. Initially, they started by working with a local silica sand-mining company. They were brought in to do the preliminary site work, and the relationship grew from there.
“We knocked down the cornstalks, dug the freshwater and storm-water ponds, and just kept working,” said Todd Pecha. “They produce about 1.4 million tons of finished sand each year. For every ton of sand, we have to move a ton of overburden, which comes out to almost 1.5 million yards of dirt a year. We also load the trucks, take care of the mud and storm-water, and handle the reclamation efforts. We take the overburden and restore areas where we’ve already worked. We haul in topsoil and seed it down. It’s a continuous operation.”
Working Hard Across Wisconsin
Today, A-1 Excavating works across several Wisconsin mines, and it continues to expand. Terry Pecha notes that these new opportunities have changed the nature of their business.
“We’ve been at our current facility for 21 years,” says Terry Pecha. “But we’ve outgrown it. We have over 300 pieces of equipment, including our new 1050K Crawler Dozer, and 50 trucks. We’re going where the opportunities are, especially in sand mining and trucking, but we need the room to do so. That’s why we’re building a bigger facility out by the interstate.”
And as A-1 Excavating expands, they’re trusting Deere machinery along the way, such as the 850L Crawler Dozer. This machine has a net power of 225 horsepower and features SmartGrade, John Deere’s mastless machine-control solution. Its cab has an angled seat that allows for a clear view of the ripper, and ergonomic joysticks provide convenience for the operator throughout the workday. Best of all, it has extended service intervals to minimize maintenance and expense.
If you have any questions about the 850L Crawler Dozer or other pieces of John Deere machinery, you can contact your local John Deere dealer.
If you enjoyed this post or want to read others, feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter!
