CHAMBERLAIN BACKHOE SERVICE

65 Years and Counting as Chamberlain Backhoe Service Continues Unprecedented Growth in Both Operated Equipment Rental and Turn-Key Contract Construction Services

By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor / Photos provided by CBS

The last time CalContractor Magazine visited with Tony and Nick Long was in 2020, when Chamberlain Backhoe Service was just starting to grow the contract construction end of their business. Now, in 2022 that business division, along with the operated equipment sector, has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Nick Long is the director of operations for Chamberlain Backhoe Service, and he reports that 2022 has been a truly crazy year, but in a good way, as things are abnormally busy in all aspects of the business. "We doubled the size of our staff and operator pool in 2020 and added a second location for repair, maintenance and overflow equipment," says Nick. "2021 was our best year ever, and we are on track for a 60% increase in sales in 2022. We hired a full-time outside sales representative at the end of 2021, greatly impacting our revenue and workflow."

Above L-R: Tony Long, Owner, Jordan Long, Operator, Tyler Long, Fleet Manager and Nick Long, Director of Operations.

Operator Buddy Varley on a plumbing project inside a building. The canopy had to be removed to fit through the entrance. Operator Tim Lanz digging electrical trenches with a John Deere 310SL HL. Operator Buddy Varley compacting a trench with a John Deere 35G mini excavator.

Tony Long is the owner and CEO of Chamberlain Backhoe Service (CBS) and he points out that the company's contract construction business has also flourished over the past two years. "Our contract construction division offers turnkey services and we have a full-time manager overseeing this side of the business. We were not doing a tremendous amount of contract work in 2020, but once we decided to go all in, it has become a major growth area and an excellent source of revenue for our company," says Tony. "We were winning jobs, but our salesperson was also our project manager. So, he would sell the job and then manage that project to completion. Most of our growth came when we turned him loose to sell contract projects full-time. Now our representative can focus on building relationships and making connections out in the field to sell the benefits of our multiple threeperson crews."

CBS started 2022 with 10 inhouse operators, which has now grown to 17, while also increasing their pool of select owneroperators. "We were supplying operators and equipment to around 18 jobs daily, and now that number has increased to more like 30 each day. The workload has also increased, and there are many moving pieces and logistical issues involved with this sort of growth," says Nick. "We also hired a fulltime transport crew where in the past we had our operators with their own truck and flatbed trailer. So now we are free to hire great operators without them having to secure permits or a truck and trailer to transport their own equipment. This has also contributed to our evolution and growth."

CBS is one of Southern California's largest non-union operated equipment rental companies. However, they are still small fish within a vast body of water in the contract construction business. Even so, CBS's contract division is growing by the day and according to Tony Long, they are just weeks away from securing their A contractor license. "There are not very many companies like

Operator Toivo Lampi removing asphalt at one of the many public schools worked on throughout the summer. Operator Jordan Long digging electrical trenches with a John Deere 85G excavator at Magnolia High School in Anaheim. Operator Mike Kyle digging footings with a John Deer 26G mini excavator.

ours in the marketplace right now. When things would get tight, we would fall back on the contract end of our business, where now that division is a major part of our annual growth," says Tony. "A couple of our larger electrical contractors are eagerly waiting for us to secure our A contractor's license next month. This will further expand our capabilities and offerings and open us up to more growth and expansion. This will obviously require more employees, laborers, and operators and is a transition that we are carefully planning. Our goal is to nurture all aspects of our overall business model to enable us to continue to grow through any recession or economic slowdown."

CBS is currently on a contract job at the Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, where they are excavating a few thousand feet of trench. "We are working for the general contractor on the West Coving hospital project. Our experienced crew is excavating right through an active parking lot with constant vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Our job is to dig electrical trench to bring power to the main transformer that will serve a new hospital building and parking structure. This involves a lot of cutting and demo, along with the trenching. We put the trench plates in place after each workday and then remove them the next day for more of the same. We will be out there for around three and a half months, and this is the sort of work we do every day so that contractors can focus on more pressing construction issues."

CBS also recently completed a two-month contract job for the plumbing contractor in San Juan Capistrano to construct a new lumber building and yard. In addition, another one of their contract crews is busy on an 8-month-long trenching project at Plum Canyon Apartments in Santa Clarita. "We are working in Santa Clarita for an electrical contractor who has hired our crew to dig and set vaults and excavate, backfill and compact thousands of feet of trench," says Tony. "Most of these contract projects call for the amazingly productive use of our mini excavator/skid steer combo."

When CBS started in 1957, it was all about the tractor loader backhoe, which drove the operated equipment rental business for decades. "The backhoe was our go-to machine, and sort of the Swiss Army Knife implement back in the day. It remained that way until the big recession began in 2007, and that is when we purchased our first mini excavator from Coastline Equipment. Things were not good at this time, and we used that John Deere mini excavator all day for one operator and then all night for the next operator. We did this for around three months in a row, and that machine helped us through some pretty tough times," says Tony. Surprisingly, it wasn't until 2017 that we purchased our next miniexcavator and then a skid steer loader. The demand for the mini excavator and skid steer became so frequent that we decided to buy another John Deere mini-ex/ skid steer combo, and we continue adding more machines to meet that demand. Having said this, the backhoe remains in high demand and has its specific advantages over the mini and skid steer combo in certain situations."

Both Tony and Nick point out that they work hard to match the job with the appropriate skill and experience of the individual operator. "We want repeat customers, and that means giving the customer what they want and whom they want on a jobsite," continues Tony. "In a perfect world, we would like to see a regular customer have three favorite operators so that if one is busy, another comparable operator will perform up to the same standard."

Nick Long says they are always on the hunt for great operators looking to work in a family-type atmosphere with excellent pay and benefits. "Two of our last seven new operator hires were previous

owner-operators for many years. We were able to hire them on and even purchase their equipment for their continued use out in the field," continues Nick. "This was a win/win for everyone, and we are so happy to have all-stars like this working here at CBS." 2022 has also been a year of numerous equipment acquisitions for CBS. "Just this year, we purchased four new backhoes, a skid steer and a compact excavator. Our entire fleet is John Deere, with a few specialty equipment exceptions. Many of our purchases come from the rental fleet of our 'go-to' equipment distributor, Coastline Equipment. We purchased two new John Deere 310L backhoes from Coastline this year and a 310SL HL backhoe. We also purchased a 318 skid steer and a John Deere 17G mini excavator from an individual owner," says Nick. "We work with Sean James at Coastline, and he always has our best interest at heart. We can't say enough good things about our equipment partners at Coastline Equipment."

Chamberlain Backhoe Service was founded in 1957 and has served thousands of contractors throughout Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Owner, Tony Long, has three sons, Nick, Tyler and Jordan, who all play a vital role in the company. Tyler serves as the fleet manager and is also spearheading the Long and Sons Equipment Services end of the business that offers services for everyday maintenance and service solutions to outside contractors. Jordan is an equipment operator making his mark on the company with outstanding skills that regular customers often request. Tony's wife, Wendy Long, serves as the company president and oversees much of the inside administration operations. Chamberlain Backhoe Service has served thousands of contractors throughout Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties since 1957. CBS specializes in the excavation and/or compaction for concrete, electrical, environmental, landscape, masonry and plumbing contractors. As a non-union contractor, CBS's work serves both the public and private sectors. Located in Placentia, CBS has a variety of equipment available, including backhoes, mini excavators, skid steers, 10-wheel and bobtail dump trucks, as well as a wide range of buckets and attachments such as augers, breakers, forks and wheel compactors. For more information on Chamberlain Backhoe Service, please visit their website at www.chamberlainbackhoe.com or call (714) 579-8670. Cc

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