All Island Equipment 50th Anniversary

50 ANNIVERSARY th

1970-2020

A Supplement to Construction Equipment Guide

CONGRAT ATULA LATIIONS!

LeeBoy salutes our ur friends and partners partne ers at All Island Equipment in celebrating this historical milestone.

AS DEPENDABLE AS YOUR DAY AY IIS LONG.

www.LeeBoy.com

2

3

All Island Equipment Marks 50 Years in Business — and Still Running Strong After speaking with Gary Wade, it becomes very apparent that he feels that it’s a very simple formula that has led to the company’s success.

“If you offer a good product and take care of your customers like you would want to be taken care of — think as if you were them — then the rest comes easy,” he said. “And we are lucky to have so many great and loyal customers in our industry who keep coming back to us.”

The family-owned construction dealership was founded in 1970 by Wade’s father, Gustave J. Wade.

“It was a big stepping stone for us to take the company from where we were in 1989 to where we are now,” Wade said. “We had the original lines like Hustler Mowers, Puckett Brothers and Massey Ferguson industrial tractors, but somewhere around 1989 to 1992, Renee and I had to figure out how to get through some hard times with business being very tough. But, while we were quickly thrown into this business, we had to figure out if we wanted to grow the business with our customers that we had. So, we had to offer more products to them.

“Today, we have some of the world’s best equipment manufacturers as our partners, like LeeBoy/Rosco, Kobelco, Takeuchi, Dynapac, Interstate Trailers, Hyundai, Gehl, Terex Fuchs, Diamond Mowers and Hitachi.”

Wade admitted that carrying these many lines may seem very challenging to manage, but he credits All Island’s small family business culture to deftly keeping it all together.

“Everyone in this organization must be involved day-to-day,” he said.

“My brother, Daryl, joined the company in the service department in approximately 2000, and today, we have approximately 25 employees working for us and they are all treated like family and that is how we also treat our customers … like family.”

And that exemplifies All Island’s drive to meet customer desires and give the company its much-admired reputation of understanding exactly what its customers want and need.

“We have never wanted to say no to any of our customers,” said Gary All Island Equipment is celebrating 50 years serving the New York City and Long Island construction markets.

Gary and Renee Wade.

Wade. “If one of our customers came in and said they needed a two-yard wheel loader, we would say ‘OK, we’ll see what we can do for you.’ That has always been the way we have approached our business. We grew the business based on need, supporting our customers and branching out our lines.

“It was just a natural fit for us to grow with our customers and have a variety of equipment available for the people who build our schools and municipalities, as well as for the paving contractors, general contractors, landscape contractors, etc., that we work with.”

Regardless of blood ties within the company, Gary Wade considers each of his employees as family members and sees the small, tight-knit group as another key to the prosperity of the business.

“How does that saying go ‘Large enough to support you, small enough to care’? That is the mindset that we have always tried to have around here,” he said. “We are of the mentality that when a customer has a prob-

GEHL IS PROUD TO PARTNER WITH ALL ISLAND EQUIPMENT

CONGRA ATULA T T S TIONS ON 50 YEEARS! SKID & TRA ACK LOADER RS Operating Capacity 1,050 to 4,200 lbs.

17 Loader Models

$

Cash-iin-Lieu offer u up-to $2,500

SOLID D DESIGN Congratulations ALL ISLAND EQUIPMENT on 50 years

WASTE

HANDLING

SCRAP

HANDLIN NG

PORT

HANDLING

TIMBER

HANDLIN NG

Discover More Fuchs Wor ld- Class Mater ial Handlers

Anthony W. Laslavic Fuchs North America Mobile (412) 444-7500 Email anthony.laslavic@terex.com

© 2019 Terex Corporation. Fuchs is a trademark owned by Terex Corporation or its subsidiaries.

6

35 - 120 hhp options

7

lem, I, as president of the company, need to know all about it. I take pride in the fact that we work a lot of hours and if there is an issue facing one of our customers involving us or our equipment, that customer can be sure that everyone from me on down the line is aware of it. We will respond to that problem and see that it is solved to our customer’s satisfaction.”

A Range of Services Available All Island Equipment offers both new and used equipment for sale or rent, although the used pieces are mainly from trade-ins that it gets when selling new machines. The rental business took off after Wade began running the company when he identified a genuine need for the service.

The firm’s equipment hauling service is another example of Wade and his employees recognizing a need for something from which their customers could benefit.

(L-R): Nick Papoulis, parts counterman; Glen Henley, parts counter; Ricky Rodriguez, parts counter; and Stefan Callendar, parts manager.

Service has remained a hallmark for All Island Equipment since its founding 50 years ago.

“We would hear ‘Hey, can you move our machine for us. We have an excavator down on the road,’” he said. “Downtime is really not an option for our customers so with our mentality of ‘We can do that’, we found a way to offer that service.”

Wade added that All Island has facilitated that part of its service by keeping on hand small recovery trucks equipped with powerful winches.

As part of its hauling fleet, it uses a low-bed tractor trailer with a 25,000lb. winch so that if a machine is down and Wade’s service team can’t fix it on site, technicians will be able to move it to where repairs can be safely made.

(L-R): Gary Wade, Kirk Mayer and Tom Porterfield.

Company Strives for High Performance As All Island celebrates 50 years serving the New York City and Long Island construction markets, Wade takes pride in knowing that the company is regarded as a “high-performance” dealership — one known for its quick response time and its ability to be proactive about any service issues.

“We don’t like to sit back on things,” he admitted. “Everyone here knows what is going on and how important it is that every customer is satisfied. For us to be a high-performance dealership, we need to continue to put in a lot of effort and work as a team every day.” 

ddŚ ŚĞ ƌƌŽ ŽĂĚ ƚŽ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐ ƐƚĂƌƚƚƐƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ƌƌŝŝŐŚƚ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌƌƐƐ͊ ŽŶŐƌĂ ĂƚƵůĂ ůĂƟŽŶƐ ƟŽŶƐ for 50 ƐƵĐĐĞĞƐƐĨ ƐĨƵů LJĞĂƌƐ ƌƐ͊

Innovat a ion that kee k ps you moviing.

Dynapac S100

Ă

Dynapac CC1400VI

ϱϰ ŝŶĐŚ ĚƌƵŵ ǁŝĚƚŚ͕ ϰ͘ϯͲƚŽŶ ĐůĂƐƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĚƵĂů ĂŵƉůŝƚƵĚĞ ĂŶĚ Ă ďŽŽƐƚĞĚ ĚƌƵŵ ĚŝĂŵĞƚĞƌ͘

Ž

ŽŶƚĂĐƚ ůů /ƐůĂŶĚ ƋƵŝŝƉ ƉŵĞŶƚ ĨĨŽ Žƌ ŵŽƌĞ ŝŶĨ ŶĨŽ ŶĨ Žƌƌŵ ŵĂƟŽŶ ŽŶ Ăůů Ž ŽĨĨ ŽƵƌ ŝŶŶŽǀĂƟǀĞ ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ͊

ĚLJŶĂƉĂĐ͘ƵƐ ͮ 80 00-651-0033

Follow Dynapac North America

10

Congratulations All Island Equipment 50 Years of Service

0%

for 48 MONTHS on all NEW models Contact your local dealer www.hceamericas.com

WIDE TOUCHSCREEN MONITOR

A HARD DAY’S WORK DOESN’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE IT. A comfortable, alert crew means more productivity and fewer mistakes. With climate controlled cabs, shock absorbing air-ride seats, and ergonomically designed controls, our wheel loaders keep your crew running as strong as the day is long.

AUDIO/ CLIMATE

CENTRALIZED CONTROLS HEATED AIR-RIDE SEAT

TOMORROWSEDGETODAY.COM

11

The All Island Team … and Family

Robert Gerard, mechanic, 19 years.

Equipment, he began in the receiving department, before moving to the counter.

“After leaving the company for a time, I returned to All Island a year and a half later,” he said. “I missed working for All Island. It’s a good place to be, so I decided to come back.”

When asked what makes earning a living at the company a better place for him compared with other places he has worked, he said, “Well, the customers, the guys that I work for in the shop and the fellas at the counter I have known for a long time. I get along with them well. They’re like a family to me.”

In his spare time, Ricky said he enjoys walking through the park and going fishing.

“I just love visiting with them. I try to spend as much time as I can with them in today’s world and just have fun with my family,” she said.

Stefan Callendar, parts manager, 3 months

Nancy Pisano, receptionist, 2½ years

Robert handles general repairs for All Island, work he has done for more than 20 years.

“I started in 2001 and left the company a couple times for other opportunities, but ended up coming back to All Island,” he said. “I like being here because of the guys around me.

This crew is great to work with.”

Robert considers himself an outdoors guy, so during his off hours you can often find him out hunting or fishing.

Ricky Rodriguez, parts counter, 19 years

When Ricky started at All Island

Nancy has been All Island Equipment’s receptionist the entire time she has been with the dealership.

“What I like about it is since I have been here only a short time, I am learning a lot of new things that I didn’t know even existed. It is very different from my previous job. But that’s great for me — I really do like that. I have also met a ton of nice, interesting people, especially on the phone. I talk to many great customers, a lot of whom are very funny, too. They have all been very welcoming to me here — especially Gary, Rene and in fact, the entire team. Now, I have a new appreciation when I see construction equipment working.”

When the life-long native of Long Island is not working, Nancy focuses on her family, which includes two daughters, one of whom has children of her own.

12

Stefan joined All Island over the summer after working as a parts manager at a Nissan automotive firm. When the parts position came open at the dealership, he decided that he could use a change of scenery.

He said, though, that the transition in moving from managing automotive parts to construction equipment parts has put him on a learning curve.

“Everything is totally different with these parts, plus you are dealing with more than one product,” he said. “When I was in the automotive field, they had only one line and I knew everything there. Here, it’s new and challenging, but I find it intriguing.”

Stefan is using his time to learn the myriad of new products and parts available through All Island. Lucky for him, he has found it easy to ask his fellow employees questions.

“I’m always asking these guys, ‘What is this, what is its function, how big is it?’ because often all you see is a part number and a description,” he said. “If I didn’t have them here, I couldn’t do this. I’m sure it would be the same way if they moved to automotive parts — just a totally new experience.”

In his off hours, Stefan enjoys drag racing on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) circuit, where he runs a super stockcar. It’s a hobby he has pursued for almost 35 years.

“Between that and family life, two kids and a house, I lead just a normal life,” he said.

Glen Henley, parts counter, 21 years

Mark has spent his entire career at All Island as a service technician. He enjoys fixing heavy equipment, he said, adding, “I’ve been working on pavers for a long time, so it’s just what I do.”

He also described the work atmosphere at All Island as being both pleasant and professional.

“It’s a family-oriented company with good people,” he said. “I have always been treated well and it’s just a nice place to work with all the other people here. We get along well.”

Mark’s spare time is divided between recreational activities like golf and bowling, but he also devotes many hours to being a volunteer fireman, something he has done for 35 years.

Frank Giunta, road mechanic and shop foreman, 19 years

twice a year,” he said. “You will usually go for a week at a time, often down south in, say, Texas for Kobelco, Georgia for Hitachi and North Carolina for the LeeBoy pavers. The latest types of exhaust systems, for instance, force changes across the board with electronics and hydraulics all to serve the emissions part of the equipment. Again, that keeps you learning and sharp.”

Frank said much of his free time is spent “seeing my kids off on their last steps — they’re grown up now — through college and work. We have a lot of conversations with them about that. My wife and I are faced with an empty nest, so we have more time for walking, bike riding, and going out for dinner, which we enjoy.”

Kirk Mayer, outside sales for Suffolk County, 12 years

Glen has remained with All Island for more than two decades mainly because, he said, of the relationships he has made with customers and his colleagues within the company.

“With the customers, you get very friendly with a lot of them and I definitely enjoy that,” he said. “As far as the guys that I work with, I’ve seen a lot come and go, but you still develop a relationship with these people, sharing inside jokes and the like. For instance, Tom Porterfield, one of our sales reps, teaches Sunday school, so I call him ‘The Preacher Man’ and he is also a skier, so I try to convince all the newbies that he won a gold medal at Lillehammer.”

When he is away from the office, Glen has two main passions: baseball and rescuing homeless cats.

Mark Guterman, service technician (mechanic), 8 years

“I have been a road technician here from Day One,” Frank said, adding it’s unusual that he can be found around the All Island facility.

He explained that the work he does constantly evolves, as does the equipment, due to changes and improvements in the technology.

That evolution only fuels his enjoyment of working on heavy equipment.

“It is also one of the more interesting aspects of the job, along with my interaction with the customers,” he said. “After 19 years, you get to know them pretty well and they become more like friends. They trust in what you have to say and what you think they may need. Things move much more smoothly when you know each other well.”

To keep up with new technologies in the construction equipment industry, Frank and his fellow All Island service technicians must attend training sessions conducted by the manufacturers.

“We do go to training, sometimes once or 13

Kirk has been in outside sales during his entire time at All Island Equipment.

“The main reason I came here is I have known the Wades almost 20 years, including Gus and the brothers, although I knew Gary the least,” he said. “I do know the family’s word is solid. I know I have their backing and that Gary isn’t out on the golf course. Rather, he picks up his phone and solves problems. As a salesperson, Gary can stop this company and fix a problem. One of the most rewarding things about this job, besides making a nice living, is I have more friends than ever.

Kirk explained that All Island’s product lines are “the best of the best” and he loves being able to sell them to customers.

“The first track loaders on the planet were made by Takeuchi, as well as the first miniexcavators. The first big excavators were manufactured by Kobelco. Hitachi has been making loaders longer than anyone. Between their

reputations and ours, where else would I want to be?”

When he has time off, Kirk is often hiding, as he said, in the mountains near Sherburne, N.Y., where he has property.

“It’s about a 4½ hour drive from here and worth every minute of it,” he said. “There, I have got a couple machines I play with, skid steers and tractors. That’s my free time.”

Jose Zavala, maintenance man, 16 years

Daniel has served All Island as a technician since he started with the company.

He finds the job rewarding chiefly because it gives him the opportunity to help customers with problems.

“Yeah, going on the road working and meeting them is fun and it gives you a chance to know a lot of them personally,” Daniel said, as he worked to repair a pump drive for a Kobelco, Like some of his colleagues, he enjoys hunting and fishing and often does so on a piece of property upstate near the Catskills in the town of Margaretville.

on the course, so we play golf with another couple. I enjoy spending time together with her.”

Julio Fuentes, technician, 3 years

Tom Porterfield, sales representative, 17 years

Jose makes sure that every machine that is for sale or rent at All Island is cleaned and looks nice.

“It’s a nice job and I like it very much,” he said. “I also enjoy the company and the people and the opportunity. The machines are great and when the machines are clean, the customers are very happy.”

Daniel Vancott, road technician, 12 years

“Well, I came here to All Island because I wanted to learn about machines, and I thought it was a good opportunity in that I like working on construction machines, especially diesel engines,” Julio said. “I enjoy anything about engines, and I work on hydraulic systems, too, anything that needs fixing.”

James “Jimbo” Trost, truck driver, 20 years Tom said that he has been with All Island for so long that he is now often dealing with the sons of many of the guys he started out selling to as the fathers have turned their construction companies over to their sons.

“I have always really enjoyed that interaction,” he said. “Plus, I like selling quality equipment and that is what All Island is known for — its great product lines: Hyundai, Kobelco, Dynapac, LeeBoy, Hitachi, Gehl, Takeuchi, Interstate.”

Tom provided a great analogy to explain why he has stayed at All Island for so long.

“I look at All Island and think, ‘What is a church?’ A church is not just a building and a steeple, but the people in it and that reminds me that All Island has great people working here and we all band together as a team. We’re not a huge company, but we do a huge job.”

An important part of his off hours is devoted to serving his church as a small-group community leader.

“I also snow ski in Vermont, and I play golf at Bethpage a lot.” he said. “I got my wife out 16

The family-oriented nature of All Island also appeals to “Jimbo.”

“I like what I do, enjoy being around equipment and driving a truck for a living,” he said.

“It’s a great place to work and everybody gets along. There’s a lot of camaraderie — no argu-

ing or bickering or anything like that. It makes for a very good work environment.”

As a truck driver for the company, Jimbo picks up and delivers equipment, whether they are new, rental or trade-in machines, as well as hauls in equipment for mechanical repairs.

Part of his job involves interaction with All Island customers, some of whom may be upset when he is called to action.

“You know, if their rig’s down, then they’re not so happy,” he said. “That means I have to deal with their issue when I get there and do the best I can for them. But I’m on a friendly basis with many of them, so it usually works out fine.”

To relax, Jimbo spends time with his kids, his grandchildren, riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and listening to country music.

need are on backorder.”

He likes to spend his days off playing football and only recently gave up fixing cars because of the time involved.

Greg Martinek, technician, 2.5 years

Andrew Kress, road mechanic, 6 years

Nick Papoulis, counterman, 2 years

According to Nick, the one thing he likes most about his job is the challenge of dealing with equipment mechanics after 23 years of working with customers when he was in the automotive industry.

Since he has made the transition, he characterized All Island as being “very understanding.”

“I like working for Gary Wade because he’s fair with me and always willing to help me when I ask for it,” Nick said.

The most challenging aspect of the job comes when he must tell a customer that a part is on backorder.

“Yeah, that’s the toughest part because customers don’t want to hear that the parts they

When Andrew first started working at All Island Equipment in 2014, he was a technician working in the shop — now he’s meeting customer’s service needs on the road. In fact, he’s almost always on the road throughout the five boroughs of Manhattan and Long Island.

“I love what I do … I have a passion for what I do,” he said. “It’s not really working if you do what you enjoy and that’s the way I feel about working at All Island.”

Andrew also loves working on all the brands the 50-year-old dealership carries and the people around him.

“I work with really great guys,” he said.

“The only reason I keep coming back is that I like everyone I work with and the equipment we sell and I get to work on.”

As for what Andrew does when he’s not helping out All Island customers, it’s kind of the same thing: “I pretty much do this when I go home, too, just not on equipment, but on cars,” he said. “I like to build cars and trucks. I restore them. I have a couple of muscle cars and stuff. I find old garbage and bring it back to life.”

Examples of this include a 1972 Nova, a 1972 Chevelle and “a couple Ford pickups.”

Andrew also likes to go boating on Long Island. “I fish a lot. I spend as much time as I can on the water. I go fishing a lot with Gary [Wade],” he said.

17

Greg loves to work on the equipment that All Island Equipment sells.

“I like the diversity of the machines I work on here,” he said. “It’s nice to work on different equipment every day.”

While Greg spends most of his time working in the shop at All Island’s West Babylon facility, he’ll also “hop in a service truck every now and then,” when needed.

He also helps James “Jimbo” Trost delivering machines to customers on the flatbed.

Greg echoed a very common theme among all All Island Equipment team members: “I like all the guys in the shop,” he said. “We all get along really well. It’s a very good work environment here.”

All Island Equipment is a family business and Greg has roots working in one.

“My dad had an automotive shop,” he said, “and I was brought up to be a mechanic.”

As an automotive technician originally, Greg has learned a lot of heavy equipment since starting at All Island and he credits his success to his colleagues and the business as a whole … And he’s still learning and loving it.

“Every day is a learning experience,” he said.

In his spare time, Greg is usually working on his four jeeps (the newest on is a 1992) because he does a lot of off-roading with them on tracks in Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“I modify them and usually after a trail ride I have to come home and repair them and fix the stuff that I break,” he said. “You know you had a good weekend if you have to come home and fix stuff.” 

just as hard as the next person and no one sits around. I work just as many hours as they do.

“Nobody can say, ‘Oh, Gary is the president, he doesn’t have to do anything.’ But, when we got engaged, for instance, I got my ring with my mother and my sister. Gary was underneath a tractor somewhere because a customer broke down and needed it fixed. Just because someone has a title, it doesn’t mean anything; we’re all just the same and we all pitch in when needed.”

Multiple Roles Mean Long Workdays Still, Renee is the one turning the lights off at All Island long after everyone else has gone home. She usually puts in 10 to 11 hours each workday to fulfill her many responsibilities, although she is admittedly not an early riser.

“Well, I come in late because I refuse to come in early,” she laughed.

“But I still work long hours because a lot of the stuff I handle is done after we close for the day. Once we close, I go through all the invoices to make sure they were done correctly, I check to see that everyone who was supposed to be billed was, in fact, billed, and I make certain the credit cards and the payments get matched.”

In her role as All Island’s manufacturer representative, she works primarily with the equipment makers’ inside people, while Gary deals with the sales reps. In that the dealership distributes and services a large and prestigious list of product lines, including Kobelco, LeeBoy, Gehl, Dynapac, Hitachi, Hyundai and Interstate and much more, her calls to contacts at these companies keep her workday full.

“I also order all the equipment for All Island Equipment,” she said. “If there are any issues with the billing, any discrepancies, if a machine arrives damaged, I handle all that.”

Despite a preference for not working weekends, she will do it when needed. During the COVID-19 shutdown earlier this year, for example, she was working many Saturdays and Sundays. Her tasks, like those of millions of others, were made more difficult to perform by the pandemic and, she said, by power failures, which forced her to conduct her business using her phone since All Island’s computers were made useless.

Every Brain Needs a Break The long hours of work five days a week are why she likes to spend her time off relaxing on the boat she and Gary own or at their cabin in upstate New York.

“When we get to the cabin, I like to just sit on the tractor and mow grass — something that doesn’t require too much thinking,” Renee said.

“It’s really very relaxing for me to sit on a tractor for eight hours — I’m very happy.”

She is an almost lifelong Long Islander, have lived in Sayville since she was two years old. Born in Brooklyn, she admitted that “I’m very grateful that my father made the commute from Sayville to Brooklyn so I could live out here.”

Renee Wade’s Steady Hand Helps in All Island Equipment’s Success Gus Wade may have founded All Island Equipment, and his son, Gary, co-managed it for over 30 years, but the glue that holds the dealership together may well be Renee Wade.

Married to Gary, Renee has partnered with him in running All Island for most her of time with the company since joining it in 1987 as a receptionist. Coupled with his vision for the company and vast knowledge of the equipment, she provides the steady hand in running the dealership’s day-to-day operations.

Her responsibilities have given her the roles of a chief financial officer, manufacturer representative and office manager.

But Renee is not a fan of titles being applied to people at All Island Equipment. Rather, she considers the company to be a team working in unison — all of whom pull their own weight and work together to create a successful and pleasant work environment.

“We are all on the same level here,” she said from her office at the All Island dealership in West Babylon, N.Y. “If I need to go sweep the floor, I’m going to do that. Nobody is above anybody else; everyone works

Meeting New Friends a Bonus Besides the friendly and hard-working culture she and Gary have created among the employees at All Island, Renee also treasures the people she has met because of helping operate a highly regarded construction equipment distributorship.

“The best thing about this place is that all our closest friends are a result of business relationships,” she said. “We have customers that have come here since I started working at All Island when I was 18 years old in 1987. We grew up with some of our customers because Gary and I were just kids. And now, many of those customers have their kids taking over their businesses, so we are working with a second generation.

“For me, working at All Island becomes your life — you live and breathe it.”  18

Diamond Mowers is a proud roud partner of All Island Equipment offering attachments for tractorrs & skid-steers.

BOOM

RO TAR Y MOW ER

To learn more abou ut available equipment, visit All Island Equipment ent in person or online at

ALLISLANDE EQUIPMENT T.COM .COM

19

Service Proves Paramount for Daryl Wade Long before he became the service manager at All Island Equipment, Daryl Wade was well versed in the unique culture of the full-service dealership.

He learned as a boy that treating everyone fairly and equally was the company’s goal and Gary’s vision and, by doing so, success would follow.

The lesson was taught to him by his brother Gary and his father, Gus Wade, founder of All Island, and was proven correct as that commitment to customers and employees would pay off.

Following his graduation from SUNY Cobleskill in upstate New York, Daryl began working at All Island full-time in 1994.

“When I came, I started out turning wrenches in the shop, working under John Allegro, the old service manager, and then I tried my hand at sales for about a year,” he said. “Later, we needed a driver, so I jumped into a tractor trailer truck and made deliveries for about six months. Once we hired a full-time driver, I came back into the shop and moved into the service manager position in 2000 because John was retiring. I have been here ever since.”

If you grow up around construction and agricultural equipment, as Wade and his brother, Gary, did as boys, it’s probably inevitable you will want to continue to work with them as adults.

“It’s been in my blood since I was a little kid; we were born and raised around this stuff,” Daryl said. “But I also enjoy the relationships with the customers and getting their equipment repaired and turned around. I just like being able to put a smile on their faces before they head out the door.

I enjoy what I do, and it makes coming to work pleasant.”

What advice did Wade’s father give him to become a successful and effective service manager?

“That’s an easy one, the five Ws that he always refers to: who, what, when, where and why,” he said. “[Dad] always instilled that into all of us.

Don’t be afraid to ask the questions, get all the pertinent information up front because when you have it in hand, there’s no guessing or backtracking or mistakes being made. Mistakes are costly in this business. That’s what we try to do, and it minimizes incidents or problems, especially when heading off on a road call.”

In the 20 years that he has managed the service department, Daryl has witnessed a tremendous infusion of technological advances in the equipment. That has meant his guys must continually learn the technology and how to troubleshoot and repair problems with it.

“The basics [of my job] are all still there, like taking care of the customers and giving them a good turnaround time,” he said. “But there are

a lot more electronics involved in the machines and that makes our job tougher, such as Tier IV Final engines and the learning curve with that.

Some of our manufacturers are offering GPS tracking and that allows us to troubleshoot before we get our hands on the machine, which is a big help.”

To keep All Island’s service people on top of the latest in heavy equipment technology, Daryl said the dealership sends its technicians to either regional schools, manufacturer-taught classes or get them set up with online self-training in-house.

“My brother is big on having our mechanics well trained for whatever comes up,” he said.

At All Island’s West Babylon facility are eight service bays in both buildings. All its cranes are truck-mounted, Daryl said, with a pair of crane trucks and two roll-back trucks. The company also has two sprinter vans and a Peterbilt tractor trailer truck with a lowbed trailer to deliver parts.

A total of eight service technicians are on hand at the dealership, two of whom will go out for road service calls if needed.

Daryl characterized the service department as being made up of people who have no problem going the extra mile to satisfy a customer, even if it means staying late or starting early.

“We’re customer-focused and driven,” he said, adding that he always answers a phone call from a contractor, night and day. “Oh yeah, I do so at night before it goes to voice mail. On weekends, we monitor our texts, e-mails and phone calls.”

Daryl said that in return, All Island’s customers deeply appreciate the effort the company puts into keeping their construction projects moving.

“But often the manufacturer won’t have the part in stock or it’s not in the country, so we will express ship it here by the next day. Or, we may have to fabricate a part or repair the existing one. We will do anything we can to get the customer up and rolling again as soon as possible.”

The variety of different heavy equipment lines that All Island carries, such as Hyundai, Kobelco, Takeuchi, Interstate, just to name a few, makes Daryl’s career interesting as he works to know all about each model.

“It’s very diverse, but it keeps us on our toes — it's not monotonous by any stretch of the imagination and that’s what I like about it,” he said.

“We deal with a broad spectrum of manufacturers for our customer base.”

All Island Equipment’s family atmosphere and friendly service have not only kept customers coming back time and again but has also led to very little turnover among its employees, Daryl said.  20

HITACHI A T

Z\WWVY[ VM [OL

service pr We

Contractors Discuss Why They Do Business With All Island Equipment … and Why They Keep Doing It

(L-R): Robert Garone Jr.; Robert Garone, president of Rosemar Construction Inc.; Gary Wade; and Nicholas Garone.

Robert Garone

As Rosemar Construction’s business scope and size have increased over the years, so has its diversity of equipment inventory. Besides owning a significant fleet of LeeBoy pavers and Rosco asphalt maintenance equipment, the contractor also owns Gehl skid steers, Dynapac rollers, Interstate trailers, Kobelco excavators, Kawasaki and Hitachi loaders, as well as Takeuchi tracked loaders.

“It has been great watching our business grow along with All Island Equipment,” said Garone. “We do a lot of high profile work in Long Island and as we purchase equipment and add it to our fleet, it often turns into additional sales for All Island Equipment as people look at our firm as giving it the stamp of approval. The reason we continue to purchase from All Island Equipment is two-fold: the equipment that we purchase, like LeeBoy, is top quality and gets the job done in a reliable manner.

Gary and his staff at All Island Equipment do a tremendous job servicing the products, as well.

“I am very fortunate that my two sons, Robert Jr. [Bobby] and Nicholas, as well as my daughter, Carly, have decided to follow my path and join me in this business,” Garone added. “The relationship with All Island Equipment has held up so well that I now see my children making equipment purchases with All Island on my behalf.”

In 1988, Robert Garone started a small residential paving company that has since grown into one of Long Island’s largest commercial paving contractors and asphalt producers.

Today, his company, Rosemar Construction, has grown to more than 200 employees and does asphalt paving, milling and maintenance work for most of the municipalities on Long Island, as well as a significant amount of private/commercial work.

In 1994, Garone bought his first LeeBoy paver — a LeeBoy 8500 from All Island Equipment. The sale represented one of the first that Gary Wade and All Island Equipment made as the new LeeBoy dealer for the area.

“We had previously owned a LeeBoy, but we had never done business with All Island Equipment, so this was a first for us,” said Garone.

From that sale, Garone’s experience with both LeeBoy and All Island Equipment clearly was a positive one as Rosemar Construction has continued to invest heavily in inventory purchased from the Long Island equipment dealer.

22

(L-R): Steven Dubner, president and founder of Steven Dubner Landscaping; Gary Wade, All Island Equipment; and Max Lituchy, vice president of Steven Dubner Landscaping.

Steven Dubner

time is money and they have never left us hanging. We’ve made a very significant investment, particularly in the Takeuchi fleet. We try to have continuity within our fleet largely because we have our own mechanics and we service and repair our own machines, whenever possible. The Takeuchi machines are easy to service and our operators tell us that they are very user friendly.”

Max Lituchy, vice president of Steven Dubner Landscaping, purchases most of the company’s inventory and he now works closely with Gary Wade and has maintained the same business and personal relationship established years before with Dubner.

“All Island Equipment gives the best service in the industry,” Lituchy said. “When you need them, they jump like nobody else. When we need something, we contact Darryl Wade [All Island Equipment’s service manager], and the response is immediate. If necessary, they pick up the piece of equipment right away and if a stand-in piece of equipment is needed, it is made available to us.

“We have a very unique relationship with Gary and All Island Equipment, and it’s based on trust … trust that they will always do the right thing,” he added. “Trust that has developed to the point where when we ask for a quote, we already know that the number he is going to give us is as good a deal as we will be able to get.” 

Among Gary Wade’s first customers when he broke into sales was Steven Dubner Landscaping.

Today, the contractor is a leader in landscape design construction and installation in the New York metropolitan area and the company has developed and installed some of the most notable projects in the region, including landscaping for the World Trade Center. With a team of more than 125 professionals, a state-of-the-art equipment fleet and a 120-acre nursery, Steven Dubner Landscaping is clearly a leader in its field.

In 1990, fresh out of high school, Wade sold Steve Dubner, president of Steven Dubner Landscaping, his first Massey Ferguson — a model 50E. On his way home, Wade wasn’t even certain that he had made a good deal because he had been put in the tough position of accepting two trades to sell a single machine. But that first sale opened the door to many others over the years.

That first sale also wasn’t the first lesson in tough negotiations that Wade would learn from Steven Dubner. In 2001, he brought Dubner a new Takeuchi track loader and left it for him to try out. A few days later, Dubner gave Wade a call to let him know how many of these machines he would sell if he gave them a really good deal. After all, Dubner said, his company was a leader in the industry and whatever he bought, everyone else would follow suit. Today, Dubner has 17 Takeuchi track loaders in its fleet, 24 Gehl skid steers, as well as multiple Kobelco excavators and a Hyundai wheeled excavator.

“From that first sale of the Massey Ferguson tractor, Gary Wade did his job very, very, very well,” said Dubner. “Over the years, I have observed Gary and learned who he is and how he runs his business. It’s very important to me to be able to have absolute trust in the people and the companies that I do business with. Gary is a man of his word and you can absolutely count on what he tells you and for that reason, I can be comfortable doing business with his company.

“Over the years, All Island Equipment has always come through for us when we have needed them,” Dubner added. “They understand that

Don & Walter Gatz Gatz Sitework and Landscape Construction Inc., an excavating contracting firm located in Long Island, was founded in 1957 by Walter Gatz. In 1988, Walter’s son, Don, joined the firm and together they grew the company to what it is today.

In 1992, Don and Walter were introduced to All Island Equipment for the first time.

“We were working on a project in Plainview [very close to All Island Equipment’s facility] and Gary Wade showed up at our site towing a trailer with a Gehl skid steer,” Don said. “He talked us into giving it a try 23

and even left the machine behind for us to demo for a few days.”

The Gatz’s were in the market for a new skid steer and wanted one with T-bar controls, which is exactly what the Gehl machine offered.

“In the early ’90s, we were still doing a lot of our excavation work the hard way, using tractor loader backhoes and crawler loaders. I kept insisting to my dad that there had to be an easier, more efficient way and the Gehl skid steer was the start of a re-education for us on a better way of excavating.”

Just a few years after purchasing the Gehl, the Gatz’s bought a Takeuchi tracked skid steer from All Island Equipment.

“Gary brought the machine to our site and challenged us to give the machine a try, and that if we did, we would never give it up, and he was absolutely right. We couldn’t believe the pushing power, the visibility, the traction and the ease of operation.

Shortly thereafter, we started using the tracked skid Don Gatz (L), president of Gatz Sitework & Landscape Construction Inc., and Kirk steers in unison with Takeuchi mini-excavators and it Mayor, sales representative of All Island Equipment. literally changed the way we address a job site.”

Since that time, All Island Equipment has become Gatz’s primary Anthony Quintal supplier, and Gary Wade has become a friend.

“Over the years, in his dealings with us, Gary has always done the In 1989, Gary Wade made his first sale — a new Hustler mower — next right thing. Whenever we have needed him, his expertise or a piece of equipment, it has always been there. Our company has grown to to a small, but growing landscape and construction firm owned by where we tackle more substantial projects that require larger pieces of Anthony Quintal.

Known today as the Quintal Group, it is now a large, diversified comequipment and All Island Equipment’s product offerings have grown to pany that does a wide variety of work on Long Island ranging from meet those needs.”

Gatz’s fleet now includes Kobelco excavators and Hitachi loaders, all major landscape projects to road work. Quintal owns a fleet of construction equipment that includes more than 20 Kobelco excavators; at least obtained from All Island.

“Certainly, a dealership is only as good as the products they offer. The a dozen each of Gehl skid steers and Takeuchi track loaders; Dynapac equipment available to us at All Island Equipment has stood the test of rollers; LeeBoy pavers; Hitachi loaders; Interstate trailers; and one of his latest purchases, a Hyundai 210 wheeled excavator. time and met our needs.”  According to Quintal, there are several reasons why All Island Equipment is his company’s primary supplier of equipment.

“The parts and service side of All Island Equipment is easy to do business with,” he said.

“Their people are always helpful, friendly, prompt and have good product knowledge. That’s a combination that’s just hard to get these days. It is rare to find a company that is small enough to care about you and big enough to service you, and that’s what All Island Equipment is all about and that’s why they are our partner in business. The brand of equipment that I purchase is somewhat important to me, but far more important is the service that we receive.

“I have never had a service issue with my purchases from All Island Equipment,” he added. “At All Island Equipment, we are treated right. If there is an issue with a manufacturer, I have the owner of the dealership getting on the phone directly with the manufacturer and going to battle for me, and the results have been in my favor every time.

“Our relationship with Gary Wade means a lot to me. He is ‘Uncle Gary’ to my three boys. I love to hear him talking about hunting and fishing with my youngest son and I can’t wait for the day that they are Gary Wade (L) with Anthony Quintal, president of the Quintal Group, stand in front making their purchases at All Island Equipment.” of a Hyundai 210 wheeled excavator 24

25

EXCAVATOR ATTACHMENTS

WHEEL LOADER ATTACHMENTS

American Made AƩachments To Build The Future www.gemattachments.com 877-769-2611

ROCK SO OLID EQUIPMEEN NT FO OR MINING AND CO ONSTRUCTION BREAKER / ATTACH M ENT DIV VISION ROCK D RILL D IVISION

Congratulations to All Island Equipment on their 50th anniversary! We’re proud to be your partner in service to the industry.

VISIT US ONLINE AT W W W. FR DUSA .C OM OR CA LL 8 0 0. 52 7. 2 2 82 .

26

27