Lyle Machinery Co.

Written by Mary-Jaimes Serrano Produced by Stephen Marino

Lyle Machinery has made a name for itself as a leader in heavy equipment since its renaming in 2005. However, their passion for providing clients with premier service and top-rated equipment started over fiftyfive years ago. President of Lyle Machinery, Dan Lyle, attributes his passion to his father. Dan’s father, John, started the original company after working for and then taking an ownership stake in Cat, Deere, and eventually Komatsu dealership. Dan Lyle used his hands-on approach to take what his father started and continued its growth into the multi-state success it is today with over 200 employees, projected revenues of over $250 million, and more than 60% year-over-year growth in the sales of heavy equipment. Located in Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama, and currently working in twenty-three states as part of the Energy Sector business, Lyle Machinery is helping clients across the south to keep their projects moving forward.

Equipped for Success

Lyle Machinery has grown from a tractor company to one that carries all the big names in heavy equipment. They have contracts with major companies, including Komatsu, Wirtgen, HAMM, Vogle, Link-Belt Cranes, Sennebogen,

Bobcat, Load King Trailers, JLG, TerraMac, Bergmann, Tana, GEHL, and Cement Tech, just to name a few of the many.

While they started with tractors, Lyle Machinery has expanded to cover everything needed for heavy construction, compact construction, energy, pipeline, material handling, ports, scrap, and much more. They have excavators, dozers, wheel loaders, cranes, compactors, track loaders, lifts, pavers, and crawler carriers. All the necessities for any project are available for purchase, rent, or leasing.

Service Beyond Sales: Logistics and Finance

“At our core, we are really a logistics and finance company. While the traditional brick-andmortar is certainly still needed, the ability to mobilize the correct fleet, service, personnel, parts, hauling, etc., to different areas of the country is a key to our business—

especially in the interstate energy, rail, and transmission sectors. Finance is the other key component. Structuring the deal so that it best fits the customer’s short and longterm needs, balance sheet and cash flow, tax benefits, and organizational goals,” explained Marc Dowdell, Vice President of Sales.

“The ability to do things still on a handshake or verbal, and then obviously in today’s date and age of the document and signed contracts.”

- Vice President of Sales, Marc Dowdell

Lyle Machinery continues to work hard to ensure they uphold their mission of offering their clients what they need at the best value and with an exemplary customer experience. This is accomplished by working with the finest manufacturers in the industry and utilizing the latest technology to ensure clients are given the best value for their purchases.

While it is the first thing that comes to mind, sales and rentals are not even the tip of what Lyle Machinery offers its customers. Beyond the salesroom, they provide parts and services for all their equipment. Whether it is a machine that has malfunctioned

or a part that has worn out, they will take care of it and get the equipment back in prime shape with minimal downtime.

Leveraging technologies like Komtrax and Intelligent Machine Control, Lyle Machinery takes heavy equipment to the next level. Telematics on every piece of heavy equipment from Lyle Machinery affords them the opportunity to take their services beyond sales, parts, and support. It allows them to monitor equipment for error codes and also offers the ability to monitor job site progress and production. In this way, they keep their clients’ sites working better, improving productivity and

A partnership in protection

EPG is proud to partner with Lyle Machinery to provide heavy equipment insurance and extended service protection plans for the construction industry.

reducing costs by harvesting data related to machine performance, productivity, operator efficiency, and job site progression in realtime. Often times enabling them to solve a problem or improve operator training remotely without having a tech onsite.

Empowering Team Members

At Lyle Machinery, every employee understands that a client’s time is precious. Every minute they are in the sales room is time they are away from their projects. With this in mind, the company trains all its employees with the tools they need to meet a client’s needs in the most efficient manner possible.

This training includes Six Sigma for all operations and branch personnel. Also, looking for and implementing new processes, including ERP systems, paperwork, quotations, and follow-up.

The first step in this process is a centralized approach. Each member is dedicated to their specific area, whether sales, support, transport, or something else, allowing them to concentrate all of their efforts on improving the service they provide while still understanding how the other departments work. This, accompanied by an open and transparent line of communication with other departments, gives Lyle

Machinery an edge in keeping up with competitors and constant changes in the industry.

Another key element to the success of Lyle Machinery’s mission to provide its customers with the best experience possible is provided through technology and the empowerment of its employees. Utilizing Komtrax Telematics, the company has designed a reporting system where each salesperson is equipped with up-to-date pricing calculated daily to include depreciation and changes. Thereby, each sales rep knows what every piece of equipment costs at any moment.

With all the information they need and empowerment to make decisions, sales reps can minimize the time a customer has to be away from their projects to procure heavy equipment.

Knowledge is a tool every sales rep is armed with at Lyle Machinery. With over sixty years of experience, every representative is taught the questions to ask to offer the customer the equipment and purchase options that meet their needs and budget. They know how to take this information and offer precise selections that suit the client’s job requirements.

Vice President of Sales Marc

Dowdell explains that it is generally recommended that customers purchase their “core fleet.” These are the machines that the company needs on a constant basis to run daily operations. Lyle Machinery understands that whether these machines are purchased new or used can depend on how they will be utilized. It ensures that these are included in the questions asked. Also included in this decision is a discussion of the benefits of both new or used, the tax, depreciation, and other financial aspects of each piece of equipment. This is just one of the advantages of working with a company that takes the time to understand the needs of each of its customers rather than just working

to make a sale.

Beyond this, Dowdell offers a breakdown of other recommendations. If a project is short-term, renting the equipment needed would be advantageous. However, if the auxiliary project will be long-term, his recommendation may include leasing as the costefficient alternative to renting. The more information they can gather on the customer’s global business needs, the better prepared they are to share different proposals to meet those needs. Ensuring that each customer is heard and understood contributes to the success of Lyle Machinery and the partners it creates with every customer.

Ensuring Manpower

With everything riding on their employees giving clients the best customer experience available, Lyle Machinery understands the need to have the best team members. For this reason, they offer their employees the appreciation and recognition they deserve by giving them rewards which sometimes include company fishing trips, assistance, and college incentives, among other

tokens to say thank you.

Technicians are a vital part of Lyle Machinery’s success. For this reason, they offer a college program with paid tuition, summer jobs, and promises of employment after graduation. They also hire recent college graduates and rotate them throughout different departments of the company to train them and find the best position to fit their skills. Ensuring employees are prepared and

“It’s a very, very difficult industry. That’s a lot of hard. But the people are great and loyal.”

- Vice President of Sales, Marc Dowdell

customers get knowledgeable partners to help them with their equipment needs.

Safety Measures

Safety is a vital part of daily work when dealing with heavy machinery. As Marc Dowdell explained, “safety is not a big deal. It’s the deal.” For this reason, all Lyle Machinery employees are trained on the latest safety measures. The safety manager observes procedures daily to ensure these measures are followed throughout the company. This adherence to safety extends in all areas, from the top level to field services.

Relations for Success

One final aspect that Lyle Machinery contributes to its success is the relationships it builds with its customers and manufacturers. While VP of Sales Marc Dowdell admits that the industry requires hard work, he confesses that the people and relationships make it all worthwhile. He furthers that Lyle Machinery builds lasting relationships with customers and manufacturers by keeping an open and transparent line of communication with all involved, including manufacturers, company reps, and clients.

While supply chain issues have been causing record problems

recently, Lyle Machinery understands the necessity to inform clients of any delays in procurement and delivery. They also know that a customer can’t make an informed decision without all the specifics. In this respect, they ensure that they give their client’s all the available information regarding their needed parts or services. This information includes delivery times, possible price increases, and even shortages in supply. Transparency allows them to build lasting relationships of trust with everyone they work with. Helping fulfill their mission of offering the best customer experience to every client.

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