Three-way street

The link between an equipment manufacturer and its customers should be strong, verging on the interdependent. A scrap or demolition company is only as productive, safe and efficient as the tools it brings to the job, while an equipment manufacturer relies on its customers’ feedback and input to ensure steady product development and improvement.

Add to that mix the role of the equipment dealer for service and support, and you have an apt description of the symbiotic relationship enjoyed by North Carolina-based D.H. Griffin Cos., Genesis Attachments and Linder Industrial Machinery. These mainstays, serving the recycling, demolition and construction realm, appreciate how they complement each other. With each bit of performance-related feedback, each product refinement, each info-gathering visit from R&D, these companies take that relationship—and their respective companies—to the next level.

The Griffin flies

With a six-decade history, the D.H. Griffin name is recognizable immediately as one of the largest multifunctional organizations in the South and mid-Atlantic U.S. Boasting more than 1,000 employees, the company excels in a range of disciplines, including demolition and recycling, as well as infrastructure, emergency services, environmental remediation, industrial contracting and asset recovery/recycling.

Photo courtesy of Genesis Attachments/
Trojak Communications 

That depth of work demands equipment—sometimes highly specialized equipment—that has resulted in a massive, companywide inventory, John Conrad, D.H. Griffin’s equipment manager, says.

“We own and operate more than 1,100 pieces of equipment, machines and attachments,” he says. “That does not include anything with a title, no rolling stock, no skid-steer forks or things of that nature. That is strictly serial-numbered whole goods, and there’s a whole lot of it. But that inventory—and the support behind it—helped us get to where we are today and keeps us there.”

Performance  . . .  plus

Griffin’s fleet currently includes more than 100 hydraulic excavator attachments (with more on order). Of those, a considerable percentage are from Genesis Attachments, Superior, Wisconsin. In addition, the company uses scores of mechanical linkage units, half of which also carry the Genesis brand. The reason for that preference, Conrad says, dates back 20 years and stems as much from support as the attachment’s performance itself. 

“At that time, we were one of the biggest users of a different brand of attachments,” he says. “However, that company was going through some major corporate changes, which started impacting their delivery dates. This happened to be during a period when we desperately needed attachments. So, we turned to Genesis, who figured out a way to meet our needs and I haven’t forgotten that. That was the beginning of what has become a very successful relationship between our organizations.”

Conrad adds, however, that other factors, including the technology itself, affirmed the decision to migrate away from the company’s original equipment supplier. That included a sense that R&D efforts were not a priority for that supplier at that time.

“I got a definite impression that their mindset was to maintain the status quo and little more,” he says. “This was at a time when we were looking for ways to improve the workflow, tighten efficiencies [and] become an all-around better company. Simply put, they underestimated our needs, but it ultimately ended up benefiting us.”

Mutually beneficial

The interdependency between D.H. Griffin and Genesis has played a pivotal role in some of the innovations that are now standard on many products in the manufacturer’s line. Conrad says the nature of D.H. Griffin’s business, which involves “making little pieces out of big ones—quickly,” is the ideal proving ground for product enhancements, and it’s been working with Genesis for years now to help bring those about

“Their representatives and engineers have visited many of our jobs—we have 15 different divisions in seven states—to talk to our operators to get a better feel for what might be needed,” he says.

Photo courtesy of Genesis Attachments/Trojak Communications

Conrad adds that, when standard configurations of the machine or attachment won’t do, he knows he has the support at the dealer and manufacturer level to make the necessary changes—some of which can be substantial.

“I like to tell people that we have specialized machines, then we have unicorns, and then we have speckled albino unicorns,” he says. “Without giving away any trade secrets, suffice it to say that, with the help of Genesis and Linder, we have some incredibly expensive, one-off machines that we have customized to help give us the competitive edge we have today.”

The art of the dealer

The final component to this relationship triad, Linder Industrial Equipment, with locations in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, is one of the largest Komatsu dealerships in the U.S.—helped to no small degree by D.H. Griffin’s inventory of machines that numbers in the triple digits. While the sheer size of such a fleet might ordinarily test the bonds between dealer and customer, it instead has strengthened them, Michael Moore, Linder’s mainline salesman, says.

“This relationship goes back probably a quarter century or more to D.H. Griffin himself, the company’s founder,” he said. “ We genuinely enjoy the relationship we have and work hard to maintain it.”

Those efforts can include hands-on, personalized treatment in terms of equipment orders—a practice that has taken on new meaning given issues like supply-chain interruptions and the like, says Richard Fikis, Linder’s vice president of sales for the Carolinas.

“Symbiotic is probably a very good word for describing the interworking and trust between our three companies,” he adds. “It's strong enough that we are allowed to ‘peek behind the curtain’ a bit to know what Griffin’s midterm equipment needs are. That, in turn, allows us to work with Genesis on their build schedules so that everybody's satisfied with the direction we have for the next six to nine months. When the supply chain crunch was really impacting operations—it’s improved somewhat as businesses have learned how to plan better—having those conversations was key to ensuring that Griffin’s operation could maintain production and growth.”

Attached to great partners

Genesis Attachments values the close relationships they’ve developed with Linder and Griffin.

“Linder has been an outstanding partner for us throughout the mid-Atlantic and Florida regions, not just with D.H. Griffin but with the full scope of customers they serve,” says Justin Palvere, Genesis director of North American sales. “And we are obviously very fortunate to have D.H. Griffin as a key account; the breadth of work they do affords us a valuable opportunity to partner with them as new technologies are introduced or evolve.”