A Georgia contracting firm expanded its services to include earthmoving, unlocking new opportunities. With the power of DEVELON heavy equipment, they’re meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations.
Timmy and Travis Marsh worked for decades in Georgia and South Carolina. The brothers performed a variety of contracting work and specialized in vertical construction — metal buildings and red-iron projects.
Business was good for the Marsh family, but opportunities to grow the company by adding new services kept the brothers thinking about expanding. Approximately five years ago, the brothers rebranded their company as Marsh Construction Services. They decided to add site preparation to their portfolio, but knew they needed some outside expertise in this area. Enter Jason Dunn. With more than 35 years of construction experience, Jason brought a wealth of knowledge about site work and earthmoving to the company.
Marsh Construction Services is a licensed contractor authorized to perform work on underground utilities in both South Carolina and Georgia. Versatility is key to the company’s success. Their experience includes a variety of services: land clearing, underground construction, worksite development for new commercial projects, including restaurants and hotels, and an expansion for a local RV park.
Jason oversees the site development projects and manages a fleet of more than two dozen pieces of heavy and compact construction equipment, some wheeled and some tracked. When he joined Marsh Construction Services, he brought with him some ideas for ways the company could enhance its equipment, such as installing grade control on its dozers. Doing so helped the firm reduce wasted materials and fees as it embraced the new equipment technology that helped operators perform grading tasks more accurately.
Site Development 101
Much of the earthmoving equipment owned by Marsh Construction Services is operated by employees performing site development. Jason says each project is different, but for the most part, the company follows a standard process, save larger projects for the Department of Defense or the Federal Aviation Administration. First is erosion control; then crews clear a property of existing buildings, trees or both. From there, Jason and his team start the development process by installing storm drainage, new water or sanitary and sewer, whatever the project requires. Next is the earthwork portion that may involve mass grading. If necessary, operators will dig ponds to obtain material for the grading or obtain it from another source and haul it to the job site.
“Once the foundation is in place, that’s when we start the process of paving,” Jason says. “Whether it’s a large-scale parking lot or it’s going to be an area that we develop or provide for a customer to build a vertical structure, you have to start everything from the ground up.”
Final steps normally include curb and gutter work and stormwater runoff systems. The company installs signage, stripes the parking lot and landscapes the area.
Savannah Port Expansion
Savannah is home to one of the largest and busiest ports in the United States. It rivals those found in Southern California and the Northeast. Tim Brady, CFO for Marsh Construction Services, says the construction in the Savannah area is nonstop. He says the greater Savannah area, as far as 75 miles from the city, is enjoying tremendous economic growth.
“There’s constant expansion and upgrading at the port,” Tim says.
An increase in imports brought by container ships coming into the port is driving the growth. The proximity of the port to two interstate highways and two Class 1 railroads makes the Port of Savannah a popular hub for logistics.
In addition to the increase in Georgia port activity, there is a need for new warehouses to store incoming materials. Along Interstate 16, which connects Savannah to Macon, Georgia, and areas near Interstate 95, construction companies are clearing land and providing space for future storage. Additional developments will include commercial services that you’d expect along the interstate highways. All of this is welcome news for Marsh Construction Services.
According to a story that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, logistics jobs related to the Savannah port have doubled statewide in the past 20 years. The story also states that “billions in new infrastructure projects … are in the works.” The goal of the Georgia Ports Authority is to grow its capacity “from 7.5 million shipping containers a year today to 9.5 million annually in the next three years.”
Dealer Partner
Much of the success that Marsh Construction Services has achieved derives from its knowledge of the construction industry, fleet management and adoption of new technologies for the company’s equipment. In addition, a strong partnership with their local equipment dealers plays an important role in its continued success. One of those dealers is Dynamic Equipment in Savannah.
“The staff has been very responsive, very accommodating,” Tim says. “We originally were renting equipment, which led to some leases. During the past year, we’ve converted a lot of the leases into purchases.”
Jason echoes Tim’s sentiments about the support from the employees at Dynamic Equipment.
“They typically go out of their way to make sure that if we are in need of a piece of equipment, they find it and they provide it for us,” Jason says.
This partnership with Dynamic Equipment led to an introduction to DEVELON construction equipment, namely a DL220-5 wheel loader. Jason’s operators tried the wheel loader and tested its lift and movement capabilities. They were curious how the machine would perform in the famous Georgia red clay.
“It was almost a match made in heaven, as far as us needing that wheel loader, based on our capabilities,” Jason says.
“The DL220-5 is a good intermediate-size machine, because we utilize a wheel loader more for moving pipe and precast concrete structures than for dirt. It’s far more efficient and practical than larger machines.”
An important feature of the wheel loader is its hydraulic quick coupler, which allows operators to change non-hydraulic attachments like buckets and pallet forks without leaving the cab.
“The bucket and a quick coupler with pallet forks are paramount when you’re laying pipe,” Jason says. “We use the wheel loader bucket to pick up dirt spoils or when we’re fine grading aggregate and need to pick up the excess.”
In addition to the machine’s versatility and size, Jason points to some other features that stand out.
“I like the view from the cab and the open sides, where the operator has virtually 360-degree vision plus the rearview camera,” he says. “The thing that all of the operators talked about once they figured it out was the downshift mode as you’re moving stockpile material; you’ve got the ability to turn it on and off. It kind of fits the operator and their speed, and that’s one feature that we know of that doesn’t exist on any other equipment that we own.
“The thing that stands out with the DL220-5 versus our other wheel loader is the efficiency of the diesel exhaust fluid. It’s 50% less consumption than our other machine — that is a huge savings.”
Marsh’s Biggest Project
The biggest construction project to date for Marsh Construction Services is a 15-acre Port Fuel Center, which Jason says kept the DEVELON wheel loader busy.
“We had more than 3,000 feet of concrete pipe to install, and another 6,000 feet of water and sewer to install,” he says. “We hauled in over 100,000 cubic yards of material, over 400,000 square feet of concrete pavement and did close to 9,000 square feet of asphalt paving.
“We were a subcontractor to the prime contractor on the project, but they were great to work with, and hopefully, the project will be a success because it’s a large truck stop right in the heart of Georgia ports.”
ROC Trip Confirms Decision
The opportunity to travel to Arizona and visit The DEVELON Real Operation Center (The ROC) confirmed Jason’s decision to purchase the DL220-5 wheel loader. He says that after having worked in the construction industry for more than 35 years, it was the first time he had ever been able to attend an event hosted by a manufacturer.
“I left there with not only a better understanding of the DEVELON equipment, but also the comfort level of sitting in the seat and utilizing that piece of equipment for what it’s designed for,” Jason says.
Get the scoop on DEVELON wheel loaders.
It was almost a match made in heaven, as far as us needing that wheel loader, based on our capabilities.