Who would have thought?

While still a teenager attending college at the University of Maine, Howard Fraser got bitten by the bug…the backhoe bug that is. “I can still remember how much I enjoyed that early opportunity to climb up on a backhoe and go to work,” he says today from his office at Carrier Corp., in Syracuse, NY.

A Carrier employee for 30 years, by day Howard is the company’s head of commercial engineering. This story is about what he does when he’s not engineering commercial cooling systems. While the story began in those teenage years, today it’s about preparing for his retirement years.

“Mine is a small, one man contracting business,” he says. He operates it from his home in New Woodstock, NY. About one year ago he stopped by Monroe Tractor’s Syracuse Branch and spoke with Wade Marvin, district manager. “It was obvious from the start,” says Marvin, “that Howard was an experienced shopper who had honed those skills over his 30 years at Carrier. He’d end up with what I call the “Swiss Army Knife” of backhoes.”

As you read, you’ll come to appreciate Marvin’s analogy.

It happens that at the same time Howard was recalling his earliest days at the controls of a backhoe, Case, the originator of the backhoe, was getting ready to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its introduction of the dedicated backhoe. February 2007 marked the company’s introduction of the world’s first factory-integrated tractor loader/backhoe.

One of many Case firsts, the Case 320 was the first loader/backhoe purpose-built at the plant for construction applications. Before that, contractors had made-do using farm tractors with loader attachments and sometimes jury-rigged backhoe attachments. Case has led the industry ever since.

Howard quickly narrowed his search to Monroe Tractor’s Case product. “I liked the Case design,” he recalls, “And, they’d been in business a long time and obviously they really knew backhoes.” On top of that the first backhoe he had owned was a 20-year old Case backhoe. That’s what he was replacing.

“I’m looking forward to contracting as my full-time retirement occupation after Carrier,” said Howard. “So, as that date gets closer, I’m seeking to get my equipment bought and paid for.”

Like most contractors, he doesn’t want to have to invest in “every piece of equipment known to mankind.” The more he can get out of one piece the better. The Case 50th Anniversary 580SM loader/backhoe stood ready to fill the bill. All that was needed was someone to work with him who was knowledgeable. He found that someone in Wade Marvin, whose many years in sales would be helpful as Howard worked his way through the decisions that would lead to the piece of equipment he’d take home.

“This is where my Swiss Army Knife analogy comes in,” says Marvin. Howard began with hydraulic couplers on both the loader and the backhoe and auxiliary hydraulic lines on the backhoe for use with optional – things like a hydraulic thumb or pole auger. Then he added auxiliary hydraulic and electrical lines to the loader to make it possible to run attachments like a broom. The hydraulic couplers give him quick connect/disconnect ability so he can easily drop a 2-foot bucket for example and replace it with a 1-foot bucket. Starting to get the picture?

“I wanted it loaded,” says Howard and loaded it would be. His 580SM incorporates 4-wheel drive, an “extendahoe” to give the backhoe an extra four-foot reach, and the upgraded and quieter cab.

Let’s not stop here. What good is a “Swiss knife-loader/backhoe” if it doesn’t have the Powershift transmission and the Ride Control actuator that cushions your load from the full impact of machine bounce when moving from one area of a job site to another? Finally, we think, Howard appreciates the narrow track advantage of the 580SM that allows him to work in tight spaces. To assure stability on side hills and other unstable situations Howard added special rims (that will give him a wider track) and wider outriggers (stabilizers).

Howard wrapped everything up in one of Case’s low interest financing packages and sat back to await its arrival from the factory. When his “knife’ arrived at Monroe’s shop the shop guys could only say WOW!” according to Marvin.

That’s an important observation. After all, it’s people like Randy Menter in Parts, Al Simmons in Service, Kathie Barnes, sales administrator, and Dave Fassinger in the shop who, in Marvin’s words, are the artists in our branch who make sure everything is just so…who day to day step up to meet the customers’ needs. “These guys are on a first name basis with our customers and when they’re impressed, that’s saying something.”

For more information visit www.MonroeTractor.com
or call the Monroe Tractor sales office nearest you:
Henrietta, NY: 585-334-3867; Buffalo, NY: 716-681-7100; or Syracuse, NY: 315-452-0000.

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