From the Ground Up

Peed Equipment Co.
Written by Robert Hoshowsky

In 1982, a longtime heavy equipment operator, Dennis M. Peed, started the Peed Equipment Company with the vision of “rebuilding D9H dozers from the frame up.” What he did build was an exemplary equipment-rental company specializing in heavy construction and mining.

Sadly passing away in 2006, Dennis M. Peed left a legacy that lives on in his company.

With locations in Temecula, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, the business remains solidly in family hands. David Peed, the youngest son of the founder, having learned the ropes from his dad and mother Carolyn back in the day, is today company President.

Carolyn, who played a vital role in the company’s success from day one, still handles accounting, while David’s son Dylan, representing the third generation in the business, started working at the company recently.

Going green
Peed Equipment Co.’s selection of equipment is impressive.

With a highly trained staff of 110, Peed can answer all and any questions with its fleet, which includes Tier 3- and Tier 4-powered CAT 657/E G scrapers, CAT 992G/K wheel loaders, CAT 6015B excavators, and CAT 777F/G haul trucks, along with motor graders, water trucks, crawler dozers, wheel dozers, and compactors. Depending on the model, some equipment is available with GPS.

“We focus on heavy construction and mining,” says Operations Manager Ken Rudenski, “and the average machine cost is between $1 million and $2 million dollars. We have the best machines with the best uptime, which translates into more production and cost savings.”

Acknowledging the global need to reduce carbon emissions, Peed Equipment made the voluntary decision several years ago to go green to benefit the environment.

Switching from diesel-powered engines to Cat’s ACERT (Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology), the new engines are more efficient, cleaner fuel burning, and produce less noise than their traditional counterparts.

By converting 100 percent of its diesel engines to ACERT, the company’s fleet has a lower cost per hour, better performance, improved fuel savings, and is Tier 3 and Tier 4 compliant in California.

“We were one of the very first companies to start re-powering our machines back when California started to introduce their government help programs,” says Rudenski, who has handled all of Peed’s daily operations and project contracts for the past five years.

“And ever since, we have been one of the top leaders and still are at the front of that march with one of the largest – if not already the largest – fleet of Tier 4 Final 657 scrapers. We currently have over 20 Tier 4 Final CAT 657 scrapers, and are constantly working on the next one as well as some of our other equipment like the CAT 777F haul trucks where half of our fleet of 30 trucks is already up to Tier 4 compliance.”

Continuing to expand, Peed Equipment invested in additional new 775G and 777G haul trucks and support to add to its mining fleet.

Adding a new office in Las Vegas to help with its growing out-of-state business, the company can go anywhere to meet customer needs, including all over the United States, Canada, and even down into Mexico. And along with new buying new machinery, the company has made some recent personnel changes to help serve its customers and crews better. This includes promoting Tony Albitre to equipment supervisor. With years of experience leading the company’s field technicians, Albitre’s knowledge of the industry is unsurpassed.

Rentals, maintenance, and more
Competitive pricing, decades of combined experience, and outstanding customer service are just a few of the reasons customers keep coming back to Peed Equipment for their heavy equipment rentals.

With the company already supplying scrapers, loaders, excavators, haul trucks and other machinery to clients working on coal mines, natural gas power plants, dams, highways, landfills, and other projects, there is literally no job too big or too small for Peed.

To complement its heavy equipment rentals, the company also supplies mechanical staff and job trailers on-site, “with the abilities to build Cat and non-Cat hoses (and spare parts / components) to ensure maximum availability and production on your project,” according to its website.

And depending on client and project needs, Peed Equipment’s options include providing skilled operators.

In the event of mechanical issues, Peed maintains a huge inventory of parts, ensuring timely, reliable repairs for customers, and as little downtime as possible. Peed maintains a supply of larger pieces such as engines and transmissions along with rebuilt components, enabling the company to swap out items if needed.

Safety first
At Peed Equipment, safety remains high on the list.

Employees are not only skilled in their particular discipline, but most have received MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) and OHSA 10 (Occupation Safety & Health Administration) training, which is delivered by authorized OSHA Outreach Trainers.

Through strict protocols and a crusading belief that accidents can be eliminated, the company keeps improving its safety record with every job.

“Safety is always our first priority,” says Rudenski. “You must think and plan before any task. Everything we deal with here daily is heavy and on a large scale, so doing something too quickly or getting complacent can get you into trouble real quick.

“All of our mechanics and a large percentage of our operators are MSHA and OSHA trained and get retrained at least once a year, with supplemental training throughout the year as tasks change or there are updates.” Safety never sleeps, and Peed Equipment strives to ensure that all employees are protected.

Substantial projects
This year alone, Peed Equipment has tackled several big works, requiring the use of a pair of 657E scrapers in Arizona; mining for gold with a 6015B hydraulic excavator; and a Cat 390F LME excavator working on some newly blasted white calcium carbonate.

The company is seeing an increase in sectors including construction and mining. With soaring gold prices likely to go up 11.5 percent this year alone to $1,974 US an ounce, Peed Equipment expects continued growth on mining sites across the United States.

Busy with new projects every day, Peed is working in Southern and Northern California, throughout Nevada and the Reno area, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina right now.

For the company, they are all exciting jobs ranging in scale from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of cubic yards being moved. With a reputation for quality machinery and service, Peed looks forward to expanding its operations in the coming years.

“We have the best equipment backed by the best service,” says Rudenski. “Peed Equipment is a small company with a big fleet, and we take pride in our machines and the work we do. With the highest production numbers and lowest equipment downtime we let our reputation speak for itself. We are very grateful for our long-term loyal customers, and are always looking to work with new ones so give us a call any time.”

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