E.R. Lewis Construction Company, located in Pitt County, North Carolina, has been in business for more than 60 years. Starting out as a small, family-owned business with only a handful of machines, the company has evolved into a force that has tackled everything from agricultural development and subdivisions, to commercial work and highways. The company was founded in 1958 by Eldridge R. Lewis. In its early days, his son Harvey would go to school in the mornings and work for his father in the afternoons. It’s been a way of life for him ever since.

“If you do it in the dirt, we do it,” says Harvey Lewis, president, E.R. Lewis.

Wilcoxen Construction is an earthmoving and demolition company based in Avon, Illinois. The business was founded in 1991, but Richard Wilcoxen has been moving dirt since he was a young man. “When I was a kid I used to run around with the tractor and loader and try and build and fix wash-outs and dry dams,” he explains. “Then I got a bulldozer and just got bigger and bigger. I just like being outside and playing in the dirt.”

Wilcoxen owns a fleet of earthmoving equipment including dozers, excavators, CTLs and backhoes, and as an owner-operator he covers a lot of ground. “We do lot of farm work, [earthen] dams and terraces. We’ve built quite a few ponds this year. We’ve done room additions. We’ve done large building demolition. We do septic tanks. We pour some concrete—a little bit of everything.”

One of the best ways to ensure overall health, productivity and reliability of a machine—either new or used—throughout the course of its lifetime is through investing in a planned maintenance contract. These contracts allow an equipment owner to opt for agreed-to servicing with manufacturer-approved parts, fluids and components, at agreed-to intervals. A planned maintenance contract also provides peace of mind for the owner and/or fleet manager—it’s simply one less thing to worry about.

Equipment owners want to protect their investments, minimize total cost of ownership and make sure that they are getting all they can out of a machine. Proper servicing at regular intervals—particularly when a machine is brand new—improves its life expectancy, and ensures that a machine is going to perform reliably throughout the course of its lifetime.

The SV340, CASE Construction Equipment’s largest, most powerful skid steer loader to date, has been honored with a 2016 Innovative Iron Award from Compact Equipment.

The awards are presented annually, highlighting the most inventive off-highway equipment, diesel engines, hand tools and OEM services and systems released to the market. According to the magazine, “with a serious shortage of skilled workers, contractors are specifically searching for the most innovative machinery to help offset workforce woes and increase production and performance.”