The name Northwest Excavating

Northwest Excavating • 50th Anniversary Publication 3

The name Northwest Excavatingat first glance may seem like thename of just another contractor inthe sea of construction companiesin California today. In fact,Northwest Excavating is primarilyan operated heavy equipment rentalcompany, who also happens to havean underground utility constructiondivision and a saw cutting division.Known throughout SouthernCalifornia for 50 years as acompany contractors can count onfor only the best operators andequipment, Northwest has strived to

remain at the cutting edge year afteryear. To be in business 50 years, ormore importantly to stay in business50 years, is indeed quite a feat intoday’s chaotic business world.Northwest Excavating has not onlyaccomplished this daunting task,but they have managed to grow andexcel at a very impressive, yetcontrolled pace.

Company HistoryBob Groff is the original founder

of the Groff Family businesses andhis efforts date back more than 50years. Working in the dirt and being

around heavy machinery goes wayback in the Groff Family history.Bob Groff was raised on a farm inLancaster, Pennsylvania. As one often children, this is where he firstenjoyed the thrill of running atractor and working the ground.Later, Bob Groff and his own familymoved to California and in 1952,Bob and Helen Groff started theirvery own small equipment rentalcompany, appropriately named,Northridge Equipment Rentals.They would rent to contractorsduring the week and to homeowners

4 Northwest Excavating • 50th Anniversary Publication

on the weekend. NorthridgeEquipment Rentals remained afamily run business until it was soldin 2005.

By 1959, Bob Groff began to seea need for rental equipment thatwas available with an operator. Hedecided to pursue this new businessmodel and named the newenterprise, Northwest Compaction.Also situated in Northridge,California, the Groff ’s beganmodestly with just two backhoes, anArrow hammer, a skiploader and aGradall. During the first few years,the new venture focused primarilyon operated rental to local gradingand sewer contractors. Asconstruction equipment needsskyrocketed in the 1960’s, so didNorthwest Compaction. It wasduring this time that Bob Grofffound himself splitting timebetween Northwest Compactionand Northridge Equipment Rentals.Always conservative minded andnot one to spread himself too thin,Bob decided to sell his interest inthe operated equipment rentalcompany to his son, Howard andhis wife Sue. Bob would now devotehimself full time to NorthridgeEquipment Rentals, while leavinghis newest brainchild in the verycapable hands of his son, Howard.

Howard and Sue began to slowlyadd more equipment to their fleet.During these initial years, Howardworked all ends of the business,

(Above) Sue and Howard Groff, Owners. Sue is the President and Howard is theSecretary/Treasurer.

Strong customer loyalty combined withastute company management is what hasenabled Northwest Excavating to surviveand grow, decade after decade, in one ofthe most competitive equipment rental

markets in the United States.”

“


including equipment operator,mechanic, lowbed driver oranything else that would help hiscompany to continue to prosper.While adopting his father’sconservative approach, the companygrew at a steady pace during the1970’s and 1980’s. It was alsoduring this time that Howard andSue Groff decided to launch anunderground utilities divisiondesigned to aid in the undergroundconstruction of power andtelephone lines. Their years ofprevious experience working forunderground sewer contractorsmade for a fairly seamless transition.They started out digging trenchesand performing the backfill andcompaction by the foot for

residential contractors. Howard,would again remain hands on bydoing all of the estimating andrunning most all of the jobs himself.

In the mid 70’s the decision wasmade to re-incorporate under thename Northwest Excavating tobetter reflect the focus of thecompany’s business. Both theoperated equipment rental andunderground utility divisionscontinued to prosper during thisperiod and Howard was now able todevote most of his time to theoverall management of his company.

In 1980, Northwest Excavatinghad a fleet of 15 to 20 pieces of latemodel equipment in their rentalfleet. By the end of the 80’sconstruction was booming in

Southern California and the fleetnow included D8N dozers, 623Escrapers and other larger machines,totaling 20 to 25 pieces in all forrent. The underground utilitiesdivision was also continuing togrow and specialized in completeinstallation of communication /electrical underground power,telephone and cable televisionconduit systems, as well as completestreet lighting systems.

Armed with a strong customerbase and a reputation for the mostproductive equipment and the bestoperators in the industry, NorthwestExcavating was able to stay ahead ofits competition throughout the1990’s. While many otherequipment rental companies were

(Above) Robert Groff, Vice President. (Above) Mike Piccard, General Manager / Rental Division.


scaling back during this time,Northwest continued to growsteadily, add more machines andeven found time to add anotherdivision. From the beginning, thenew Saw Cutting division camefully equipped with state-of-the-artinstruments to provide contractorswith the latest technology in theasphalt cutting, concrete cuttingand core drilling industry.

Much was accomplishedthroughout these first 50 years andas Howard Groff himself attests,“Strong customer loyalty combinedwith astute company management iswhat has enabled NorthwestExcavating to survive and grow,decade after decade, in one of themost competitive equipment rental

markets in the United States.”Northwest Excavating is and alwayswill be a family owned business andsecond generation owner, HowardGroff was for many years anoperator himself. Howardcontinues, “In some ways I wouldstill prefer to be sitting in a cabrather than in a desk chair. I like tothink my time and experience in thefield has led to a closer and moreunderstanding relationship with ourmuch appreciated Local 12employees. Sometimes I actuallyenvy our employees.” Today,Howard jokes about the years whenhe was the youngest employee andoperator in the company. Heremembers doing everything fromoperating the equipment, to service

work and repairs, to makingdeliveries with the lowbed. Howardcontinues, “We have tremendousrespect for our operators and all ofour employees. They are the eyesand ears of the company and ourcompany is fortunate to have someof the best people in the businessworking for us.”

Equipment & MaintenanceToday, Northwest Excavating

maintains a fleet of more than 70late model machines for rent,including D8T dozers, 143Hblades, 623G scrapers, excavators,backhoes, rubber tired loaders,water trucks and much more. RonNuss is the Master Mechanic forNorthwest Excavating and has alsobeen with the company longer than

(Above) Stan Onley, Chief Estimator. (Above) Dave McIntire, Superintendent. (Above) Mark Vidinha, Dispatcher.


We have tremendousrespect for our operatorsand all of our employees.

They are the eyes and earsof the company and ourcompany is fortunate tohave some of the bestpeople in the business

working for us.”

“

(Above L-R) Sylvia Herrera, Underground OfficeAccounting Clerk; Jane Sotto, Controller and EdnaDeleon, Underground Office Accounting Clerk.

(Above L-R) Ron Nuss,Head Mechanic; CharlieTate, Welder; AngelPlascencia, Mechanic andRob Lugo, Mechanic.


most other employees. Roncomments, “Our customers want tosee the best and newest machinespossible on their jobsites. They alsowant only the best and mostexperienced operators. AtNorthwest, we make sure that this iswhat they get each and every timethey use our services.” ForNorthwest Excavating customers,this equates to more than justhaving nice shiny machines on thejob, it means having equipment thatwill produce more in less time. Ronexplains, “When a customer calls,we can provide them with the bestmachines on the market. The longera job goes on, the more money wecan save a customer. There are two

main reasons why we offer only thelatest in equipment offerings andthat is to satisfy our customersdemands and to meet stateregulations. Approximately 20% ofour fleet is currently made up ofTier III machines while many ofour other machines are equippedwith devices like diesel particulatefilters, which help keep uscompliant and clean burning.”

Northwest Excavating purchasesmost of their equipment from theirlocal Caterpillar dealer, QuinnCompany. Howard Groff has this tosay about the equipment theyutilize, “We consider several brandsto be solid and competent, but thething about Caterpillar that

surpasses all others is theirunprecedented service, product andparts support. There is nothingmore important than keeping ourmachines up and running at alltimes for our customers.Caterpillar’s response time withparts and service is almostimmediate. We also have 15 JohnDeere backhoes and three JohnDeere 650J dozers that wepurchased from CoastlineEquipment. We are a John DeereSignature Series customer, whichmeans we get special pricing andspecial service. We simply can’tafford downtime, Caterpillar andJohn Deere make sure we stay upand running.”

(Above) Richard Marshall, Rental SalesConsultant.

(Above) Al Holzer, Underground SalesConsultant.

(Above) Cecille Bandalaria, Rental OfficeManager.

Our customers want to see the best and newest machinespossible on their jobsites. They also want only the best and mostexperienced operators. At Northwest, we make sure that this is

what they get each and every time they use our services.”“


Ron Nuss is also very quick topoint out that the Groff ’s reinvestwholeheartedly back into the serviceof their equipment. Ron explains,“Howard Groff puts back into thecompany what he gets out, whichallows us to keep all of ourmachines at optimum performance.We have the latest technology whenit comes to computer diagnostics.The engine, transmission andhydraulic systems are all computercontrolled in machines today. It’snot just wrenches, welders andhammers these days, it’s aboutlaptop computers and the specialsoftware it takes to diagnose amachine and keep us aware ofeverything from fuel consumptionto production history. Every one of

our service trucks is equipped withcomputers and the latest softwareand that doesn’t come cheap, but itis necessary to remain on top in thiscompetitive industry.”

Northwest Excavating performsall of their own maintenance serviceand heavy repairs right from theirstate-of-the-art shop in Northridge,California. Everything from fixing aminor electrical problem torebuilding pumps and hydraulics, aswell as motors and transmissions,they do it all. In addition tomaintaining all of the right toolsand equipment, NorthwestExcavating also offers engineeringand fabricating services. Forinstance, Northwest engineers andfabricates all of their own

slopeboard hydraulic circuits. If acustomer needs a special attachmentto accomplish a certain job, theywill engineer a solution to helpthem get the job done right. “Oursales staff is there on the job site tohelp our customers customize theirequipment to meet their specificneeds. With Northwest they havethe best machine, the best operatorand the maintenance andengineering needed to finish theirjob with maximum profitability”,adds Ron Nuss.

Northwest ExcavatingManagement Team

The current management team ismade up of individuals who sharethe same commitment to quality,service and professionalism that the


founders of Northwest Excavatinghave exhibited for 50 years. Leadingthe way is Howard Groff ’s son,Robert Groff. Robert has beenoverseeing the business in theposition of Vice President for 11years and will one day represent thethird generation to own and operateNorthwest Excavating. He grew uparound the business and remembersspending weekends working andplaying in the office, while hisfather caught up on work. He alsoremembers the time he spentworking on the underground utilitycrew, where he learned what a hardday’s work is really all about. Buthis life has not always been aboutthe equipment rental industry.

Robert spent several years as aprofessional race car driver. Hestarted out in all the stepping stoneseries and racing circuits, which leadto racing in the Indy 500 in 1997for McCormack Motor Sports.Robert comments, “I enjoyed mytime in racing and was able to learna lot about relating to people andthe importance of dedication andhard work. One day the risk justseemed to outweigh the reward andI made the decision that it was timeto go back to our family business.I’m really glad I did. My father hastaught me so much about life andthis business. I want to keep intactwhat has gotten us to this point sofar, and I plan on working hard

every day to make sure we stay ontop. I subscribe to a sort of “Field ofDreams” approach. That is “if youbuild it (and build it well), they willcome (and continue to use yourservices)”. What I mean is, if we putthe best business infrastructurepossible together, then ourcustomers will recognize this andcontinue to trust us with theirbusiness. This means hiring andkeeping only the best people andmaintaining only the bestequipment. This also requires thewillingness to diversify in order togo the distance. I truly believe thatif a company does not continue toevolve today, they will most likelynot be here tomorrow. We plan on


being here tomorrow and for thenext 50 years.”

In addition to Robert Groff,Northwest Excavating is lead bysome of the best people in theindustry. Rental Division GeneralManager, Mike Piccard for instancespent several years as the productsupport representative for the localCaterpillar dealer. He brought aworld of knowledge about CATproducts and their maintenancewith him, which has proved to beinvaluable to NorthwestExcavating’s growth. Everyone singleteam member from the Chief

Estimator to the Field SalesRepresentatives work together tomake sure of one thing and that istheir customers satisfaction.

ConclusionThroughout the past 50 years,

Northwest Excavating has builtlasting relationships with both largeand small companies. Thesecompanies include some ofCalifornia’s most respected homebuilders and developers, as well asamusement park icons. They haveeven supplied operated equipmentto the entertainment industry wheretheir services have helped to

produce an impressive list ofHollywood movies, like WaterWorld and Jurassic Park: The LostWorld. Bob Groff ’s originalphilosophy continues to guideNorthwest Excavating into thefuture, “To provide our customerswith the latest, most productiveequipment and the best operators inthe industry.” It is certain that bothHoward and Robert Groff will doeverything in their power to makesure that their father andgrandfather’s words of wisdomcontinue to guide their company forthe next 50 years and beyond.

The name Northwest Excavating

Documents

Transcript of The name Northwest Excavating