Witch Equipment Company, a Ditch Witch dealer with locations in Dallas/Fort Worth and Waco, is not your ordinary rental store. In addition to renting certain Ditch Witch products, it sells a significant amount of compact equipment (Under 50 HP) to both national and independent rental stores.
“We avoid competing in the rental market with our customers,” explained company Vice President and Owner Kevin Knuckley. “Our rental market is more of a niche market. Typically, we rent large trenchers, plows, and rock saws that most rental stores don’t carry, and our customers are primarily utility and other specialty contractors.”
Business has been good, he added. “There’s been an influx of people, and the economy is growing thanks to the telecommunications industry, the trickle-down impact of energy, a vibrant housing market, and more. The commercial market is strong, too. Nearly everywhere you look, cranes dot the horizon.”
Over the past year, he noted his two stores have experienced an uptick of interest in two Ditch Witch products - vacuum excavation units and footing trenchers. “Our trailer-mounted high-pressure vacuum units are not only popular sellers, they’ve become a growing part of our rental fleet. Used primarily by utility contractors for soft excavation and utility projects, they have one of the best returns on investments we have in our inventory.
“The housing market is largely responsible for growing interest in our footing trenchers, especially one of our models that features a fixed offset trencher. The unit allows the operator to dig flush with form boards, and it has become a substitute for using a mini excavator.”
As Knuckley pointed out, the robust economy has impacted every segment of his company, one that employs upwards of 35 people. Despite the economic expansion, customers don’t appear to be forsaking rental for ownership. In fact, in certain markets it is going the other way, which is good news for the rental industry overall.
