From Utility Contractor
With the Power, Visibility and Versatility of Stand-on Skid Steers, Myers Fencing is able to solve jobsite challenges with ease
“Quick” and “easy” rarely go together in construction work, but Troy Myers of Myers Fencing has founded his successful commercial and residential fence installation company in working towards those goals.
“At the end of the day, staying profitable is the goal for everybody. In our line of business, it’s all about how quickly you get in and out of the jobsite. That’s the key to staying profitable and is our goal,” said Myers, the president and CEO of the Nicholasville, Kentucky-based fencing company.
Working primarily in Kentucky and surrounding states, Myers Fencing has been one of the premier fence contractors in the region for over 20 years. The company credits hiring the right people and investing in the right equipment as two of the top reasons for its successes.
“When we’re looking at equipment, we ask ourselves a series of questions; is it reliable? Is it comfortable? Is it safe? Is it efficient? And can it physically do the jobs we need it to?” Myers said. “We found that if we get a machine that passes those questions, with our workers, we can get any job done quick and easy and stay profitable.”
The Efficient Machine Solution
Since mid-2021, the machine that Myers’ crew has been relying on is the Ditch Witch SK3000 full-size stand-on skid steer. While Myers Fencing has used Ditch Witch stand-on skid steers in the past, specifically the SK1550 and SK1050, the SK3000 allows Myers Fencing to have a true one-machine solution on residential and commercial jobsites. Myers commented that the machine’s power, its stand-on traits and its comfortability are the biggest ways that the SK3000 increases fencing installation efficiency.
“What we like about the SK3000 is that it makes us so much more efficient and productive. In the past, we would need two machines on-site: one larger, traditional skid steer for heavy lifting and another stand-on unit that would have the comfortability and visibility for auguring. Now, with the SK3000 we have one machine that can handle both,” said Myers.
Especially in commercial fence installation – where traveling between jobsites can be a difficult process – the ability to bring just one machine on the road is a boon for crew efficiency. By traveling with just the SK3000, Myers’ crew saves room on their trailer for more jobsite materials. And, with the SK3000, Myers’ crew doesn’t need a member with a CDL to transport the machine.
Operator comfort and safety are two other reasons Myers crew uses the SK3000. Not only does ergonomics and safety improve the operator experience, but Myers also says that it improves the crew’s efficiency.
“On some of our jobsites, the wrong machine can really beat up the operator and that can be difficult if you have to ride it all day. And that’s often the case on some of the larger commercial jobs,” said Myers. “We’ve found that the SK3000 has a smoother ride, especially when moving fast across difficult terrain. And we’ve also found that our operators are more comfortable moving quickly because its easy to jump off a stand-on machine if something goes wrong. Over the years I’ve found that when you’re more comfortable, you can get more done. And since efficiency is so important, we use the SK3000.”
Seeing the Benefits on Security Fence Installation
With the SK3000 in tow, Myers crew has been able to take on larger, more challenging jobs. One such job took place in Ohio in fall of 2021.
Myers crew was tasked with installing 6-foot-tall commercial security fencing around a 150-acre manufacturing site. The entire project was completed over the course of 2-3 months with the help of the SK3000.
With the sheer size of the project – it was over 4 miles of fencing installed – the SK3000 was mainly used to stretch the chain link fence out around the yard and for unloading concrete quickly from the trucks.
“On the bigger jobs, we really see larger, versatile machines like the SK3000 separate themselves. With the SK3000 we could get things done on the job more quickly and that allows us to be more profitable in the long run,” Myers said. “With this particular job, we had the power to do everything we needed.”
But the need for power wasn’t the only challenge for Myers’ crew. The proposed fencing included a need for installation through a wooded area and over a small stream. Another fencing-specific challenge was the installation of the barbed wire. Both challenges required a stable machine with high visibility.
Working with barbed wire can be very dangerous and requires high visibility from the operator to ensure that they can safely stretch the barbed wire and avoid snapping it. If an operator were to stretch too far, the wire could snap and injure a nearby worker. And especially on this job, excellent operator visibility was needed as the barbed wire needed to be installed above the operator’s head.
“In order to properly unfurl the barbed wire at that height, we needed to have the machine at full extension and honestly we couldn’t have done it safely with a traditional cabbed machine. With the ability to stand-on the back of the SK3000, our operators were put in a position to have the best visibility to install the barbed wire safely and efficiently,” said Myers.
The Ohio security fence installation challenge was just one example of the challenges fence installation contractors face in the pursuit of staying efficient and profitable. With the SK3000, Myers Fencing believes they have the best solution to those challenges.
“This job was the perfect representation of why we use the SK3000. There is no machine out there that is a better fit for the work we do. These units and bult tougher and better than our other machines,” said Myers. “Above all though, our crew members trust that with the SK3000 they can work as safely and efficiently as possible. And that is why it’s the first machine we use on any jobsite.”
