The Village of Tilton
Better Serving Citizens With Increased Productivity
Village of Tilton Employees: (Left) Laborer Lenny Bares, 30 Years of Service with the village; Patty Marana, Director of Public Works, and Mayor Dave Phillips.
For years, the village of Tilton owned a backhoe for public works projects, including sanitary sewers, storm sewers and road repairs. And for years, crews from the Public Works Department had to deal with a machine that wasn’t really right for what they were doing and that would wear out in about five years.
A few years ago, Tilton officials met with the folks from Birkey’s, who suggested a more application-based alternative. Instead of buying a new backhoe, Birkey’s suggested the village replace the old backhoe with three different pieces of machinery: a wheel loader, a mini excavator and a mower.
Unlike your average big-city mayor, Tilton Mayor Dave Phillips knows construction equipment inside out—before becoming mayor nine years ago, he worked as an operator for the Tilton Public Works Department for more than 20 years. (Truth is, he still occasionally helps out and runs the equipment.) He saw the wisdom of what Birkey’s suggested. “We were wearing out the backhoe using it as a loader. We realized we needed the loading function more,” he said.
“It’s not easy to respond immediately with the number of pieces of equipment Birkey’s maintains, but they are Johnny on the spot for us.” — Dave Phillips; Mayor, Village of Tilton
The village (population 3,000) purchased a Case 621E wheel loader, along with a mini excavator, and the combination has been a big success, the mayor said. In the first place, with multiple pieces of equipment, crews can work in two places at once—with some guys out working with the wheel loader and another crew digging with the mini excavator.
Additionally, unlike previous backhoes, the 621E wheel loader is “big enough to do what we need to do,” Phillips said. Over the winter, for example, the loader was a tremendous help in loading salt. “It was much faster, twice as fast as it would have been with the backhoe.” Equipped with a grapple hook, it makes quick work of cleanup when storms bring down tree limbs.
The Case has also improved road work in the 2.5-square-mile village with about 5 miles of roads to maintain. “Before, we were maintaining roads. Now, we can tear one completely out and put a new one in when we’re done,” Phillips said.
The machine got a real workout as soon as the village took delivery of it, because the Public Works Department was in the middle of a big storm sewer project, installing a 24-inch sewer main. “It proved itself right on the front end,” said Phillips, who trench-filled with the Case during the storm sewer installation.
The Case 621E makes quick work of any project bringing greater efficiency to the village of Tilton’s Public Works Department.
Like the other operators, Phillips was impressed by the 621E’s good visibility and ease of maintenance. Most of the grease inserts are located in the same place, making it easy to check fluids and refill, he noted. “It’s all in one place, you don’t have to look for it. That’s a benefit in itself.” So is the locking compartment that protects the gas tank from intruders, he said.
The machine is powerful enough to do any job the village needs to do, he observed. “We’ve rented other wheel loaders before, but I think the overall performance of the Case is better than any other brand we’ve rented.”
The mayor has also been pleased with the service Birkey’s provides. “When we call them, they are here. It’s not easy to respond immediately with the number of pieces of equipment Birkey’s maintains, but they are Johnny on the spot for us.” If a service tech can’t come out right away, Birkey’s will answer questions over the phone, he added.
“We haven’t had any issues with any Case equipment, but when we had some with another piece of equipment, Birkey’s kept at it until they solved it,” Phillips said.
“We’ve been very satisfied with Birkey’s service.”
