Bottom Line Equipment LLC

General information

When Kurt Degueyter talks about the
evolution of Bottom Line Equipment, he
describes it as coming in waves. The first was
founding the business in July 2005 with a
couple of machines, working from his home in
Lafayette, La.
“My background included more than 20 years
in an equipment dealership in several positions,
mostly working with rentals,” said Degueyter,
sole owner of Bottom Line. “I wanted to go into
business for myself, and the original intent was to
buy and sell used equipment. My wife, Kim, and
I set up shop, and she handled the financial side
and I worked on obtaining customers.”
Within months of opening, the equipment
and customer lists grew quickly and the focus
shifted toward rental, due in large part to
Hurricane Katrina’s direct hit on New Orleans.
It also led to the opening of Bottom Line
Equipment’s first service yard.
“As Katrina was approaching and as it hit,
I was on the phone looking for additional
equipment, especially attachments, to
purchase, knowing it would be needed in New
Orleans,” said Degueyter. “My experience
told me there would be waves of work coming
in the wake of the hurricane. The first was
debris removal, followed by demolition of
damaged structures, then rebuilding of the
levee system. Each wave involved different
types of machines and attachments and even
customers, so I continually built up my fleet
of equipment and attachments to match the
needs of our customers.”
To stage the initial wave of equipment
and attachments, Degueyter opened his first
service yard location on a piece of property
he found in Saint Rose, La. That location is
now the company’s headquarters and is one
of four Bottom Line Equipment locations,
including Sulphur, La., Baytown, TX., and its newest location in Baton Rouge, LA., which opened in July 2015.
“As work began winding down in New
Orleans, it became important to branch out
and deploy our assets to other uses,” noted
Degueyter. “In 2010, we focused on heavy civil
applications, and within the past couple of
years, we’ve begun to service the oil and gas
industries in the Gulf South, including Texas. As
our geographic presence expanded, it became
necessary to open new locations in close
proximity in order to best serve our customers.”
From its four locations, Bottom Line offers a
fleet of more than 500 machines and specialty
attachments. Equipment mainly stays within
Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, but the
company ships attachments across the United States. Rentals are available on a daily, weekly
or monthly basis.
“We’re not a typical rental house that carries a
bit of everything, such as generators, saws and
small compactors,” said Degueyter, adding that
equipment is not dedicated to one location, so
it’s available anywhere Bottom Line serves. “We
do have a few small utility machines and a few
larger pieces up to the 100,000-pound size class,
but the vast majority of our fleet is mid-size to
heavy construction equipment and attachments
such as hammers, shears, breakers, augers and
plate compactors, along with various sizes of
buckets. We cater to customers looking for those
types of combinations.
“We also work with customers beyond the
machine rental,” he added. “For example, if they
want it, we offer pre-project and safety planning,
as well as other services. On large projects where
a customer rents multiple machines, we’ll set up
dedicated service on site, including drop boxes
for parts.”
Bottom Line Equipment’s excavator fleet
includes more than 70 Komatsus, ranging in size
from 31,000-pound-plus PC138s to 68,234-pound
PC290LC-10s. The company recently purchased
13 PC210LC-10 and 10 PC290LC-10 models
from WPI’s Houston branch with the help of
Territory Manager Rusty May. All are equipped
with factory-installed auxiliary hydraulics to
run attachments, and the PC290s are set up with
60-foot long fronts.
“Komatsu excavators fit well into our
philosophy, which is providing machines that
deliver the most productive and profitable
experience possible, and that’s why we invest
heavily in them,” said Degueyter. “Komatsus
have great hydraulic power, and when you’re
running attachments, that’s essential. At the
same time, they’re efficient on fuel usage. That
combination of power, productivity and fuel
efficiency increases the customer’s bottom line,
which is what it’s all about.”
Bottom Line Equipment works closely with
customers to help them best use their equipment.
One way it does that is by using KOMTRAX,
Komatsu’s remote machine-monitoring system. Bottom Line tracks the excavators and generates
reports that show hours, location, idle time and
other critical data. The company then goes over
reports with customers.
“Our experience is that KOMTRAX is a game-changer in terms of fleet management,” said Degueyter. “It benefits both us and the customer. They appreciate the reports because they can use them to adjust operating practices for cost savings, and we can use it to track location and hours for accurate billing purposes. It also helps ensure services are done on time, which is something we’re very proactive about.”
Bottom Line handles service itself with
parts from WPI, often ordered online through
Komatsu’s eParts. “WPI’s parts availability is
another reason why we’ve partnered with them,
in addition to the other aspects of quality service
it provides. When we came to Texas, we looked
at several dealers. WPI stood out in all aspects:
machine availability, financing, service. Rusty has
been terrific to work with during all aspects of
the purchasing process, and he remains active in
ensuring our continued satisfaction. We’re very
pleased with what WPI offers.”
In addition to stringent service practices,
Bottom Line Equipment takes great strides to
ensure its machinery stays in proper working
order. The company thoroughly inspects
machinery before, during and after a rental. It also
takes pride in offering a late-model fleet with low
hours.
“People tell us we could make more money
by reducing the time we take in inspecting machinery, cleaning it and detailing it every time it comes in off rent,” said Degueyter. “We believe that’s shortsighted, because sending out a machine that’s prone to breakdown or looks bad would be a negative reflection on us. It could damage our reputation and ultimately cost us customers.
“We also begin evaluating machines for
replacement at about 2,500 hours and usually
transition machines out of the fleet at between
3,000 and 4,000 hours, depending on its usage
and applications,” he added. “Because we’re
known for taking care of equipment, auction
companies often ask us to leave our logo on a
machine. They know the Bottom Line logo means
a quality pre-owned product.”
Continuing to offer quality equipment is Degueyter’s top priority and that of his staff of about 50 employees. That focus led to recognition of Bottom Line Equipment as the fastest-growing
business in New Orleans in 2012, according to the
New Orleans City Business. It was third in 2011.
The past five years running, Inc. magazine has
also named the company as one of the nation’s
5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies.
“Rewards and recognition are great, and it shows that our commitment to quality products and service pays off, but what’s more important to us is that customers view us as their go-to rental company,” said Degueyter. “The large amount of repeat business we do proves that’s the case. They know we care about them and their success. We’re active in the same organizations they are, such as the Houston Contractors Association, AGC, ABC, the National Demolition Association and others.
“While we’ve seen tremendous growth during the past eight years, that’s not necessarily a critical component to the business,” Degueyter added. “Our growth has largely been market- and customer-driven. Potential customers often see our equipment on a job-site and ask about us. We believe that’s the best way to build, along with continuing to develop a reputation for having the best equipment and service in the business.”
For information on renting from Bottom Line
Equipment, call 877-332-7187 or visit its Web site
at www.bottomlineequipment.com.