Going in to Business.....Finally!

[245dlc]

So I've been wanting to do this for a while now and even moved to a different province that's usually got a lot of work to go around and a little more open to new idea's. So now that I live in the Canadian Province of Alberta which is well known Internationally for its huge Oil Sands reserves (more of that sticky shit up north than oil in Saudi Arabia apparently) I was hoping to be able to start up a small excavating company possibly starting out with a machine in the 3-5 tonne range. Well as everybody knows oil prices took a nose dive towards the end of 2014 and still haven't recovered which has hurt both the Alberta economy and the Western Canadian economy and to add insult to injury the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec (two of the most hated provinces in Canada) said no to a large oil pipeline that would use an unused 42" gas pipeline that spans most of the country to convey oil to refineries on the East Coast that just re-tooled to upgrade this heavy gooey crude oil in to a more usable form for making things like gasoline and diesel. The pipeline would also keep Eastern Canada from having to rely on oil imports from the Middle East and elsewhere thereby keeping things Canadian and then we would be able to ship our oil abroad and maybe give OPEC some competition, but nope the dummies in Quebec always have to be s to the rest of the country. So things are pretty slow here in Alberta and haven't been the easiest for a lot of people including my family and I.
So a little while ago I was looking in to a couple of different walking or Spyder excavators like the Menzi-Mucks, Kaiser's, and the Euromach machines. And this was largely because I was curious as to the cost of a 3 or 4 tonne Menzi/Euromach machine and well the cost is very dear and they aren't a very common machine anywhere except maybe the factory. lol And my main reason for this interest was largely because that size of machine could be transported behind the diesel pick-up truck that I currently own and I could still do these specialist Spyder excavator jobs and if I had to I'd still be able to do regular residential and commercial work. Well I found out that the only dealers for Menzi-Muck and Euromach who make the smaller sized machines (Menzi-Muck just rebrands Euromach's small machines) are quite far away in the United States and are extremely expensive machines especially since I'd likely have to buy brand new as used ones are very few and far between. So I knew that Kaiser had some kind of dealer on the West Coast near Vancouver which isn't quite as far and phoned there just to get some information and well to make an already long story short I found out that there is a fellow about 3 or 4 hours away from my place in the very picturesque town of Creston, British Columbia that as a Kaiser 2 wheel drive machine and he's looking to retire and sell it and his tandem axle dump truck and trailer as well all the attachments. So I called the guy and made arrangements to drive out and talk to him and see if maybe I could possibly work for him for a bit so I could learn his business, meet some of his clients and eventually after getting some financing buy it out. So I wrote out a business plan or wish list really that still needs some touching up and now I'm going to work on the financial side of things, whilst looking into any government small business loans or whatever there is for new small businesses, while sending out phone calls and e-mails about the unique capabilities of this machine.
It's late here so I'm going to leave you with some pictures of the machine and truck in question.

[ianoz]

Wishing you well Bert . Make sure you get all those i's dotted and Ts Crossed .

[Muz]

There was one for sale on here recently ... in the UK though, but they are not common as you say .... It sounds like an ideal entrance into a market what with a guy thats already paved the way , I'm guessing he's not local to you though, so all you really know is that the business works, just that you would have to re invent it in your local area. Good luck and fortune to you Bert

[245dlc]

Thanks guys, its quite the process and thankfully Stock was kind enough to send me a template for the business plan and to give me a better idea of what I need to present whatever financial insitution when I do go and ask for a business loan and get the ball rolling.
Muz the fella that runs the Kaiser dealer in B.C. encourages his clients to buy used and so when he does bring a machine over he personally flies to Switzerland or Lichtenstein where they are built and checks them out before buying. He'll then do any work that needs to be done to bring the machine up to snuff for his customer. I have so far only spoken to him on the phone but maybe when I have the chance I'll go out to the Coast and go talk to him as I do have some plans for that machine if all goes well. One thing I want to get for the machine is a mulcher as there is quite a bit of work mulching or mowing power line and pipeline right of ways in pretty steep and normally inaccessible places. I think much of the work I'll be pursuing will be all over the Rockies but more specifically Southern British Columbia and in to Southwestern Alberta, the current owner actually moved west of where he got most of his work as he had so much coming in and he just wanted to retire, and this area is only an hour and a bit away from where I live now.

[v8druid]

There was one for sale on here recently ... in the UK though, but they are not common as you say .... It sounds like an ideal entrance into a market what with a guy thats already paved the way , I'm guessing he's not local to you though, so all you really know is that the business works, just that you would have to re invent it in your local area. Good luck and fortune to you Bert

Sean Hughes' Menzi, Muz ... on the Isle of Man ..... he's sold it now and was a real cracking machine ..... but had to tramp all over for work for it, which I'd guess is not an ideal situation.
That's the problem with that sort of weapon .... unless you live in an area like Bert does

[245dlc]

Lol I'll likely have to go all over for work but I'm just speculating right now on that. But they really are truly a machine for mountain work as the cost of a machine commands a higher rate than a conventional tracked excavator. I saw that video of Sean and Eddie mowing that slope along that lake and would of likely tacked a job like that with a track machine and if it was slippery I would of gotten one with a knock down dozer blade to act as an anchor on the downward side of the hill. Just hope Sean didn't lose any money on his venture those machines are not cheap about $350,000 brand new without any toys on the end, and those mulchers are about another $25,000-$30,000, and that winch I think I last heard is about $10,000-$20,000. And tire chains which are pretty important on steep slopes and in forested area's I think are about $3,000-$4,000.

[Muz]

Sean Hughes' Menzi, Muz ... on the Isle of Man ..... he's sold it now and was a real cracking machine

Ah wasnt sure ..... well a market clearly exists

That's the problem with that sort of weapon .... unless you live in an area like Bert does

Well its funny how it goes ... the Canadians and yanks dont follow our principals of method adoption ,.... and why should they ? they have far more space as a concept .. but.. eventually they will come round

[245dlc]

Ah wasnt sure ..... well a market clearly exists




Well its funny how it goes ... the Canadians and yanks dont follow our principals of method adoption ,.... and why should they ? they have far more space as a concept .. but.. eventually they will come round

Yeah I doubt it we do the things the way we do for a bloody good reason at least in Western Canada. The way things are done in Southern Ontario and Queerbec might be a little more akin to how you guys do things.