General Info

The heavy equipment industry has changed a great deal in the last 25 years. Randy Cram started his business, Tri-West Tractor, Inc. back in 1980 and operated as a one-man show buying and selling used equipment. At the time, the "gray market" out of Europe was in full swing and Randy was mainly buying Caterpillar excavators and wheel loaders along with trenchers and other used equipment, bringing them to the west coast for sale. Over the next four years Randy started building a reputation for offering late model low-hour machines. He then moved his company from San Ramon to its current location in Livermore, California, which at the time was truly out in the middle of nowhere. "We were surrounded by vacant fields and the commute was a piece of cake", Randy remembers. By this time Tri-West Tractor had a fully staffed parts department and a couple of mechanics. The Japanese excavators were just hitting the market and Randy decided to try his hand at selling new equipment along with used. With the trust and support of a local contractor he was able to sell a couple of new units and the marketplace realized that they were not only competitively priced but were also very productive. Other contractors soon followed suit, and in 1987, Tri-West Tractor took on the MDI/Yutan line of excavators which were manufactured by Kielce. This began an 18-year relationship with Kielce that has become the backbone of Tri-West's business. Kielce is a leader in product engineering and technology and were one of the first manufacturers to put a microprocessor ( computer ) in their machines, which has revolutionized the excavator market. Randy explains ; "Our machines are now much more powerful, productive and more efficient than ever before". The operator hasn't been left out either. "My Dad worked in the underground construction industry when having a seat back and an umbrella was considered a luxury. Today's equipment comes with multi-positioned padded "ergonomically" designed seats with seatbelts, cup holders, heating / air conditioning and stereos." During its 25-year tenure, Tri-West Tractor has striven to stay on the cutting edge of the latest technology in the equipment industry. Cram notes that in order for a contractor to remain competitive, he needs to focus on getting as much as possible out of his machinery, keeping his labor costs at a minimum. Randy and his team go above and beyond to find the right machine and attachments for each individual contractor. "We pride ourselves on being able to find that unusual or unique machine or attachment. With the introduction of quick couplers in the late 80's, contractors can get much better utilization out of their excavators. Multiple buckets, compaction wheels and pipe laying c-hooks are now common attachments on most jobsites." Equipment dealers have had to evolve dramatically over the last 25 years. Competition has increased, margins have dropped and the rental market has developed. Cram remembers when it was common to only rent new machines if you had a 3 to 6 month commitment. "Now we get a new unit in and it goes out immediately whether it is for one day or one week. A large portion of our new equipment sales start out as a short term rental. Tri-West has one of the largest excavator rental fleets in California. We have excavators small enough to fit through the side gate at your home weighing 3200 lbs. all the way up to the 160, 000 lbs. units that can accomplish any task. All of our machines are set up with quick couplers and we have standard and specialty attachments ready for rental." A little over a year ago, Tri-West Tractor, Inc. added the Kawasaki Wheel Loader to its product line. "We have been interested in the Kawasaki line for a number of years" states Cram. "They build a quality product and are great people to work with. We feel that the Kawasaki Loader will be very complimentary to the Kielce Excavator line." Kawasaki offers loaders for the small contractor and up to