Many companies dream of increasing their bottom line through increased productivity. For the owners and technicians of Quantum Termite and Construction of Anaheim, Calif., that dream has come true.
Chad Eickhoff and his business partner Marc DeShane founded Quantum five years ago. The company performs termite eradication, as well as control of other wood-destroying insects and organisms (WDI/O), and just about any construction or repairs to correct the damage that these WDI/Os have caused. Because the company also performs construction repairs, its technicians need a variety of materials. So instead of watching their technicians dig through piles of construction and pest control supplies to get what they needed, Eickhoff and DeShane took things into their own hands.
"We built a new crew truck in-house that boosted crew productivity by nearly 36 percent," Eickhoff said. "The reason for this increase in productivity is a direct result of the trucks’ layout and accessibility. The exact same two-man crew is now doing $1,700 a day, when they were doing $1,250 a day prior to the new trucks," he said.
A TRUCK IS BORN. Eickhoff and DeShane have been friends since they were 3 years old. Eickhoff went to school for mechanical and electrical engineering and DeShane had come up through the ranks at another pest control firm. After college the two reconnected and since DeShane wasn’t happy in his position, the two decided to start their own company. "I saw the way other pest control companies were run, which was a mess, but they were making a lot of money as disorganized as they were," Eickhoff said. "We got together and thought that we could do this a lot better. And we wanted to be as efficient as possible.
| QUANTUM FAB TERMITE CREW TRUCK SPECIFICATIONS
Base Vehicle: 2004 Ford F450 XLT Turbo Diesel – 15,000 lb. GVWR Base Body: Harbor Combo Service Body Some Quantum company custom truck installations include: • Tailgate (not available on combo bodies directly from manufacturer) — rear of truck, provides large work area • Slide-in aluminum panels (left rear corner) for storage • 8-foot stainless steel underbody (belly) box — rear center under bed, keeps moldings & carpet tack intact and readily accessible • Hinged storage bumper (rear bumper) for saw horse storage • Ladder guard — left side of truck bed, allows full loading of truck bed with debris while still easily accessing ladders • Add-on security box (matching door and lid) — right rear corner, houses the electric start spray rig engine and pump • 50-gallon tank and full aluminum guard — front right corner, fully protected tank for the harshest work environment • Vertical rack for roofing paper, pick axe, sledge hammer — front left corner, keeps paper rolls intact, usable and easily accessible • Fully line-X coated — all work surfaces coated • Thin wall, large diameter lumber rack — maximizes strength and minimizes weight • Plywood and drywall rack — holds up to 8 sheets of ¾-inch plywood to keep the rest of the rack space and truck bed usable • Heavy-duty industrial tie downs — ensure rack load security • Fully powder-coated rack — two-stage industrial exterior coating for maximum life and rust resistance • Heavy usage of round DOM tubing — minimum wind noise, more strength, less weight and better fuel efficiency • 3000-watt inverter — keeps all cordless tool chargers mounted in the truck (no more leaving them on the job site) and batteries fully charged overnight, as well as providing a power source when working on vacant homes without electric service • Digital timer — ensures inverter and cordless tool chargers only run during specified hours (no dead batteries) • Sliding hose reel — allows opening of spray rig engine/pump security box for re-fueling • Remote attachment point air gap — controls the fill of the tank from the rear of the truck near the spray rig engine and pump • Caulking rack — keeps caulk tubes organized and accessible • Fully stocked — loaded with the most common construction bolts, nuts, lags and nails, as well as paint rollers, protective equipment, and many varieties of caulking, primer and paints. |
"As with most business owners we are always trying to boost our bottom line by increasing productivity," Eickhoff said.
Quantum specializes in construction (about 60 percent of the company’s revenue) and WDI/O work (about 40 percent of revenue). With such a broad range of services, a variety of equipment was needed on the company’s trucks. Items such as saw horses, lumber, power tools, chemical rigs, tool boxes, etc., all took up a lot of room. So the two men decided to take matters into their own hands — literally.
"Marc and I built the first truck after work," Eickhoff said. "It took us both about three hours a night, plus both days on the weekend, for about two months." They started with a basic truck with a modified Harbor Truck Bodies service body, and created completely customized racks, spray rigs, cordless tool charging stations, storage bumpers, and a multitude of small time-saving features. (See page 42 for additional details.)
TIME-SAVING FEATURES. One time-saving feature of note is that the new trucks can carry one to two weeks’ worth of wood on each vehicle. This significantly reduces the number of trips to the lumber yard. "We sat in the lumber yard and watched the time other companies waste there — one to two hours a day because nobody has anywhere to keep the wood," Eickhoff said. "Our technicians go to the lumber yard one to two hours a week. It’s a huge time saver."
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Nine Quantum Truck Customizations
1. The workstation on the left with removable aluminum panels, the custom enlarged and reinforced tailgate for additional workspace, the hinged toolbox bumper for storage of sawhorses, the “Belly Box” (center door) for storing of up to 9-foot pieces of molding, carpet tack, and door jamb without damage that could occur in the bed of the truck, the folding receiver hitch step to assist in lumber load handling, and the custom spray rig pump and motor box with removable service panels on the right.
2. A close-up of the hinged toolbox bumper and the folding hitch step, both in the open position.
3. A close-up of the “Belly Box” in the open position loaded with molding and carpet tack.
4. The ladder guard, which keeps ladders easily accessible regardless of the debris that is stacked in the trash area on the right, the aluminum tank guard over the 50-gallon tank in the front, the remote fill line (with air gap) running down the right side rail, the sliding hose reel, and the “headache rack” to protect the driver and passenger from debris during fast stops or in the event of an accident.
5. The pump box and remote freshwater tank fill valve. Ample protection from the elements as well as lockable security for the electric start high output engine/pump assembly and chemical valves/plumbing.
6. The on-board inverter supplying 120-volt power for all cordless chargers as well as the ability to run power tools for small jobs near the truck without rolling out another extension cord. Every minute not spent messing with cords is a minute that can be spent making money! The digital timer turns the inverter on only during business hours on workdays to prevent the three vehicle batteries from being discharged by the idling current of the inverter and cordless chargers on the weekends.
7. Hand tool and treat drill storage.
8. Dedicated storage for extension cords.
9. Dedicated storage for air and power nailers and related supplies. |
Other time savers include specific spaces for tools and materials to go on the truck so they don’t get buried beneath other supplies. "The technicians can access things in 30 seconds when they pull up to a job, and they don’t have to dig though everything." Also, since there’s a power source on the truck, there’s no need to access extension cords much of the time.
Additional cost-saving features of the vehicles are their diesel engines. "Our monthly fuel costs have dropped by approximately 10 percent with the conversion to turbo diesel trucks from gas V8 trucks," Eickhoff said. "Our profit margin has increased proportionally with the decrease in fuel costs."
And what were the reactions of the company’s 10 technicians to the four new trucks? "While we were building the trucks, they didn’t see any benefit but the first day they were in they were happy as can be," Eickhoff said. "They went to the lumber yard and there was literally a crowd around the truck. Everyone has a huge sense of pride and they know they’re something special."
The trucks are special — and expensive. "The new trucks are extremely labor intensive to build because they are each hand-built," Eickhoff said.
The costs break down like this: $55,000 is needed to purchase the vehicle, parts and raw materials, not counting labor. "Since Marc and I build the trucks ourselves there is no direct labor cost to us; however, we invest approximately 200 hours per truck of our time designing, fabricating, and welding... that’s 400 hours of labor," Eickhoff said.
"I can see the financial advantage but I don’t know if other people can see that advantage," he said. "Productivity is so enhanced by using the proper equipment and the well thought-out design of the truck."
Eickhoff said the company would consider manufacturing these trucks for the pest control and construction industries but he is unsure of the marketability of the vehicle since it is so costly. "Should demand arise for us to build these trucks for the industry, we are predicting a suggested retail price in the range of $85,000," Eickhoff said.
"But even if we don’t manufacture these trucks for the rest of the industry we will continue to do so for ourselves and we are quite proud of our accomplishment," he said.
The author is editor of PCT magazine. She can be reached at jdorsch@giemedia.com.
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