Over 30 years ago, Gaétan Jeannotte of Montreal was in the process of creating his own business plan. The idea for a startup business was sparked by the fact nobody in the area had an excavator or could provide the services an excavator could. After looking around and demoing machines, Jeannotte landed on a Takeuchi TB14 compact excavator.
Jeannotte purchased the Takeuchi excavator in October 1986, four months before his company, Excavation G Jeannotte Fils, was established. The purchase not only was a wise choice, but it helped be the building block of his company. So much so, that the TB14 is still a part of the contractor’s lineup three decades later.
The ownership remains under Gaétan, who named his eldest son Mathieu as vice president back in 2001. Then in 2008, his other son Jonathan joined them. The company has grown considerably with several specialties including excavation works, civil engineering, foundation, parking, indoor leveling, earthmoving and demolition. They not only perform the work, but also are involved from the get-go with the decision-making process.
Today, the Takeuchi TB14 has worked nearly 12,500 hours over its lifespan. That durability kept Jeannotte sticking with Takeuchi. The TB14 was their lifeline until they made another purchase in 1994 with the addition of the TB070 compact excavator. This was followed by a TB125 in 2004 and TB175 in 2005. The three machines have combined for nearly 28,000 hours of operation over the years.
“It is really unique to still utilize a machine that was so instrumental in helping shape our company over three decades ago,” says Mathieu Jeannotte, vice president of Excavation G Jeannotte. “The TB14 continues to inspire our family business between my brother Jonathan and I.”
Excavation G. Jeannotte now has nine different Takeuchi machines, the latest being a TB290. All but one of their machines are Takeuchi excavators with the only outlier being a Takeuchi TL130 track loader. For their equipment needs, Excavation G Jeannotte works closely with their dealer, Top Lift Enterprises.
“The durability, reliability, performance and ergonomics of the Takeuchi machines are outstanding,” says Jeannotte. “Couple that with the service offered by Top Lift Enterprises and it continues to make Takeuchi our first choice of compact machines for our commercial and residential needs.”
When you are good to your machines, your machines return the favor. The TB14 has been good to Jeannotte—for 30 years and counting.