Like most successful business owners, Carl Welle is a busy man. Carl and his crew of eleven are the manpower for RiverRidge Logging and Excavating, Inc. based out of Springfield. From carving out a crawlspace for a future home to digging a water line to moving timber in a mechanized logging operation for a local mill, long days are the norm at RiverRidge. The RiverRidge forestry operation depends on their Caterpillar equipment to get all that work finished quickly and efficiently.

Their Cat 325C excavator, equipped with a 40-foot boom, gets the logs to the loading area, where a Cat 322C with a stroke delimber processing head bucks and decks those logs according to their type and final destination. The cedar, fir, maple, hemlock, and alder, bound for different mills, are then loaded and trucked out. A Cat 312 hydraulic excavator outfitted with a brush rake and thumb finishes the job, piling the slash for later burning. The 312 gives Carl versatility and flexibility with RiverRidge’s great collection of work tools. The buckets, a 54”, a 36”, and a 24”, the brush rake, and the blade get the job done, whether it’s cleaning up, digging a septic system, backfilling, or moving and leveling gravel for a driveway.

Hard-working employees need hard-working equipment that consistently yields peak performance. According to Carl, “The quality of my Cat machinery is what keeps me productive. There is just way less downtime with the Cat equipment, and if I do need something, Peterson Machinery brings it right out to me, no matter where we are. We even called our salesman, Kirk Carter, at 2 a.m. and he followed through and got us the part we needed. Now, that’s committed!”

Carl and his crew do all their own servicing, made easier by the Cat machines’ easy-to-access components. The operators lube their well-maintained machines after each shift and do a walk-around inspection, keeping an eye out for loose hoses or leaks. Every two weeks they get a full-service fluid change. The equipment works a lot of hours—day and night, and Carl says, “They just don’t break down. We get a lot of work done in a day.” Carl says that the warranty programs covering his fleet of productive Cat equipment are excellent, and help keep his costs under control. Building that versatile fleet was easy with PMCo. “The local Cat Financial people at Peterson have been great to us. They are easy to deal with and very helpful.”

Carl and his crew particularly appreciate the comfort factor when it comes to sitting in an equipment cab all day long. “The Cat machines are easy to operate and very quiet inside the cabs. The great visibility also increases our productivity, and contributes to a safer working environment.” Carl says that the lighting on the machines is bright enough to work at night with no auxiliary lighting. “You can still really see what you’re doing.”

Logging work makes up about 80% of Carl’s business, and housing prep work makes up the balance. It is demanding work and requires a lot of attention to detail. Carl appreciates that Peterson Machinery is there to give RiverRidge 100 percent. “Peterson always goes above and beyond. When we need service, they always work around us so it doesn’t interfere with our work schedule. Kirk is just a great guy, and he and his bosses always find a solution for any problem that comes up. They are even there for us on weekends.” Carl says with certainty, “The extra price you pay for a Cat machine is more than covered by the lack of downtime and the support you get from Peterson Machinery. If there is a problem, they take care of it. Parts are always available. A machine is only as good as the service behind it, and Peterson Machinery is there with that service.”