When Chad Anderson was growing up as a kid on the family farm in rural southwestern MN, it was pretty obvious that the opportunity to stay on the farm for a living was not going to be an option. “There wasn’t going to be enough opportunity there for all the kids that were interested in farming,” he explained. So Chad started working construction jobs in the area and ended up working for a small family tiling business in the area. The business didn’t have much in the way of equipment when he took it over after the owner died in the late 90's.
“I basically picked-up the construction business by working in the business and learning it as I went along,” said Anderson. “We didn’t have much in the way of modern equipment when I was breaking into the business. It was a lot of hard work. And that’s true today too, but the difference is we can get so much more work done with the same number of people and get it done more comfortably with modern equipment that you can operate for 12 hour days and still be alert at the end of the day.”
Once Chad took over the business he renamed it Jeffers Dray Line, Inc. he began to invest in the equipment the company used to expand their business. “I remember when we rented our first Case Super-K backhoe and how much more productive it was compared to what we’d been using,” he said. “It was really a step up for us at the time. As we continued to grow the business once I took it over, I’ve tried to keep our equipment up-to-date and add pieces that allow us to do a wide variety of construction work in the area.”
Jeffers Dray Line’s primary business is installing drain tile for farmers in the area, but they also will take on rural water projects, land clearing, excavation, hauling and placing gravel/rock, septic systems, directional boring and just about anything else that involves moving dirt and material. “We’ve got a fleet of equipment that we can use to get just about any job done that involves moving dirt,” explained Anderson. “We’ll take on almost any project in the area. In the winter we do some snow removal. The rest of the year we’re busy placing tile, along with the other dirt moving and excavating projects we pick-up. We’ve been fortunate to be able to grow like we have and stay busy throughout the year.”
Jeffers Dray Line owns 3 Case excavators, 2 Case 580SN backhoes, a Case dozer, a couple of Case skids steers and a Case 821G wheel loader. “We just added the 821G wheel loader to the fleet,” said Anderson. “It’s one of the first of the new G-Series Case loaders in the area. Our guys love running it. We’ve always liked Case wheel loaders because they are well-balanced and not tippy at all. With the 821G, it’s also incredibly smooth, it’s got great power, and the visibility with the new curved glass in the cab and the sloped hood on the back is second to none.”
“A lot of the work we do is very precise. You can’t just hog-in a drain line without having the location and the slopes correct. Same with directional boring. There’s not a lot of room for error. It takes good, knowledgeable people and good equipment to get it right. And if you don’t get it right, you won’t be in business long. Our goal is to do the kind of work that gets people to call us when it’s time for the next job or to tell their neighbors and friends to call Jeffers Dray Line when they have a job to do.”
Joe Swenhaugen, Equipment Sales Consultant for Titan Machinery – Marshall, has been supplying Chad equipment and advise on equipment for the last 15 years. “Jeffers Dray Line has been great to work with,” said Swenhaugen. “We’ve watched them grow over the years with their workload and their equipment fleet has grown with it. When the season is on, they work hard and they expect their equipment to keep up and perform. We’ve had great luck with the equipment they own. They take care of it well. And it’s my job to make sure that we get them into the right machine for their application.”
“We look at Titan Machinery and Joe as kind of our equipment experts”, said Anderson. “We have a pretty good idea of what we need but Joe deals with equipment every day and understands what we’re trying to do and which models of equipment we need to get the job done the most efficiently. And on top of that, there’s the service and parts support we get from Titan. A lot of our big tiling jobs are done in the spring before planting or in the fall after harvest. There’s no time to spare for equipment to be out of operation. We work 6 days per week when we’re in the heart of the season. Titan has done a great job of getting us the right equipment and keeping it running when we are working so we can make the most of the season.”
With Chad’s son Cole is going to school for a construction management degree, there’s a good chance the business will become a second generation operation. “I’m hoping that Cole will join the business once he’s done with his degree. I would love to see the business continue growing and the family being active in it. It’s been a really fun ride for me that started back in the 90’s. I didn’t really know a whole lot about construction when I started and I had to learn some hard lessons along the way. But I can’t think of anything I would rather do than working with the equipment and being out on the jobsite. I wasn’t made for working in an office every day. I love the equipment, I enjoy the people that I work from the employees to the customers. I take a lot of pride on the jobs we do and things we’ve built in the area for customers.”