Determined Duo

When we started in 1996, I really hadn’t been in the excavating business but I was fairly sure it could be profitable,” said Robert Weinrich, who along with his brother Scott are co-owners of Edmonton-based Weinrich Contracting Ltd. “So I bought an old excavator and gave it a try. It was a hard go at first and even the heavy equipment dealers were skeptical about my prospects. Like any new start-up, we were ready to go to wherever the work might be, Edmonton or wherever.”

They got it right, though. The quality of their work, a competitive pricing structure, and knowing the right people sustained them in the early days, and they made a good impression with some of the best contractors in Edmonton.
“We also set our sights on doing particular types of work, and we’re constantly looking for openings to showcase our worth,” notes Scott. “For instance, we’re doing a project downtown in the tightest, most congested area possible. It’s unique, and we’re going to make it a great success for us and the contractor. We pursued the job, convinced everyone we could do it, and then bid aggressively to get it. There was nothing casual about our approach.
“The same can be said for the Anthony Henday project. We’ve been thinking about and working on the project since it was first announced. We decided we wanted it, and now my brother Robert will be on-site nearly every day to make sure it’s done right and on time.”

Anthony Henday Drive North, as it’s called, is a 13-mile (21-km) portion of ring road encircling Edmonton, Alberta. The new section includes 29 bridge structures, which are required for nine interchanges, four flyovers, and two crossings over railways.

They are working for Flatiron-Graham-Parsons, A Joint Venture, one of North America’s leading providers of transportation construction and civil engineering in North America. “We won the project of moving about 800,000 cubic metres based on our using three Hitachi ZX350 excavators with 2.6-cubic-metre buckets and twenty three 8.5-cubic-metre capacity dump trucks,” says Robert.
“Just after we started our business, I got to know someone at Wajax – the local Hitachi dealer – who promised to help us. And he did. Our first machine had some parts in common with a UH504 or something like that,” quips Robert. “So, we counted on him to help us buy our first machine in 2003 – an EX200. He helped put a short stick on and a bucket more typically used for the EX300. Well, today we still have that Hitachi and have a great relationship with the sales manager for Wajax’s Edmonton operation.”

“We keep our maintenance up, but repair costs on Hitachi excavators have always been exceptionally low,” says Scott. “And they always start in winter. You let those glow plugs go a bit, and they start right up. On the operation side of it, the employees really enjoy running them because they are smooth, quick and powerful. The units are good on fuel, so I like that. And they’re nice and quiet in the cab. The heated seats make you feel like you’re in a Cadillac.”
“In 2004, we bought our second machine – a ZX230. And again, we’ve probably only got about $2,500 in repair costs,” notes Robert. “Everything still works: every knob, every switch and light. In ’06 we bought two ZX200s. Then in ’07 and ’08 we got more 200s, and then a series of ZX350s. The combination of Wajax and Hitachi has just been perfect for us.”