Eddie Maciel, owner and founder of Maciel Communications started his small business nearly 15 years ago as a subcontractor in south Texas. Throughout his career, he has traveled all over the state doing underground telecommunications work. He attributes a lot of his success to his fleet of Vermeer equipment.
Service, Staffing and Soil Type Seal the Deal in the Texas Valley
He recently shared how Vermeer equipment, relationships with his local dealer and the current state of affairs have contributed to his success. Maciel began, “I love Vermeer. It’s what I started with, and it’s an easy machine to work with,” he continued, “My business has done better during COVID than in the past. There’s a lot of work and not enough rigs to do the work.” He also noted that staffing and soil types have worked in his favor. Many employees of Maciel Communications have been working with Maciel for many years, some since the inception of his business. While he travels all over the state for work, jobs in south Texas have proved profitable for Maciel. “In the valley, production is 2-3 times more because of the soft, moist dirt. In central Texas, the cobble and rock soil take much longer to get through,” Maciel explained.
Currently, Maciel and his crew are working on a seven-mile project in Edinburg, Texas. The highway is being expanded so the utility cables need to be buried deeper. The project was originally scheduled for one month but because Maciel has a fleet of four Vermeer horizontal directional drills – a D16x20, D20x22, D23x30 and D24x40 – he completed the project in just a few weeks. That efficiency has proved very beneficial for Maciel. He said, “Any company I’ve worked for, they know they don’t have to baby-sit me. I’ve gotten all my business by referral. I don’t even have business cards.”Maciel does not have to request service on many of his machines. He is even still using the first directional drill he started out with nearly 15 years ago. However, when he does run into trouble with any of his drills or vacuum excavators, he contacts the Vermeer Alamo branch for help. “They provide good service. Everyone is wonderful. If I call anybody, anywhere, they’ll help me out,” Maciel explained.
He has also developed a good working relationship with his outside sales rep, Walter Mika. Maciel said, “Walter’s a helluva guy. He’s one of the nicest guys. I’ve got nothing bad to say about anybody at Vermeer, all of the guys are the shop are nice.” When asked what his next purchase might be, Maciel said, “I’m a Vermeer fan all the way!”
For Maciel and his crew, the formular for success includes many components including the appropriate number of available workers and amenable soil type. Vermeer Texas-Louisiana is privileged to be a final component with exceptional, consistent service.
