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Canadian contractor keeps Doosan equipment busy in booming Maritime economy

Winter 2011

Jean-Marc Daigle lives in one of the top ten fastest growing metropolitan areas in Canada — Moncton, New Brunswick — and is surrounded by a construction boom that has been fueled by a very healthy economy.

Daigle's construction company is in a unique position to prosper from the building activity that is taking place in the largest of the three Canadian Maritime Provinces. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are the other two Maritime Provinces, and the three provinces combined have approximately 1.8 million residents.

He owns Daigle Development, a company that is engaged in almost all facets of the building business from digging foundations to landscaping to selling building supplies. Daigle is also a builder who develops his own property.

"I believe we have everything in place to keep growing," he says. "If it involves dirt, we do it."

Doosan earthmovers
Much of the dirt work is done with his lineup of productive Doosan equipment — five crawler excavators and a wheel loader, purchased from Paul Equipment, Balmoral, New Brunswick.

"I've always been open-minded about equipment," Daigle says. "I will give a brand a try if I can get a good price and, most importantly, good service. When I decided to purchase an excavator a few years ago, I called five equipment dealers and told them what I needed. Only Paul Equipment called me back. I have been a satisfied customer of that dealership ever since."

Daigle's operators took a liking to the Doosan excavators immediately. The DX-Series provides plenty of power to dig, precise joystick control, excellent all-around visibility and one of the largest cabs in the industry to maximize operator comfort and productivity. Routine maintenance is easy, too.

"The first Doosan excavator I purchased did such a good job that I kept buying more as the work increased," he says. "When a machine delivers top-notch performance and is priced less than the competition, well, that's an excellent value."

The Doosan machines, which include the DX140, DX180 and DX225 models, are kept busy with a variety of digging projects. For Daigle, the 2010 construction began in late March and during the next 2½ months, his excavators put in more than 40 foundations.

"I know I can count on them to be productive day after day," he says. "They are very reliable machines. So, too, is the Doosan DL200 wheel loader, which I operate to handle topsoil."

Reliability and productivity are important as the workload grows and as Daigle expands his involvement in the construction business around Moncton. In addition to digging foundations, his 28-employee company has the equipment and expertise to install concrete, landscape the site, install utilities and many other jobs as well. Projects include homes, duplexes, warehouses and apartment complexes. The building supply side of the business includes drywall, plywood, insulation, roofing, lumber, flooring and plumbing and electrical supplies.

"Since I own quite a bit of land, I plan to develop more of it in the future, and continue to work with other builders, too," he says. "I don't know when the growth in this area is going to slow down, but I hope to continue to ride along with the good times."