Two Locations

Knoxville

865-982-6452

Tri-Cities

423-975-9111

Operating Hours

Parts & Service

M-F 7am - 5pm

Sales & Rentals

M-F 8am - 5pm

Contact Us

865-982-6452

Sales: Blake Wilson

Parts/Service: Terry Nichols

The growing need for compact equipment in urban construction

The Growing Need for Compact Equipment in Urban Construction

Emily Bieger

As the need for residential and commercial space continues to grow, urban construction has become much more common. The unique confines of an urban landscape present construction challenges for the size and type of equipment that can be used to build in the urban environment. As new compact construction technology continues to develop and mature, it’s important for contractors to understand why they need to consider acquiring quality compact machinery. Below is a list of reasons why compact equipment better fits growing city and startup project construction sites.

Compliance with Urban Regulations

Regulations regarding the types of equipment contractors are allowed to use in certain areas have grown. With laws limiting noise, emissions and even weights of construction equipment in crowded areas, a growing need has presented itself for smaller equipment that can handle the same workload as their larger counterparts. Machinery like Case Compact Track Loaders and Compact Dozer Loaders help exceed site needs while meeting these more stringent regulations. Simultaneously, they set the bar as top-of-the-line compact equipment that performs above its weight class.

Navigating Tight Spaces

Urban construction’s most difficult challenges include navigating narrow streets, crowded neighborhoods and working with limited staging areas. Compact equipment excels in these environments. Mini excavators and other compact equipment can efficiently dig and grade in areas where larger machines struggle to fit or get turned around. The Case TR340B Compact Track Loader offers a smaller overall footprint, allowing operators to maneuver through tight spaces without sacrificing performance.

Versatility of Compact Machinery

Compact equipment often offers a useability and versatility that larger, clunkier equipment can’t match. With compact machinery’s ability to easily interchange attachments such as grapples, buckets and augers, the need to bring in specific pieces of large machinery can be, to some extent, limited, if needed at all. Adding versatile compact machinery to your fleet of construction equipment can help streamline urban construction jobs while saving time and money from deploying your big gun/high dollar machinery.

Improved Transport and Storage

The convenience of compact machinery in urban construction becomes quite evident when it’s time to transport your equipment. Deploying heavy equipment in urban areas through urban traffic can be challenging and time-consuming. And time is money. Compact machines are easier to load, transport and properly store, making them more practical and economical for city projects. 

Cost Effectiveness

Smaller machinery usually comes with smaller upfront purchasing costs, reduced maintenance and lower fuel costs compared to large machinery. For contractors working on startup projects with limited budgets and for those developing smaller urban infrastructure, compact machinery is ideal. There is no need to take up space and spend extra cash on large machinery that can only be used for specific jobs if smaller equipment can get the job done. Do be aware however, that costs can escalate pretty quickly when you start adding on all the attachments you may need for certain jobs. Keep this in mind when building your small equipment fleet.

In conclusion, the following is still true: Size matters. If you are finding cost issues and inconveniences in deploying your large equipment in the ever-growing and developing urban landscape, it may be time to consider some smaller-sized equipment options that are still tough enough to get the heavy jobs done but be easier to operate on the job site. Consult with your CMI Case representative to find the right sized equipment options and attachments for your construction fleet.

CASE heavy duty equipment lineup.

What’s What in the World of Construction Equipment

Emily Bieger

It’s spring, and you can hear the engines starting to rev! Construction equipment is in high demand, as building continues to soar throughout the nation! Before you make the substantial investment in heavy machinery, make sure you have the right equipment for your job.

Excavators: Used for digging, demolition, handling materials, trenching, earthmoving…the excavator uses a boom, dipper, bucket, and attachments for a broad range of uses. Excavators come in a range of sizes, 4,000 lbs. to 158,000 lbs. Mini-Excavators are second only to CTL’s as the most popular Case machine in East Tennessee.

Backhoe/Loaders: The Swiss Army Knife of construction equipment and CASE’s flagship product. Utilized for excavation, material handling, demolition, and landscaping, the backhoe has both a front-facing loader bucket or blade and a rear-facing backhoe with bucket.    

Bulldozers: Utilized to clear, dig, and level land. The dozer has metal tracks and a 4 or 6-Way blade that pushes earth, sand, brush, and debris.

Wheel Loaders: Utilized for material handling on concrete, asphalt, gravel, or dirt with a large front-end loader bucket. Wheel Loaders articulate in the middle and offer higher speeds for large jobsite material handling.

Compact Track Loaders: CTL’s are the most sold type of construction equipment on the market today. Extremely versatile rubber track machines utilized on nearly every construction project in East TN. Multitude of attachments are available for every task including buckets, trenchers, mulching heads, forks, brush cutters hammers, dozer blades and more. Although they look like skid steers, they generally have more horsepower and can carry heavier loads.

Skid Steers: Like the CTL but wheeled for use on concrete and asphalt, these also are available with multitude of attachments. The consensus is that tires hold up longer and are far smoother riding on hard surfaces.

Blake Wilson, general manager at Contractor’s Machinery Inc. (CMI), says the most important factor to consider when buying heavy equipment is the type of work you are planning to pursue and what you are looking for from your equipment dealer. Since 1971 CMI has been keeping contractors working in East Tennessee.

Before you make any large machinery purchases, be sure to visit our CASE Equipment page. Review the extensive list of equipment available and talk to a CMI-Case representative! CMI wants this decision to be the very best for you and your business!

What is CASE and CMI-Case doing to help alleviate the supply chain crisis?

Working Together Successfully During Supply Chain Crisis

Contractors Machinery

The struggle is real. Dealers are placing orders now and receiving delivery dates in 2023.  Some steel surcharges are as high as 30%. Over the last six months, some freight costs have increased 25-35%.

CASE Construction is committed to doing what it can to limit the costs passed on to their dealers and ultimately you the customer! CASE Construction has been hiring additional personnel, air freighting critical components, and researching alternative manufacturing sources.

Most importantly, here are CMI-Case, we are partnering with our customers to offer practical help that will aid in this dilemma. This is what you, the customer, can do:

  • Order now for equipment you anticipate you will need in 2023
  • Take advantage of our resources to help you research equipment options.  Just because your first choice isn’t available doesn’t mean we can’t solve your problem.
  • Consider reducing the size of your fleet by selling late model CASE equipment to CMI-Case. Used-equipment sales are booming!

NOTE:  CMI-Case currently has the following in stock – wheel loaders, loader backhoes, crawler dozers, asphalt rollers, rubber-tired skid steer loaders, and limited stock of mini-excavators and rubber track skid steers.

We can’t simply eradicate the supply chain crisis that is before us; but as CMI-Case and its customers persevere together, the challenges it brings can be successfully overcome!