Merl Mennenga started his construction
business in 1964, so he's had plenty of time to try different
dealers and brands. It didn't take him long to select one. Mennenga
settled on Birkey's and Case Construction Equipment more than
two decades ago.
“Birkey's and I have a great relationship,” said
Mennenga, president of Urbana-based Mennenga Construction Inc.
“I've always dealt with Birkey's and I have no reason
to go anywhere else. They do the work on time and they treat
me well.”
Mennenga uses Birkey's service department for all his service
needs, and he has been very satisfied. “To me, the most
outstanding thing is the field service they offer,” he
said. “That way, someone comes out to the job and deals
with the problem quickly” before downtime becomes an issue.
“We don't require service that often,” he added.
“My equipment is fairly new. I like to trade it before
it gets old,” but he sticks with the Case brand at trade-in
time.
Mennenga describes his business as “building homes,”
but that really understates the scope of the company's work.
In addition to building 40 homes and doing about 20 major home
remodels annually, the company builds commercial properties
and multi-family housing.
Among the company's recent and upcoming projects, Mennenga
built a new restaurant in Tilton and has plans for a commercial-retail-condo
complex and a 128-unit apartment complex in the same area. He
also plans an office-restaurantretail-condo complex in downtown
St. Joe. Mennenga is also the developer for Stonegate, a Danville
subdivision beginning its second phase.
Tilton Mayor David Phillips believes Mennenga's projects in
the village are “the spark to get other people involved”
in bringing new development to the area, according to the Danville
Commercial- News. The restaurant, already rented out and operating,
represents an $800,000 investment in the community all
by itself.
With the varied work, Mennenga needs dependable, versatile
equipment, and he's found that in the Case machines that Birkey's
carries. “Case equipment performs well,” he said,
noting that he's particularly impressed with his newest acquisition,
a Case 450 track skid steer loader. “We use it for everything,
including crawl spaces, backfilling, and putting in sewer and
water. We also use it some in demolition work. We've used the
450CT extensively, and it's fantastic. It performs in all kinds
of weather thanks to the tracks.”
The company owns other Case skid steers, as well. The 1840
is mostly used by the concrete crew for grading and filling
work. Mennenga's paving company, which he recently sold, also
used the skid steer for cleanup work.
The Case 40XT skid steer is the workhorse for landscaping applications.
“We use it for rough grading around houses, because we
do our own sod work.” he said.
The builder uses the Case 580 Super M backhoe when crews are
digging crawl spaces for houses, doing sewer and water work,
or demolition. The Kubota tractor, which Mennenga described
as “an excellent piece of equipment I've used for many
years,” also comes in handy for a variety of applications.
Birkey's has also been Mennenga's source for a broad range
of other equipment over the years, including Case telescopic
handlers, compaction roller, grinder and trailer. He rents equipment
from Birkey's occasionally, but on the whole Mennenga prefers
to buy the equipment he needs, so he finds it convenient that
Birkey's carries a wide variety of items.
Mennenga runs the business along with his wife, Phyllis, who
manages the company's 100 rental units and handles sales for
Realty Specialists, the company's real estate arm. The company
builds mostly in the Champaign-Urbana area, and employs between
12 and 18 people, depending upon the season.
Like many Birkey's customers, Mennenga trusts the dealership
to handle his equipment needs, giving him more time to devote
to other aspects of his business. It's a partnership that's
worked for many years.
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