Earthborne Inc.

In 2016, Earthborne Inc. will celebrate 40 years of sales and equipment maintenance in the construction landscaping and agricultural industries. Located in Warrington, Pennsylvania, Earthborne has a crew of mechanics that are on-call 24/7 to perform either on-site maintenance or field service. The company is an authorized dealer for product lines such as JCB, Avant Equipment, Fisher Snow Plows Woods Attachments and Mowers and many others.

When Richard Taylor founded the company in 1976, Earthborne was primarily in the truck repair business. “After working as a service technician he found it was convenient to start his own company and have the trucks come to him,” says Doug Taylor, son of Richard and vice president of Earthborne. “We eventually began repairing construction equipment and then in the early 2000s we became an authorized dealer for JCB. That went really well so from then on we kept bringing on more product lines.”

Service and sales

Taylor believes that the quality of service and maintenance that his company provides sets Earthborne apart from its competition. “What makes us different from everybody else is the fact that our customers know that they can rely on our quick turnaround service,” says Taylor. “A lot of our customers run small businesses so they have specialized equipment and don’t have a backup machine so when a piece of their equipment goes down that means they are out of work. Our clients know that we’re going to make them our top priority to get them up and running again.”

The skilled technicians at Earthborne work on-site as well as out in the field in the company’s field road service trucks. “They could be working with a long-haul driver that is broke down on the side of the road somewhere, or working on a tractor in a field somewhere,” Taylor explains. “They might also be working on equipment at a construction site during the weekend.”

Through the recession, Earthborne was able to not only survive but thrive due to its service department. “We’re lucky to be as diverse as we are because when people aren’t buying new equipment, they’re fixing the stuff they already have,” says Taylor. “We did a lot of repair work in 2008 through 2010. We also had a lot of customers that were changing their business model and consolidating so we would help them sell their equipment by taking stuff in on consignment.”

With 45 full-time employees, Earthborne operates out of two Warrington locations. The locations are split into sales and maintenance headquarters. Located 1.5 miles from each other, one location is a showroom for new equipment where potential customers are able to witness demonstrations. At the company’s maintenance location the parts and repair shop is where customers have all of their equipment serviced. “This is the ‘behind the scenes location’,” says Taylor.

Earthborne is a family business and Taylor is a second generation employee. The company was started by his father in 1976 and he recalls the business as a strong presence in his childhood. “If I wanted to see dad while I was growing up I came to work,” recounts Taylor. “I began working for the company full-time when I graduated from college in 2000.” Taylor’s wife, Maggie Taylor, is is in charge of marketing for the company, while his brother Glen works in the sales department. Taylor’s mother and father also remain heavily active in the company.

The JCB Dancing Diggers

In an effort to display the strength and balance of Earthborne’s line of JCB diggers, the company has put together an ensemble of staff members who are able to demonstrate complete control of the machines in a choreographed “dance” with the machines. “JCB actually does it nationally, but I believe we’re the only dealer that uses our own staff,” Taylor explains. “It shows off the balance, strength and agility and the overall product.” The JCB Dancing Diggers often perform at county fairs and construction shows. “It definitely creates a lot of good press and it’s a fun show for all ages,” Taylor says. Videos of the company’s performance can be seen on YouTube.

Looking ahead

The past few years have been extremely fruitful for Earthborne. “We seem to double in size just about every three years,” says Taylor. “We certainly want to keep growing at the pace that we’ve been expanding. We plan to take on more locations and challenges and explore some other interests.” The company has recently expanded its products and services into the agriculture industry.

While the company continues to grow, Earthborne Inc. will continue to maintain the level of service that has made the family business so successful.