INTERVIEW
22
ACT
OCTOBER 2013
October 1-3 in Louisville, KY. The
company will display almost $10 million
worth of equipment from several
manufacturers at the show, and for the
first time, they will have a booth inside
the exhibit hall.
We caught up with Johnson to talk
about the utility equipment business,
ICUEE and related.
WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF BUSINESS OF SCOTT
POWERLINE?
Predominately we are an equipment
sales and rental company with particular
focus on the power line industry. We
rent and sell bucket trucks and digger
derricks, and also do a lot of crane-
related business. We probably have the
largest fleet of Mantis cranes for rent in
the country. We are also a National and
Elliott Equipment boom truck dealer,
and we do a lot of business in selling and
renting specialty equipment on track
vehicles. We will have several at ICUEE.
We also offer Terex auger drilling
equipment and have also developed a
relationship with Bay Shore Systems to
provide the Lo-Dril excavator-mounted
drills. In addition to our equipment
rental and sales, we have two full-service
facilities here at our headquarters
in Monroe, LA and at our facility
in McDonough, GA. Both locations
are staffed with parts and service
departments, and we offer facility based
and mobile service.
HOW DO YOU CHARACTERIZE THE HEALTH OF
THE UTILITY EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY?
I think it’s still good. The big thing
the past couple of years has been the
CREZ Loop in Texas. CREZ stands for
Competitive Renewable Energy Zones. It
is a couple thousand miles of brand new
transmission lines in Texas designed to
tie in all the wind energy in Texas to the
grid. For us, CREZ kicked off in earnest
in 2010, and it has been a big deal. It has
generated a lot of work…hundreds of
miles of transmission lines in West Texas
and the Panhandle. That has provided a
lot of business for Scott Powerline. But
that is starting to wrap up. Large sections
have been energized and should be
finished by the first quarter of next year.
That said, everything we are hearing is
that there’s plenty of work still to be done.
There may not be big, expansive projects
like the one in Texas, but there are still a
lot of good projects bidding throughout
the South, Southwest and Southeastern
U.S. We usually have a summer lull, and
that’s already over and we are seeing lots
of activity. The electric side of the utility
business is still very healthy.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR ICUEE?
This is going to be our biggest presence
ever. We’ve attended ICUEE for many
years, and we’ve provided equipment for
the different manufacturers we represent.
This year we will have 23 pieces of
equipment displayed throughout the
outside area. That’s the most we’ve ever
had, and represents $9 to $10 million
worth of equipment. We are also going
to take a whack at having an inside booth
this year. Our sales team wanted to try it
and see how it goes. ICUEE will be our
biggest show ever in terms of equipment,
personnel and expenditures. We will have
11 people working there. We think it’s
going to be a good show. We are hearing
that lots of folks will be there, lots of our
customers, and that always bodes well.
SCOTT POWERLINE AND MANTIS HAVE BEEN
PIONEERS IN THE TELESCOPIC CRAWLER
MARKET. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE MARKET
FOR THESE TYPES OF CRANES?
When Mr. Scott got in with Mantis,
by virtue of his relationship with Irby
Construction, that started our history
with telescopic crawlers and the Mantis
line. In my experience, most every power
line contractor in the South and South
Central U.S. will have had a Mantis crane
on a power line job. The Tadano Mantis
telescopic crawler has the flexibility of
operating in more challenging terrains
and environments. It has excellent pick
and carry capabilities and a 360 degree
chart. You don’t need outriggers. It’s kind
of a Swiss Army knife. You can drill holes
with it for certain types of poles. You
can put a pole claw on it. You can put a
work platform on it to put linemen in the
air. Through the years, these cranes have
become bigger, and they are very versatile
pieces of equipment.
Predominately, most of our Mantis
cranes are in the South Central part of
the country though we have provided
them for jobs in the Midwest, on both
coasts and even in Canada. The Mantis is
a really tough crane and other industries
have come to appreciate its qualities.
You are now seeing these cranes on wind
farms, in the oil and gas industry, and
general construction. It’s a very versatile
tool.
There have been others in the past that
have made a shot at the telecrawler crane
market. Mantis was the most successful
and the best, but of course I’m biased.
Liebherr and Link Belt have entered the
market – they are both very reputable
and they see the potential for this type of
crane.
FOR YEARS, THE BOOM TRUCK MARKET WAS
CENTERED ON THE 15- TO 30-TON MACHINE.
FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, HIGHER CAPACITY
BOOM TRUCKS SEEM TO BE MARKET LEADERS.
HOW DO YOU CHARACTERIZE THE BOOM
TRUCK MARKET? HAS THE MARKET FOR THE
The Tadano Mantis telescopic crawler
has the flexibility of operating in more
challenging terrains and environments.
