Blanchard Partner Counts on Reliable Equipment, Dependable Support

Blanchard customer Mike Sword of Sword Grading has operated a tractor in some form or fashion since childhood.

Raised in Oconee County, South Carolina, Mike gained much of his machine operating experience throughout his childhood and teen years.

In 1999, Mike made a career of his local foothills terrain knowledge, starting off in minor residential site development with a skid steer loader and mini excavator. As business grew, Mike realized he needed to grow his equipment fleet. A Blanchard Compact Sales Rep contacted Mike in 2002 to discuss the benefits of a multi-terrain loader.

“I knew something was different about Blanchard when the Compact Sales Rep came to my job site that night to put a track on my skid steer loader—it was ready the next morning.”

Since then, Sword Grading has grown into a home construction industry leader, with “The Reserve” and “Cliffs Communities” Lake Keowee properties included in their portfolio.

The Sword Grading and Blanchard Machinery relationship is more like a trusting friendship than a client one. “I know most of the Blanchard folks by name. I regularly call Tim Jones at the Simpsonville branch, say ‘This is Mike,’ and he knows me right away. That’s pretty special.”

Ron Hunter, Mike’s Heavy Equipment Sales Rep, enjoys working with customers like Sword Grading. “I’m always impressed by how presentable and maintained Mike keeps his equipment, and how organized his job sites are. That means a lot to a site owner and developer.”

Sword Grading and Blanchard have gotten through slow times together, too. “2007 through 2012 was rough. I had to adjust my fleet to meet changing demand, but Blanchard was there for me. They helped me dispose of the machines I didn’t need and get top dollar for them.”

“If you have to sell a machine out of your fleet, a Cat machine will bring more than any other brand. The numbers show it.”

Ron recently brought Sword Grading along to the Cat plant in Athens, GA, to see their new Cat 308E2 excavator come off the assembly line in person.

For Ron, that’s just good Blanchard Machinery business. “It’s great that we’re able to take a customer to see their machine being manufactured. We want them involved in our process every step of the way.”

As Sword Grading looks toward the future, they will continue to rely on Blanchard Machinery to provide honest, expert advice. “As long as there is beautiful land on these lakes and mountains, folks will want to build nice homes there. We want to be ready to help. I know we will be as long as we partner with Blanchard.”