These Warehouseaholics Count On Linder

To say that construction runs through the blood of the McConnell family is an understatement. Danny McConnell and his son, Daniel McConnell II, grew up operating machines and together boast more than 61 years of experience in the construction industry. In 2012, the father-son duo split from their separately owned construction companies and founded Orlando Construction, LLC.

“My brother and I started a business in 1985 called Total Site Development that we ran together,” explained McConnell. “We went our separate ways because we each had a son in the construction industry and were eager to create businesses with them. Daniel and I established Orlando Construction and have continued to grow the business year-over-year.”

Since 2012, Orlando Construction has expanded from its original six employees to approximately 60. The aptly named firm specializes in mass grading and site work in the Orlando metropolitan area. It provides turnkey operations that transform job sites from foundation to finish.

“We start with clearing a site and will take it all the way through striping the parking lot,” said McConnell. “We’ll do the sewer, water, storm, base, paving, curb and anything else needed to get the project ready to go above ground. Other than subbing out concrete and asphalt, we handle everything else in-house. Ideally, what we like to do is pipe work and push dirt.”

Warehouse projects comprise a large portion of Orlando Construction’s portfolio.

“We’re like warehouseaholics,” joked McConnell. “We do a lot of tilt-up warehouses for some of the major retailers in the area. A majority of those are big dirt jobs that require either a lot of material import or include digging and shaping ponds and putting the dirt on the pads.

“We’ll have 15 jobs going at any given time, most of which are eight-month warehouse projects,” continued McConnell. “We’ll also throw in the occasional apartment complex so that people know we still do them. Typically, our projects range from $2 to 5 million, but we’ll do smaller jobs for our customers as well.”

In central Florida, frequent rainstorms make meeting deadlines more challenging. To stay on schedule, Orlando Construction relies on its fleet of Komatsu dozers and excavators with integrated intelligent Machine Control (iMC) GPS technology, including multiple D51PXi and D61PXi dozers and a PC490LCi-11 excavator.

“At our Oak Ridge job, we pushed 486 truckloads of dirt in one day with the D51i,” said McConnell. “As we were importing, the dozer took the pad straight to finish grade using the iMC technology. The time and cost savings were amazing.”

“Our operators don’t want to run machines without the GPS,” continued McConnell. “It’s easier for them because the project is displayed on their screen, and they don’t need stakes to stay on grade. I don’t know how we could do this now without those capabilities.”

At another site, Orlando Construction used its Komatsu PC490LCi-11 excavator to dig multiple retention ponds in wet conditions.

“We moved about 25,000 yards of material using the excavator,” shared McConnell. “As we were excavating, water kept filling up the ponds, and the operator couldn’t see the bottom. Because we were able to create as-builts for the ponds using GPS, the operator couldn’t over dig, and the ponds were finished exactly on grade.

“From a time and efficiency standpoint, the iMC excavator outperforms any other,” continued McConnell. “We don’t have to rely on our dozers to keep the excavator on grade, which frees them up to work on other projects. The (PC)490 can practically dig the ponds itself.”

When McConnell began looking for new equipment in 2015, he was immediately impressed by the visibility from Komatsu dozers.

“Being able to see the blade on a dozer is a big deal,” stated McConnell. “Removing the radiator from the front of the machine so that the operator could see the blade really sold me. Combining the visibility with the GPS capabilities and operating comfort made buying the Komatsu dozers an easy decision.”

Since obtaining its first dozer, the firm has worked closely with Linder Industrial Machinery and Sales Rep Mike Jones to add new equipment every year.

“In the last five years, we’ve added four dozers, five wheel loaders and several excavators of various sizes,” said McConnell. “I still have original equipment from when I started the company, but ideally we would trade all of it for Komatsus. When I’m pushing 486 loads of dirt, I can’t have something break down. I know I can rely on our Komatsu equipment to run when we need it.

“When we were considering which equipment to buy, we demoed several options,” continued McConnell. “There was no comparison between Komatsu and other brands. If somebody asked if I would switch from Komatsu to something else, the answer would be no.”

When Orlando Construction was still a young company, Linder was there to support it.

“We were very small when we first started, and Linder still wanted to work with us,” recalled McConnell. “They’ve always stepped up to the plate when we need something. It’s a been an easy relationship to build.”

Flexibility is key to the future

Orlando Construction has built a sustainable model to continue growing year-over-year. Through the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty, the business has remained profitable and busy.

“We had a couple of jobs shut down and several others start up,” explained McConnell. “Although we like the warehouse jobs, we’re flexible enough to handle a wide range of work. We plan to continue taking on new projects as they become available.”