Cloverdale Equipment Company is a full-service construction equipment sales, service and rental company. Celebrating 55 years in business in 2018, their company has three locations, including Greater Cleveland, Ohio, Norton Shores, Michigan, and Oak Park, Michigan, which serves as their headquarters. The company’s inventory includes aerial work platforms, boom trucks, cranes and material handling equipment including forklifts and telehandlers, as well as other construction equipment.
As a mechanic, Jack Preimesberger works primarily on servicing Cloverdale’s equipment and vehicles, while occasionally working on customer trucks. He also sets up new tractors, setting up the hydraulics, mounting fenders and lighting, and doing a full inspection before they’re ready to hit the road. Having been in the business for years, Jack has used a variety of tools and equipment, including air compressors.
Jack was a long-time user of reciprocating air compressors before switching to a rotary screw air compressor when Cloverdale upgraded to a new service truck and compressor. This made Jack the perfect candidate to share his experience and story on how the change from a reciprocating compressor to a VMAC rotary screw compressor improved his workflow.
Reciprocating Air Compressor Challenges
How would you describe your reciprocating air compressor? When asked this question, Jack used words like “heavy”, and “deadweight”. His reciprocating air compressor was running the best it could, but it wasn’t able to produce the air volume or maintain the air pressure that they needed to complete jobs efficiently. However, for Jack, this all changed when a new service truck from Summit Truck Bodies showed up in his shop, equipped with a new VMAC Hydraulic Driven 40 CFM Rotary Screw Air Compressor.
VMAC: A Smarter Hydraulic Air Compressor
“I first learned about VMAC when Cloverdale purchased a new service truck from Summit, and it came with a VMAC Hydraulic Air Compressor,” says Jack. “The performance was pretty impressive, it maintains lots of air pressure, and gives air on demand.” Though the performance of the VMAC air compressor impressed Jack, it was the system’s sophisticated technology that blew him away. “This hydraulic air compressor monitors temperatures, pressures, and controls whether or not the unit can start building air. If it’s too cold the VMAC Hydraulic will limit its use to protect the system and warm it up first. If it gets too hot it will shut off, again to protect itself. A lot of compressors aren’t equipped with this smart technology; they will run until they burn themselves out,” explains Jack.
These features described by Jack are the reason why the VMAC Hydraulic Driven Air Compressor is known for having the most advanced control system available. The digital controls are easy to use and extend the compressor life by automatically protecting it in extreme environments and climates, which is much appreciated in areas like Michigan, which sees temperatures regularly dropping below freezing in the winter.
VMAC Hydraulic Driven Air Compressor Checks All The Boxes
For Cloverdale, the VMAC Hydraulic Driven Air Compressor checked off all the boxes on their wish list, which included performance, weight savings, and longevity. “It gives the performance we’re all looking for,” confirms Jack. The 40 CFM VMAC Hydraulic is also up to 260 lbs lighter than comparable units, which allowed Summit to load up the truck with more equipment and tool boxes for Cloverdale during the build process. This hydraulic system is also smaller than the previous air compressors Jack was using - the footprint on the truck is noticeably decreased. But again, it’s the system’s smart technology that’s the difference maker for Jack: “I like to see technology integrated into equipment to improve working conditions. The fact that this system is so well monitored is what I like best. Seeing it internally controlled and making adjustments based on temperature to avoid errors and damage is the biggest plus of all.”
The change to VMAC Hydraulic Air Compressors has had such a positive impact on the service department at Cloverdale, more trucks from Summit Truck Bodies with VMAC Hydraulic Air Compressors are being built right now. “Summit is a great company with great people, we’re happy to work with them on our truck builds,” notes Jack. And when asked if he would recommend VMAC to someone considering a new air compressor, his answer was simple and decisive: “hell yeah, I would!”
About Summit Truck Bodies: VMAC Dealer
Summit Truck Bodies manufactures custom designed truck bodies, including the ones that Cloverdale has ordered. Their manufacturing facility is centrally located in Wathena, Kansas, and the company ships their trucks throughout the United States and Canada. David Thornberry is the Summit Truck Bodies Sales Representative who worked with Cloverdale on their latest truck builds. “Cloverdale is a very knowledgeable company. They know what they want and what they need - the only real change they’ve made to their trucks in recent years is changing the air compressor to a VMAC hydraulic system.”
The VMAC Hydraulic Air Compressor that Cloverdale uses is the air compressor of choice for Summit Truck Bodies, as it is both lightweight and compact. Upfitting their trucks with the lightest weight and compact equipment allows Summit to better fulfill their customers’ requests for more storage for tools and equipment on their trucks. “Weight is extremely critical, and it’s what sets VMAC apart from the alternatives. When you’re spec’ing out a 19,500 GVW chassis, there’s a limited amount of payload to work with, so freeing up an extra 260 lbs makes all the difference in the world,” explains David.
David has been with Summit for 5 years, and like Jack, has nothing but positive things to say about the company: “This is a great family-owned business. I love that everything at Summit is done in-house. It’s got a really good feel here - my son served four years as a U.S. Marine, and when we picked him up in Las Vegas, we stopped by the Summit manufacturing plant in Wathena on the way home to discuss employment opportunities. He was hired right there on the spot. I think that says a lot about what kind of company Summit is.”
And when asked for his closing thoughts on VMAC, David’s expert advice is this: “When you’re building a service truck, everyone is doing the same thing, and that’s operating air tools. If you need a hydraulic driven air compressor, go straight to VMAC.”
- For more information on VMAC 40 CFM and 60 CFM Hydraulic Rotary Screw Air Compressors, visit www.vmacair.com/hyd
- For more information on Cloverdale Equipment Company, visit www.cloverdale-equip.com
- For more information on Summit Truck Bodies, visit www.summitbodies.com
