Recently, the Ditch Witch Division formed, bringing the brands of Ditch Witch, Subsite, American Augers and Trencor together under one umbrella. Kevin Smith was named general manager of the new division. He spoke with Dig Different magazine about the change and what customers of those brands can expect to experience going forward.
Dig Different: What’s the reasoning behind forming the Ditch Witch Division?
Kevin Smith: For many years, the Ditch Witch and Subsite brands have been sold and serviced through our worldwide Ditch Witch dealer network. Looking ahead though, one of our goals is to create more synergy between our brands and provide our customers with the additional support and service they need at a localized level. That is why we formed the Ditch Witch Division. We are bringing Ditch Witch, Subsite, American Augers and Trencor together to give our customers the resources necessary to keep them productive and profitable on the job site.
American Augers and Trencor products were historically sold and serviced from the legacy equipment manufacturer to the customer. And while that’s created great relationships, there is no doubt that our customers need more localized presence for service and support to help take care of their needs. If a piece of equipment needs to be serviced, we want to get an experienced technician out there as quickly as possible to address the situation and get the customer back on the job. Now that the Ditch Witch Division has been created, customers of all four brands can rely on any of our nearly 200 dealer locations for fast, local service.
Dig Different: What is largely staying the same despite this change?
Smith: We are committed to continuing to provide the same quality products, services, and training our customers know and love from our worldwide Ditch Witch dealership network. It’s going to feel very much the same as it always has for Ditch Witch and Subsite customers, while our American Augers and Trencor customers will notice an increase in localized service and support capabilities. Behind the scenes, we’re working to leverage new technology, invest in job site training and create unparalleled synergies that all of our customers will start to see in the near future.
Dig Different: Give an example of the type of customer support you hope to improve with this change?
Smith: Let’s pretend you’re an American Augers customer and you’re working in the Southwest corner of the United States. A part of your unit is having an issue that needs to be addressed. You could call the factory in West Salem, Ohio, to help troubleshoot the issue remotely, but it would be much faster if there were local resources you could tap. We have multiple dealers in the Southwest U.S., and now that American Augers is part of the organization, we can deploy them within hours to diagnose the problem and get you back up and running. This localized presence is going to give all of our customers access to parts, training and around-the-clock service closer to their job site.
Dig Different: What are you doing with your operations to be able to accomplish this?
Smith: Our primary task has been harmonizing internal processes so that each of the brands in the Ditch Witch Division can be united in our customer service. For example, we’ve been implementing and broadening our training platforms to get dealers up to speed on the new brands. We’ve also been developing internal communication tools to share information quickly across brands. Our goal is that customers feel that each of our brands is in this together to answer their job site needs from start to finish.
To give a real-world example, let’s say a customer owns a Subsite utility locator to verify existing utilities, a Ditch Witch vacuum excavator to safely expose utilities and a Ditch Witch directional drill or Trencor trencher for installation. All the parts and service needs for each of those machines are going to be available through a localized dealer with an experienced technician. This will help our customers feel supported regardless of the machine and be as efficient as possible on the job site.
Dig Different: So it sounds like employee training is a big part of this to be able to have all these brands operating properly under the Ditch Witch Division?
Smith: Absolutely. Not only inside of the division itself with our employee base but also within our worldwide dealer organization. Over the last several months, we’ve rolled out additional training programs and standard work processes across our dealer platform to help get them up to speed and ready to assist and support our customers. And during this transition from an OEM factory support model, we will be working hand in hand with our dealers to make sure customers get what they need in a timely fashion.
Dig Different: How do you anticipate all of the brands being able to help one another as far as developing new or improved products?
Smith: Our goal is to provide a common approach to equipment that helps our customers improve the installation and maintenance of underground infrastructure, while minimizing job site challenges. Whether it’s a small pipe and cable installation or it’s a large pipeline transmission, we’re going to be sharing information across the company about our customers and their jobs, and use it to find ways we can help them be more efficient and profitable. For example, we’re already looking at how we can integrate and provide a common platform, common training, and common approach to make it easy for operators as they transition from one piece of equipment to the other.
Dig Different: What are your most immediate goals with this new division in the next year or so?
Smith: It’s all about coming together. Our No. 1 goal is to align the Ditch Witch, American Augers, Trencor, and Subsite businesses with our worldwide Ditch Witch dealer channel to better support our customers. There will be a lot of work over the next year as we continue to drive that goal forward. In addition, we plan to put a lot of focus and continued investment in R&D, especially as we continue to leverage new technologies to create job site solutions. Finally, you will continue to see exciting new products, services and training opportunities come from the Ditch Witch Division as we innovate to meet the needs of our customers and improve their overall experience.
Dig Different: Over the long term, what are the goals?
Smith: As this industry evolves and technology continues to be a driving force, we will continue to work to understand these changes and ensure that we’re providing the best possible solutions to our customers. For example, we’re looking at alternative fuels and finding safer solutions to job site challenges that will reduce the amount of manpower that’s required on the job and improve performance. I think Ditch Witch, Subsite, Trencor and American Augers have each done a phenomenal job at anticipating customers’ needs and delivering for success. However, the world is dynamic, and our goal is to adapt and evolve with the industry so we can provide the solutions our customers might need tomorrow — not just today or yesterday. With the help of the Ditch Witch Division, we will be able to get that information from our customers quickly so we can be more agile and efficient in the support and services we deliver.
