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Embracing Electric: Lone Star Contracting Utilizes CASE Electric Mini Excavator for Indoor Job Sites

Slater Chapa, Owner of Lone Star Contracting, poses with the CASE Construction CX15EV Electric Mini Excavator.
Slater Chapa, Owner of Lone Star Contracting, poses with the CASE Construction CX15EV Electric Mini Excavator.

Tackling indoor construction projects can come with challenges, from minimizing disruptions to meeting environmental regulations.

Slater Chapa, Owner of plumbing contract business, Lone Star Contracting in San Angelo, Texas, prides himself on investing in cutting-edge technology that enhances his work, maximizes time efficiency, and prevents fatigue in his crew. His latest project, a plumbing job inside a local hospital, created a challenge for him: Which construction equipment machine could operate indoors quietly, quickly, and with no emissions?

Luckily for Chapa, CASE Construction’s new CX15EV electric mini excavator was the equipment solution he was looking for to meet his indoor job site needs.

“We couldn't run a diesel machine inside the [hospital] building,” Chapa said while operating his new electric excavator, a machine so quiet that conversations can take place while it is running. “We came in with this machine and effectively cut our time in half.”

Before Chapa’s purchase of the CASE electric mini excavator from ASCO Equipment, he said his crew “would have to go in and basically do everything by hand, because [they] couldn’t fit a machine in the building, or because of the emissions [they] couldn’t run a diesel machine inside the building.” For a company that does a lot of indoor contracting work, it was crucial that Chapa find a solution.

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Despite the initial hesitation of implementing an electric machine, Chapa was able to convince his employees that this mini electric machine could crush any task thrown their way.

“Some plumbers that have been doing it the old school way for years and years and years … they all begrudgingly had to give [the machine] props,” he said while scooping up more dirt and rocks with the mini excavator. “Sure made a believer out of me.”

While the price tag is more than the diesel version of the mini excavator, Chapa pointed out that it is worth the investment, particularly for its versatility in working both indoors and outdoors.

“It’s a little bit more expensive than, you know, a comparable diesel version, but when you look at the time it saves … the labor savings … [you are] able to get the job done faster and more efficiently,” he said.

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Overall, Chapa said he applauds the CASE CX15EV Electric Mini Excavator and noted that he has used this electric construction equipment machine for everything since he purchased it.

“This little jewel here really saved the day,” Chapa said. “I definitely recommend it.”

To learn more about the future of electric construction equipment in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, reach out to ASCO Equipment. The company’s team can answer questions and assist in choosing construction equipment that will maximize uptime.

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