Customer Focus:
Tycon Excavating Company
Everything From the
Ground Down
"WEDIGIT"
Although this message on Bill and Peggy Tatum's license
plate may seem confusing at first, it describes their
business, Tycon Excavating, in seven letters. WE DIG IT.
Tycon Excavating has been digging in Southern Middle
Tennessee since 1986, doing commercial, industrial, and
residential site work and site preparation.
"I describe our type of construction as
"everything from the ground down," says Peggy.
"People see a new building and don't realize the
work done before the building starts going up."
In 1982, Bill Tatum and one employee
began working with a truck and a bulldozer. Now, Tycon
Excavating has 21 employees and usually runs three crews.
They have a backlog of work, handling site construction
from initial surveying to completing the site and utility
work. As the company grew, it gradually moved from the
kitchen table to an office in the house to a large shop
and then an office building they built in 1994 next to
their house.
"When you're in business for yourself, it's a 24
hour a day commitment," Peggy explains. "With
two children, it helps to be so close to the house."
Bill supervises the crews and is involved in the
surveying and design work -- he's usually out on a job.
Peggy runs the office, managing accounting, credit, human
resources, public relations, and producing topographic
site plans on the computer.
Bill and Peggy met in high school and married in 1978.
Bill grew up in the heavy equipment business and always
wanted his own company. Starting out, he spent a lot of
time on the road from 1982 to '86 before the family
settled back home in Giles County.
An important element in site and
utility work is crushed stone; most projects require it,
and Tycon Excavating buys most of their crushed stone
from Rogers Group's Southern Middle Tennessee quarries.
"We need stone under building pads, in ditches, to
lay pipe, for erosion control, installing septic and
sewer systems, and Rogers Group provides what we
need," Bill states. " We work long hours, and
Rogers Group will stay open as late as necessary to help
us get the job done." Bill is a believer in
"making hay while the sun shines." The seasonal
nature of site construction means cooperation and
responsiveness are what Tycon looks for in customer
service.
"Dian King (Pulaksi Scale Operator) will even call
on Fridays to see if we'll need to stone on Saturday so
they can be prepared to help us," Bill continues.
"Not many businesses provide that kind of customer
service." The Tatums also enjoy working with Account
Manager Dave Adomyetz and Credit Manager Deonna Dean.
The quality of Rogers' stone meets Tycon's needs, too.
When they built a 16-acre lake for Auburn University's
experimental farm, TVA and the Corps of Engineers
required a specific type of riprap. Close quarries
couldn't meet the specifications, but Rogers Group did.
Like Rogers Group, Tycon Excavating is
focusing on providing more service and value to their
customers. One way to do that is by employing new
technology.
"Our survey equipment uses lasers and electronic
receivers, which saves time and money and improves
accuracy," says Peggy. "We use email and a
modem to transmit plans and information to architects and
designers instead of shipping."
They use sophisticated computer software to create site
plans, and can create a 3-D view of the site. This helps
the customer and Tycon employees visualize what the
project will look like.
Though it's hard to imagine having free time, Peggy
shares Rogers Group commitment to the community. She is
active in the Chamber of Commerce, Hillside Hospital, Boy
Scouts, Civitan, and is Treasurer for the local Business
and Professional Women's Group.
What does the future hold for Tycon Excavating? Bill and
Peggy's children, Patrick and Valerie, are both beginning
to be interested in the business, so there may be another
generation of Tatums building everything from the ground
down for years to come.
Tycon Excavating can be reached at:
Tycon Excavating
2727 Big Dry Creek Rd.
Pulaski, TN 38478
Phone: 615-363-8163
