Banker Becomes Builder

Former banker Andy Andrews likes operating his Bobcat S250 loader.

Andy Andrews went from sitting behind a desk at a bank to sitting in a Bobcat® skidsteer loader—and he couldn’t be happier.

“I really like working in construction,” says Andrews. “I come home dirty, but I truly enjoy what I am doing.”

He is one of the owners of Masterpiece Group, Inc., a Dalton, Ga., firm that specializes in residential housing, taking the job from site development to construction to landscaping.

His financial background, along with being a certified real estate appraiser, certainly helped Andrews make the career change five years ago.

“I came into this business with a solid background in research and numbers- crunching,” says Andrews. “I knew a lot about building residential sub-divisions and understood the ways that deals could go wrong. However, working on a construction jobsite was certainly new to me.”

Andrews supervises projects himself, relying on several sub-contractors to do much of the work. Whenever the opportunity arises, he climbs into the company’s new Bobcat S250 loader.

“At first we did digging, backfilling, grading and other jobs with three tractors,” he says. “Our S250 loader is a significant improvement. It does the work easier and much faster. Not only is it a powerful, agile workhorse, but features such as the enclosed cab and Power Bob-Tach™ attachment mounting system make it a dream to operate. Using the S250 is one of my favorite parts of the job.”

Some of Andrews’ friends are still scratching their heads, wondering why he changed careers.

“I tell them how much I like working outside, seeing a project through from start to finish, being more active and enjoying better health,” he says. “This new direction has turned into a great experience.”