New Every 2: Contractor Uses Bobcat Leasing Program for Reliability

Brad Hull’s first business venture involved pressure washing heavy equipment for a large asphalt company. He cleaned skid-steer loaders, excavators, graders — the lot. In a way, the cleaning foreshadowed a characteristic within his next business, GBH Enterprises, where he prioritizes machines that have an appearance to match their dependability. For that, he relies on two-year leases from Inland Bobcat in Riverside, Calif. His fleet consists of a Bobcat® T770 compact track loader, six S770 skid-steer loaders and an E42 compact excavator.  

Concrete Plans 

The success of GBH Enterprises — a name that combines the initials of Brad and his wife, Giovanna — required a true learning curve at the controls. There was a stark difference between the early days of moving machines on the cleaning lot and using that same kind of equipment for precision jobs.  

“I got tired of pressure washing equipment, and one day I decided I wanted to try working on a Bobcat loader myself,” Brad says. “I knew how to break up a pile of concrete. Refining that craft for a jobsite was another matter. It probably took six months of trying different methods of removing concrete before I figured out the best way to do it.” 

Once he had it figured out, his business took off, and general contractors took notice. These days, if there’s a big job anywhere in Southern California, there’s a decent chance GBH Enterprises is on it. The asphalt grinding and concrete demolition company has established a sterling reputation over its 28-year history, and its body of work includes construction at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena), turning the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum into a temporary racetrack for NASCAR and working on the region’s famous freeways.  

Trading Up 

A key pivot in the story of the business came around 2008. Brad decided to take advantage of Bobcat’s leasing program. Several factors appealed to him, such as hours under warranty, reliability and the image new equipment projected.  

“You’re out in the middle of the street representing the company, so you like to use newer equipment that is reliable and looks good,” he says, pointing out most of their projects are public works. “It helps keep up your reputation that you use reliable machines. If our equipment broke down, we might have 30 asphalt trucks sitting there waiting for us to get going again.” 

Trendsetters 

GBH Enterprises now has 18 employees and about 130 customers. A distinguishing feature of their work is the skillful way they break and remove concrete; it’s fast and clean. The aim is to isolate large chunks for easy removal, and employees credit the hand and foot controls on the Bobcat loaders with enabling such exactness. Other contractors on the job appreciate the efficiency so they can start pouring the new surface faster. 

Brad plans to continue using Bobcat’s leasing program to ensure he has new and reliable machines running on Southern California’s freeways, ports and stadiums. He also likes the flexibility those leases offer. For example, sometimes he wants to extend a lease by a couple of months, and there have been other times he chooses to buy one of the machines at the end of the lease.  

The strategy not only works for GBH Enterprises, but it catches the attention of other contractors. The team at Inland Bobcat says they’re often asked, “Let me get a setup to match the GBH guys!”