Visibility was not the objective when Jason Snider decided to relocate Snider Equipment LLC from Johnston Loop Rd. in South Jackson to 1311 Lower Brownsville Rd., at exit 74, off Interstate 40. But it won’t hurt. “The main objective is convenience,” Snider said. “The move to Lower Brownsville Road will give us more floor space, more shop space, and then visibility, and we hope to be in it by May.”
Snider, 44, is building a 16,000-square-foot facility to house the used truck tractors and construction equipment the company sells.
“This is a continuation of a family-owned business that moved over into construction and trucks about 10 years ago,” said Snider, whose grandfather started the business in 1985. “We sell used equipment, heavy construction and truck tractors or 18-wheelers. We bring in equipment, refurbish it and sell it. The only kind of trailers we deal with are construction trailers. We’re into heavy day cabs, that’s our specialty, not the sleeper cab.” Snider said his new location gives him an additional 6,000 square feet in space, which means he can grow his inventory.
“We’ll keep about 70 to 80 trucks on hand,” Snider said. “We fix them up cosmetically and mechanically. We sell about 400 pieces a year.”
Snider said he offers attractive prices ranging from $30,000 to $75,000, which is a positive on the truck side of his business.
“We sell to a lot of farmers, loggers, contractors and other dealers,” Snider said. “That’s our four biggest buyers, and a lion’s share would be other dealers. If someone is in the farming market, you have to stay abreast of what’s working. And if a logger is doing well, they are going to be spending money on trucks.
“We’re constantly looking at what is selling and, hopefully, when we get to Lower Brownsville Road, there eventually will be a dealership for trailers, logging equipment and other possibilities.”
While the going rate for a new truck hovered around $150,000, Snider Equipment’s average sale price was about $45,000 in 2014, Snider said.
“We anticipated more growth because of where we are now,” Snider said. “But the main reason is because we are building a good team of people.”
The team includes 10 employees, and Snider hopes to add two more after the move to Lower Brownsville Road.
“There’s also the possibility of picking up more lines once we get to the new location,” Snider said. “We buy mostly from dealers, individuals and auctions, and we take a lot of trade-ins. We buy all over the U.S., looking for clean, late-model equipment.”
With access to three computers at his desk, Snider’s position is comparable to being in a stock market involving heavy equipment.
“That’s about what I do all day long,” he said. “I do the same thing with trucks. If somebody is looking to buy a dozer or truck, the alternative is going to an auction. We take the risk out of going to auction … We bring it here first.”
With mechanics on staff, Snider said it is imperative his company continues to improve.
“We had to get better, and we still have to get better,” Snider said. “In this business, reputation is everything, from vendors to creditors. If you have a bad reputation in this business, you don’t last long.”
Snider said his customer base is expanding, thanks in part to the Internet.
“People are more educated,” Snider said. “Pre-Internet, you could not determine what something was worth. Now you can go to 20 sites and see what the equipment is worth.
“If a guy in Wisconsin wants to buy a truck, we’ll ship it to him. The same with a bulldozer. We have our own trucks to run about a 200-mile radius. After that, we broker it.”
Snider has the luxury of being his own competition.
“There really isn’t any competition,” he said. “We’re a one-stop shop. We can fix it mechanically and cosmetically, finance and put a warranty on it.
“There are not a lot of dealers who are actively inventorying used trucks. They are the ones that are selling or taking in on trade, and when they sell it, that’s it.”
A native Jacksonian, Snider was working at his grandfather’s shop long before he picked up a degree in business at Middle Tennessee State University after graduating from Jackson Central-Merry.
“I started working here before I could drive a car,” Snider said. “The business grew, my grandfather got older, and it was like a hobby. It got bigger and bigger, and you look up, and here you are.”
