Growing a Family Business with Caterpillar: ‘It’s Personal’

More than 55 years ago, Roy Chipley, Jr. founded a small paving company in South Carolina. Today his son Roy and grandson Marshall run the Chipley Company, a turnkey contractor specializing in industrial, commercial, private and residential construction projects.

The Chipleys built the business by building relationships—not just with employees and customers, but also with the companies that manufacture and support their equipment.

“It’s personal,” says Roy Chipley, referring to his connection with both Caterpillar and Blanchard Machinery, the local Cat® dealer. “That personal relationship allows us to do business and that’s the name of the game in today’s economy. I don’t get that with anyone else.”

But personal ties can only take you so far. The Chipleys insist on Cat equipment because it delivers the best return on their investment.

“We choose the machine that’s going to do the job best,” says Marshall Chipley. “Caterpillar keeps updating their equipment and they continue to blow us away with their improvements. That’s why we continue to use Cat.”

The Chipleys speak highly of several Cat products. Roy likes backhoe loaders and appreciates how easy it is to change attachments from inside the cab.

“We use buckets to move material, angle brooms for cleanup, forks for moving pallets. Having that versatility is very important to us.”

Marshall is a dozer fan. He likes the traction control system and stable blade control feature, two technologies that improve productivity and save fuel.

“Even operators who don’t have much experience can run our Cat dozer and be fast and precise. Their work is a lot better because of the stable blade feature.”

Chipley Company has seen big swings in the economy over its long history, but always seems to come out on top. Their success, says Roy Chipley, boils down to one thing: “Did we do what we promised our customer? Or have we done more than that?”

It’s a philosophy Caterpillar has shared for generations—delivering on the promise of quality equipment, reliable support and lasting relationships.