Page 32 - NovDec2021 Vol39No5

Photo right: John McCarty, Thompson Machinery, left, and
Robert Montgomery, Decatur County Highway Superintendent

We chose the 420F...It’s used every day.

Covering 333 square miles, and with a population of approximately 11,800 people, Decatur County is
among the smaller counties in Tennessee. However, this predominantly rural county southwest of
Nashville still has over 600 miles of road to maintain – and the Decatur County Highway Department
is working to improve all of them. Highway Superintendent Robert Montgomery, who took office in Permit No. 592
2014, says, “One of my major initiatives is to repair and resurface all our roads; it’s an ongoing and Pontiac, IL PAID US Postage PRSRT STD
challenging process.”
The Department has several Cat machines in its fleet, including some older machines which are still
in productive use. More recently, they have added a 140H motor grader and a new 420F2 backhoe
loader. “We needed to replace an older machine that had a lot of hours on it,” Montgomery reports.
“We chose the 420F, with a full range of options included – because of all we do with the machine.
It’s used every day; after a storm, it’s the first machine that gets mobile. The 4-in-1 bucket is a very
necessary option for us, and the hydraulic thumb is also especially useful.”

The Decatur County Highway Department relies on the parts and service capabilities of their local
Cat dealer, Montgomery says. “The Camden, TN store is very convenient to us, and they give us
excellent parts and service support. Wesley Sparks is an excellent parts person – he can find
whatever part you need. And we know that if our Cat dealer doesn’t have the part we need in stock,
they will typically have it for us by the next morning. We do a lot of our maintenance and repairs
ourselves, but if it’s a large job or a very specialized job, we will take the machine to the Camden
service department. And we definitely make use of our local Cat dealer’s excellent field service.”

West Knoxville East Knoxville Chattanooga
865.218.8800 865.546.1414 423.698.6943
Kingsport Crossville Sevierville
423.323.0400 931.484.4040 865.595.3750
www.StowersCat.com

Memphis LaVergne Camden Clarksville
901.332.3051 615.256.2424 731.584.2732 931.552.5496
Cookeville Jackson Manchester Thompson’s Station
931.646.3200 731.988.4240 931.461.5000 615.744.7850
www.TMCat.com
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