South Mountain Tractor
The founder of South Mountain Tractor, Chris Lohman, began in the heavy equipment industry
by working for his neighbors mid-sized excavating company in the south suburbs of Chicago
just before turning sixteen. Throughout high school and while attending college he continued
to work after school and during the various breaks and long weekends as a laborer working the
shop, sweeping floors, running parts, shoveling, pressure washing machines and basically doing
the work that nobody else would do. The owner of this excavating company had excellent ethics
as well as business sense and the founder of South Mountain Tractor has been truly fortunate
to see him build his successful company to what it is today.
After graduating from college he began his career by finding an entry-level inside rentals
and used equipment sales position at the Caterpillar dealer in the Chicagoland area. Eventually
he was promoted to an outside sales position but had a desire to live somewhere besides the Midwest.
After enjoying a number of falls and springs while at training classes at the Caterpillar facility
near Tucson, AZ, he decided to get a job in Phoenix, AZ late in the summer of 1998. This move took
him on a short-stint selling construction laser equipment in the Valley of the Sun for only about a
year and a half. Inevitably he found himself drawn back into selling heavy equipment and he began
working for a large earthmoving rental company that had a fleet of 300 or so machines in the Southwest.
At this rental company he was initially responsible for the sale of excess inventory as determined
to be sold by management. This rental company had some of the best kept equipment in the Southwest and
was as progressive as any organization in the industry. Serious proponents of maintaining service
intervals, performing oil sampling, using GPS and maintaining detailed service records on all of the
equipment ensured the maximum life and rate of return on the fleet. The owner of this rental company
also had excellent ethics, much like the owner of the excavating company that he worked for as a young
man. Ultimately he learned how to analyze utilization data, scrutinize machine histories and oil
samples, inspect machines and do valuations in order to help management make decisions as to what
equipment should be sold and purchased by establishing criteria to make these determinations.
The founder of South Mountain Tractor truly learned the total value of good equipment working at this
large rental company and the impact that it has on a companies financial future as he clearly realized
the ramifications that it had on this well-ran rental company. After nine years in this role it was time
to move on to other things. In November of 2009 South Mountain Tractor was founded.
South Mountain
On the south end of Phoenix, Arizona lies the largest city-owned park in the United States named
South Mountain. South Mountain lies within an 11 mile wide City of Phoenix-maintained park and
reaches a maximum elevation of 2,960’. This sonoran desert park is dotted with petroglyphs from
the long gone Hohokam Indians (“vanished ones”) and populated with coyotes, javelina, owls, lizards,
gila monsters, and of course a variety of snakes, saguaros and cacti.
The park can easily be explored using a road that winds its way up to the top of the mountain to a
vantage point that overlooks Phoenix. However, the best way to see the park is to utilize the 58-mile
trail system on mountain bike, horseback or on-foot hiking. Please bring water as even during the
wonderful fall, winter and spring months here dehydration can still be a problem. Maps of the area
and the sites are easily accessible using the web.
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