HOLT CAT posted on May 17, 2022 18:23
Originally written on May 11, 2022 in the Dallas Business Journal by Staff Writer, Spencer Brewer
North Texas is seeing a monumental amount of construction, but a shortage of heavy machine technicians threatens to undermine the area’s growth.
Demand for heavy machine technicians and operators far outpaces the current supply and will continue to do so going forward. The shortage could increase the costs surrounding development and delay projects.
HOLT CAT is working to bridge the gap, aiming to increase labor at all locations. HOLT CAT sells Caterpillar heavy equipment and engines in 118 counties in Texas. The company is the largest dealership by volume in the U.S., in large part because the company is in this market.
Being a heavy equipment technician is a quick way to a six-figure salary. Despite the high pay, the company has had to get creative in its recruitment efforts.
Sean Lothery is VP of Sales at HOLT Manufacturing.“We don’t have shop programs in many high schools like we used to,” said Sean Lothery, vice president of product support sales at HOLT CAT. “There’s this perception that to earn a good living. You have to go to college.”
According to the Associated General Contractors of America, the Dallas area experienced the second-highest construction job gains in 2021. North Texas has experienced a wave of construction in residential and commercial development.
HOLT CAT has grown by 250 technicians in the last five years and currently has over 130 job openings for technicians. The company is deploying a full arsenal of recruitment tools, including job fairs and an internship program with a Grand Prairie ISD high school.
Equipment is getting more complicated, so even more technicians are needed, Lothery said, which will, in turn, increase the price of technical labor. The lack of technicians also elongates delivery cycles.
HOLT CAT has expanded in North Texas with the ongoing wave of new construction, and its investment in the area continues to grow. The firm has seven full-service locations in the area and is seeking additional expansion. The Anna Economic Development Corporation and the Anna Community Development Corporation recently sold the 82-acre Anna Business Park to PC5 Properties, a property holding company of HOLT CAT.
The company is looking to expand by at least one more location in North Texas and is deciding between two locations. In product support, the company is projecting it’ll have grown a little under 50% between 2018 and 2022.
The technical labor gap will continue to widen for the foreseeable future, even as North Texas and HOLT CAT continue to grow, Lothery said. This could pose yet another factor elongating delivery cycles.
“There are not enough technicians in the state of Texas to handle the need,” he said. “If we could find 100 qualified technicians in the Metroplex today, we would probably hire them.”