During his senior year of college, Adam Branch was approached by his grandfather to join him and his business partner, who owned a company with oil leases that was involved in drilling wells and production. The petroleum engineering major took the opportunity and became the production superintendent.

“I started doing a lot of the roustabout work by myself,” recalled Branch. “About three years in, they decided to sell out and asked me if I wanted to buy them out. I bought the roustabout equipment, then started my own business.”

Since 2014, Branch has owned and operated Adams Tanks & Lease Services LLC out of his hometown of Okmulgee, Okla. He expanded operations about six years ago by adding earthwork to the company’s resume.

“A friend of mine was doing a lot of our dozer work, and I bought a trackhoe and dozer from him and started doing a little bit on my own,” Branch shared. “We started out building oil and gas locations, including tank batteries, setting up leases with flow lines and electric pump units. I still do a little bit of oil and gas — it’s about 10% to 15% of our overall business — but we stay busy mainly moving dirt.”

Commercial and residential markets

Adams Tanks & Lease Services offers everything from clearing and grubbing to finish grade and will team up with other trusted contractors to offer full site services that include asphalt and concrete paving. Working within about a 150-mile radius of Okmulgee, Adams Tanks & Lease Services generally has four to five projects in the works at any one time.

“We work mainly the commercial and residential markets,” explained Branch. “On the commercial side, we do mostly parking lots. A good example is one we recently completed that was about 25,000 square feet that involved removing the existing asphalt and hauling it off, then taking out a foot of base and replacing it with shale and crusher run aggregate. We packed that down to make it ready to pave on.”

Branch added, “On the residential side, we do a lot of new home pads and associated work with that such as putting in utilities, which is something we don’t offer yet on the commercial side. When it comes to residential, a good portion is done for private individuals who trust us with construction of new ponds. We do measurements and calculations to give them an accurate picture of how much dirt will need to be moved and help them determine the best fit. We will also clean out and repair existing ponds.”

Branch noted that a good example of what Adams Tanks & Lease Services offers when it comes to ponds was the recent repair and reconstruction of an existing pond where the original dam blew out. The company built it back to a higher elevation, doubled the pond size and incorporated an island with a large cypress tree in the middle. It moved about 4,000 yards of dirt in the process of building the 2.5-acre pond.

“As with most, the owners had a plan in mind, and we worked with them to do it the most efficient way possible because each one is unique, and you want to be able to build it using the existing material without having to haul more in, if possible,” said Branch. “Location plays a big role. For instance, we built an 11-acre pond that only involved moving about 8,000 yards of dirt because it was in a favorable spot in terms of runoff.”

Pre-owned from KSM pays off

To move dirt as efficiently as possible, Branch relies heavily on Komatsu pre-owned dozers and excavators he has purchased during the past six years from Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. (KSM) with the assistance of Territory Manager Peyton Chatham.

“I’m confident in buying used from Peyton and Kirby-Smith because I know that it’s been thoroughly inspected, and they have the maintenance records to show services were done and any issues addressed,” stated Branch, who noted that he buys all his dozers with either a winch or a ripper to maximize versatility and better serve customers. “The first unit I bought was a D37EX dozer to do small house pads that we continue to use, and we still use the original PC200 I got from Peyton and Kirby-Smith. We have put 4,000 to 5,000 additional hours on them with little to no issues, and we have since added a PC210LC excavator that we use for digging and clearing.”

According to Branch, Chatham encouraged him to add indicator GPS grade control to a dozer, so he did. After seeing the savings an add-on GPS system brought, he added a Komatsu D61EXi intelligent machine control (IMC) dozer with factory-integrated grade control.

“The IMC dozer is a complete game-changer,” Branch emphasized. “You don’t have to constantly check, and there’s no guesswork. The model comes from an engineering firm, we plug it into the machine, go through the calibration, and get after it. The machine does the work. It’s astronomical in terms of savings for a small business like mine. We get to finish grade faster, so there’s less fuel usage, labor costs are reduced, and wasted material movement or overages are virtually eliminated. In addition, you don’t have to have a seasoned operator to run it.”

Branch calls on KSM as needed for help with maintenance and repairs.

“We really haven’t had to have Kirby-Smith out hardly at all because the Komatsu machines have been so reliable,” said Branch. “If we do need something, they come out right away. They are also willing to help out on other brands and machines that I haven’t purchased through them. For instance, I bought another used Komatsu dozer from another source. Kirby-Smith inspected it with a fine-toothed comb and recommended a few repairs such as replacing a water pump. I was skeptical at first, but we ended up doing everything they said because they were right. That machine now runs just as good as any we have gotten from Peyton and Kirby-Smith.”

Maintaining quality

With his business firmly established and a solid client list, Branch is now focused on maintaining the quality work Adams Tanks & Lease Services is known for. He’s also grateful that he can slow down a little.

“We had a son about five years ago, and I’ve been able to be there more for the family by moving more toward the dirt work and less oil and gas,” remarked Branch. “I want to be able to enjoy family time. At the same time, I am working to make sure that we continue to meet customers’ expectations. Fortunately, I have a great group of guys I can rely on to get the job done. I never have to worry about them.”

Branch added, “I’m really not interested in getting bigger. It’s about continuing to do the right thing and deliver on our promise. I’ve always believed that’s the best way to build a business, and I want it to stay that way, and hopefully, someday, my son could take it over.” 

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