2014 Contractor of the Year Finalist – Doss Enterprises
When Dwaine Doss founded Doss Enterprises in 1995, he was the only employee, running a dump truck and a backhoe. He also continued working nights, driving rock trucks “for anybody in construction that had a night shift.”
Today, Doss Enterprises employs 140 people, working a fleet of about 90 dozers, excavators
and skid steers that’s nearly 100 percent Caterpillar. “You’re only as good as the people standing beside and behind you,” says Doss. Doss Enterprises, a nominee for 2014 Contractor of the Year, specializes in excavation and site development in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields of central West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Doss says that his employees bring strong values to the company, while he tries to set a positive tone. His motto? “Be honest. Do good work. Give the customer a good product for what you try to sell them.”
From the beginning, Doss has worked with Caterpillar equipment, and “everybody knows we’re Cat.”
“I always knew that Cat was above and beyond everybody because of their research and development,” he says. “It’s the durability and performance of the machines. We’re real big on AccuGrade. That helps a lot.”
Cleveland Brothers’ service and support is a good fit with Doss’ philosophy of delivering results. “You’ve got to have support. And you’ve got to have knowledge of the machines,” he said. “Cleveland Brothers has been a good support.”
Doss Enterprises manages its fleet by keeping the older machines, even as new ones are acquired. One dozer with more than 10,500 hours was recently rehabbed. “New motor, new hydraulics, and we put it back to work.”
Doss says he feels “blessed” that his company was nominated as Contractor of the Year. “We do honest work. We pay our bills,” he says. “The most important thing is I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior. We stand behind our work.”
Read about three other 2014 Contractor of the Year Finalists in the Cleveland Brothers territory.