Building a successful team starts with people that are not only dedicated to their craft, but also truly care about their customers. In short, it starts with people like RMS Rentals Shop Foreman Dave Oldenburg. “I really love troubleshooting and working on problems. Knowing that I helped a customer and seeing them come back again and again is what makes it all worthwhile for me,” said Dave. For 27 years, Dave has been honing his craft. His career began at Lull Industries in 1994 and worked his way from the assembly line to quality control and then to service. When Lull moved its operation out of the Twin Cities area, he started Highlift Equipment Company, Inc., with Jim Hoogervorst, Mark Tieben, and Dean Oseby. “We start in 2002 and focused on forklift repair, parts and service,” recalled Dave. “There was nobody in the metro area that really took care of the little guy, so we felt like there was an opportunity to do that and be successful.” And they were. For four years, the operation ...

Road Machinery & Supplies Co. (RMS) and Komatsu are celebrating monumental milestones in 2021. Road Machinery & Supplies Co. is celebrating its 95th anniversary of serving and supporting customers while Komatsu notches its 100th birthday. Together, RMS and Komatsu bring 195 years of combined experience to their customers. Michael M. Sill opened RMS in 1926 in Duluth, Minn., and focused on selling motor graders and supplies to municipalities. For the next 95 years RMS continued to grow and expand to meet its customers’ needs. Today, RMS has eight branches in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois in addition to affiliate companies throughout Minnesota and Texas, and serves customers in many heavy equipment industries. Komatsu got its start as founder Meitaro Takeuchi evaluated the waning lifespan of his copper mine near Komatsu City, Japan, and decided to form a manufacturing company to support the community. From there, Komatsu Ltd. grew from 120 employees in a small community...

At the Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association (MAPA) Quality Paving Training in Medina this April, BOMAG debuted its new BOMAP Connect software at the Medina Entertainment Center. The event served as a North American launch for the program. “The BOMAP Connect system has been in operation, but mainly in European countries. This was the first time BOMAG has presented it to a North American audience. It’s a very useful tool and we are excited for the advantages it holds for customers,” said Road Machinery & Supplies Co. (RMS) Marketing Manager Josh Sandin. “We were very excited to have the opportunity to team with BOMAG and MAPA to make this presentation happen.” BOMAP Connect allows users to track a myriad of performance data, including passes and compaction offers network control and documentation for an entire paving fleet, regardless of manufacturer. It automatically tracks a myriad of project data, including passes, machine position, and degree of compaction. The software also se...

Road Machinery & Supplies Co. (RMS) and RMS Rentals took part in the inaugural Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association (MAPA) Quality Paving Training program in April at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, Minn. The three-day event was designed as a creative and interactive training program that blended classroom training and machine demonstration to help train new and younger paving employees. Nearly 100 people attended the event. As one of five Minneapolis-area equipment distributors that participated in the event, RMS and RMS Rentals showcased a nine-machine display that featured equipment from LeeBoy, BOMAG, Roadtec, Wacker Neuson, Broce, and Komatsu in addition to an indoor informational booth. “Events like this are great opportunities for us and our manufacturers to help with the greater good of the industry. The focus of the event was education, not sales. We were very happy to be a part of this program and have the opportunity to work with customers,” said RMS Marketi...