Cogs in the Machinery: Advice for equipment and technology. (Craig Taylor Equipment and beadedstream)

• Date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Westin, Sarah Reynolds
• Published date: 01 October 2023

Alaskans cannot always drive to "the next town over" to pick up the tools they need. Location, production, service, and shipping factors complicate access to equipment and business technology. Therefore, planning for contingencies, keeping equipment on hand, and assessing what strategy works best--buying or renting--are keys to running smoothly.

Two companies, differently sized and positioned in separate markets, have shared insights about how customers can evaluate their best paths forward. Craig Taylor Equipment is a Top 49er that specializes in providing the heavy gear that clients need. Up-and-comer beadedstream deals in more high-tech gadgets yet serves the same role in supplying the means for customers to maximize their productivity. Both companies' leaders guide their teams on how to help their customers decide what works best for them.

Product Catalog

Craig Taylor Equipment has sold, rented, and repaired power tools of all sizes and for all applications since 1954. Based in Anchorage, it has six locations throughout Alaska, which offer products including John Deere, Bobcat, Peterbilt, Bluebird, Stihl, and Honda, ranging from chainsaws and lawnmowers to trailers and tracked excavators.

Chris Devine joined Craig Taylor Equipment in 2013 to assist in the generational transition after Sean McLaughlin purchased the business from the Taylor family, who founded the company. The two men got along well, and Devine was moved into the position of president and CEO and is a partial owner with McLaughlin.

"We are a full-service dealership that provides sales, rentals, parts, and service for all equipment lines we carry," Devine says. "Anyone who owns a machine that we represent, whether they bought it from us or not, can...