John Deere 350G SmartGrade Excavator and Chiddix Brothers, Inc.

Seth Chiddix, owner of Chiddix Brothers, Inc. recently took delivery of a John Deere 350G SmartGrade excavator. In fact, it’s the first of its kind delivered to a 4Rivers Equipment customer. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Seth has been a partner of 4Rivers Equipment for many years. His first impression of his new machine? “The controls are awesome! Everything looks really clean, factory-integrated,” Seth responded.
Seth will be using this excavator on its first job, to dig basements, at a new subdivision in Colorado Springs. Seth is confident this machine will increase their productivity and allow them to complete their digs quicker than with a conventional setup, using rotating lasers and laser detectors. “The [system] does it one time, it takes me 3 or 4 passes [to hit finished grade],” says Seth. He went on to add, “…an operator spends 10 minutes checking grade, typically they’re checking grade 2 or 3 times per hole.” Reducing passes from 3 to 4 down to 1, and reducing time spent checking grade by 30 minutes per hole impacts his production, and his bottom line.
Seth’s company has utilized technology in their operation since 2003. “I’ve always been a technology buff, I like technology,” Seth said when asked why he first started working with technology. But beyond that, he feels that “You cannot beat a computer, bottom line.” Seth has spent years refining his skills as an operator, it’s not as if he’s an apprentice. To that point, Seth says “I’m not a half-bad operator, but I can’t finish like a computer.” His company is family-run and operated. They take pride in training the younger generation in running equipment. His daughter, Nicole, is also learning how to run equipment (while double majoring in chemistry and mathematics at UCCS). Seth commented on her skills, “I will tell you that my daughter has never dug a hole in her life… I put GPS on the machine and I told her to dig inside the lines…took her a week to where she was pretty efficient at it.” Pretty soon, his daughter will be running the SmartGrade 350G like a pro.
Bottom line, Seth believes in technology and the benefits it brings his company. “GPS is a very good competitive advantage,” states Seth. He also believes firmly, that “…the guys that don’t keep up with technology… are going to get outran, you have to keep up with it if you want production”.
Seth values technology, and we value Seth and Chiddix Brothers, Inc. and their continued partnership with 4Rivers Equipment and 4Sight Solutions. We look forward to hearing more about their use of their SmartGrade excavator, and how it improves their productivity and positively impacts their bottom line.
For more information about SmartGrade machines and Precision Construction Technology, reach out to our 4Sight Solutions team at 4sight@4riversequipment.com.

Best regards,
Nick Guadagnoli
Technology Solutions Manager