TTS Engineering, Inc. Leverages LiuGong Construction Equipment and their partnership with Warrior Machinery to Maximize Success and Opportunities Within the Civil General Engineering Construction Industry

Tim Wilson (Wilson) began working for his father's excavation business straight out of high school before venturing on as an owner-operator in 1996. Tim's Tractor Service was the initial enterprise that eventually became TTS Engineering, Inc. to reflect the company's growing construction service offerings. Now, with more than 32 years in the industry, Wilson has grown TTS Engineering, Inc. to where it now specializes in underground utilities, excavation, grading, demolition, concrete, and a variety of other services for both public and private industry.

 TTS Engineering, Inc. operates as a prime contractor and a subcontractor for a long list of other general contractors, developers, and agencies throughout Southern California. Wilson explains that around 75 percent of the company's workload is performed as a subcontractor for general contractors like Lusardi Construction out of San Marcos and CSI Construction (Colorado Structures, Inc.), with headquarters in Colorado Springs and California offices in Sacramento and Foothill Ranch. TTS Engineering, Inc. is currently working for both contractors, along with another 30-plus contract on the books.

TTS Engineering, inc. works as a subcontractor for Lusardi Construction at Los Angeles Chargers' new headquarters and training facility.

            The Los Angeles Chargers are working with Continental Development Corporation and Mar Ventures, Inc. to construct a new corporate headquarters and training facility on a 14-acre site in El

Segundo. The new complex is expected to be completed by July 2024, and the land it will sit upon was sold to the Los Angeles Chargers by the Raytheon Company. The aerospace giant is also selling additional acreage from its 142- acre campus on El Segundo Boulevard to other developers for the construction of offices and other commercial properties.

The Los Angeles Chargers broke ground on their new facility in May 2022, and the construction management team hired Lusardi Construction to construct a new public access road up to and through the new parking lot on El Segundo Boulevard. Part of Lusardi's contract called for wet utility work, which was subcontracted to TTS Engineering, Inc. (TTS).

“We started doing some smaller bypass work in early October to prepare for the installation of the wet utilities," says TTS owner Tim Wilson. "This is around a $5 million contract for TTS where we are installing 4,000 feet of RCP pipe, 3,000 feet of sewer, 4,000 feet of 16-inch ductile iron water pipe, and 3,500 feet of domestic water line."

Wilson says the wet utilities are being installed using open trenching at depths of 14 to 18 feet deep.

“We have around a dozen TTS crew members onsite supported by our new LiuGong 950E, 115,000-pound excavator, our new Dressta TD8 S-Series dozer, the LiuGong 936, 80,000-pound excavator, and other support equipment," says Wilson. "We will also support the integrity of communication services that include fiber optics that have massive penalties attached if they were to go down. This will include the installation of steel beams across trench line with conduit that will house and support the communication lines."

According to Wilson, the main challenge of this project will be the associated tight working areas and strict access and security regulations.

"Our project manager, Robert Shubert, and superintendent,

Mike Labounty, will have their work cut out for them as they work in areas as narrow as 8 feet and under

the Metro lines. In addition, every crew member was required to participate in special training

regarding construction in and around Metro," says Wilson. "We will be here for the wet utility installation

for around nine months to a year."

TTS installing wet utilities for CSI Construction at Chino Town Center at The Preserve.

CSI Construction Company (CSI) is currently under construction on Town Center at the Preserve in Chino, which is set to open in 2023. The 24-acre ground-up neighborhood center is a part of Lewis Retail Centers and will be anchored by Stater Brothers and include six new shop buildings. The new mixed-use development in western San Bernardino County will feature a mix of retailers, office space, and common areas.

CSI subcontracted TTS to perform the wet utility installation.

"We began construction around three months ago and are on the water line now. We should have it completed in the next few weeks and have installed around 42,000 feet of sewer line, 4,000 feet of HDPE storm drain, 2,500 feet of

domestic water line, and 4,000 feet of fire line," says Wilson. "This is a private job on a 12-acre site in

an area once full of dairy farms. This job was well planned out by the civil engineer, from the design

phase to construction, and has gone smoothly for our project manager, Robert Schubert, and

superintendent, Jason Serano."

TTS installs wet and dry utilities at Rancho Belago, Phase II, in Moreno Valley

Bridge Housing selected Reylenn Construction to build the second phase of apartments on the Rancho Del Sol Golf course in Moreno Valley. Rancho Belago Phase II is a 358-unit project with 16 residential buildings and a 7,700-square-foot community clubhouse/leasing center. Reylenn chose TTS to perform the wet and dry utilities that they initially began working on around two years ago.

“Delays have been the biggest challenge on this particular project. We initially performed the 5,000 feet of storm drain work and then went into a holding pattern, waiting for city approvals. Then COVID took us off the project for around nine months. We started two years ago and have been back on the job for a couple of months," says Wilson. "We recently completed more than 4,000 feet of 8-inch sewer line and 3,600 feet of domestic water line. We probably have another nine months of work to install 3,800 feet of 8-inch fire line and 3,600 feet of domestic water line. Then, we will begin the dry utility portion for Moreno Valley Utilities (MVU) and Charter Communications which will include about 20,000 feet of pipe installation."

Wilson points to another challenge that involved running a 48-inch RCP right by the 18th hole of the golf course.

“Installing RCP in and around an active golf course, specifically the 18th hole, was one of our other initial challenges. We needed to maintain comfortable and consistent access for the golfers on the 18th hole and throughout the golf course," says Wilson. "We are installing public water lines on Moreno Beach Drive. Our crews had to jack and bore under an existing storm drain culvert to install a 12-inch EMWD water line. We completed that in around two weeks and are now installing additional domestic and fire water lines before moving on to the dry utilities. There have been many change orders and what started as a $2.4 million project for TTS is now closer to $6 million. I am serving as the project manager on this job, and Alex Padron is our superintendent. It has been a long-running but rewarding project, and

Rancho Belago, Phase II will be complete in 2024."

Warrior Machinery LLC and LiuGong Construction Equipment

Part of being a successful civil general engineering contractor includes properly using and managing a construction equipment fleet. Travis Nicholson has been with TTS for nearly two years, overseeing much of the company's inside operations.

“We have developed a great relationship with Warrior Machinery and their owner, Steve Nadelman. It is a partnership that we are fully committed to due to their unbelievable support far exceeding what we could ever receive from the other distributors and manufacturers," says Nicholson. "Steve Nadelman has been doing this for a very long time, and he exemplifies the experience and professionalism that you just don't see anymore. Also, from the customer service perspective, Steve has established a service culture that sets Warrior Machinery apart from those other companies where you are just a number."

Nicholson points to some of the things that led to their fierce loyalty to Warrior Machinery and LiuGong construction equipment.

 “If one of our LiuGong machines goes down, Warrior is there with a new replacement piece of equipment the next day. The same goes for any service issues, and timely parts availability has never been an issue," says Nicholson. "When we purchase a new machine, like our new LiuGong 950E excavator, Warrior is there to train our operators on all aspects of operating our new piece of equipment. We are also working with Warrior to update our fleet with Topcon and Trimble diagnostic and GPS 3D system technology. We are looking at this technology to mitigate the learning curve of our newer operators and the Tier IV Final equipment."

According to Nicholson, whenever TTS's fleet of LiuGong and Dressta machines were all out on job sites, they would rent additional units as needed from Warrior Machinery. "Our price point is much more economical with Warrior Machinery and their LiuGong and Dressta machines. We also get an extended warranty plan that cannot be beat," says Nicholson. "Every new machine comes with a 3-year, 5,000-hour bumper-to-bumper warranty, and a 7,000-hour pump and powertrain warranty."

TTS now owns LiuGong excavators and wheel loaders that were initially purchased as far back as 2011.

“We are now looking into trading in some of our LiuGong machines with more than 7,000 hours that have served us so well over the years. Performance and durability are no longer a question or issue. The LiuGong machines have proven themselves through years of some of the most grueling work conditions. It is now time to look at buying new machines, and we will look no further than Warrior Machinery."

For more information on TTS Engineering, Inc., please visit their website at www.ttsengineering.net or call their Stanton headquarters at (714) 840-6346.