For more than thirty years, D&S Hydraulics has stood firmly beside their motto – “Excellence through experience and dedication,” priding themselves on unparalleled customer service by offering expert hydraulic machinery repair, service and parts throughout Central & Eastern Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Originally founded in 1978 by Doug Sawyer, it’s now managed by Doug’s son, Jamie Sawyer, who has been with the company these past 19 years.
“Since the company was started it has had two different locations in Bend,” said Sawyer. “The 14,000 suare foot facility we’re in now houses a unique blend of quality people, exceptional knowledge, specialty machinery and a deep parts inventory. We have capabilities beyond most other similar facilities in the northwest.
“We cannot convey enough to our customers how different we are from other businesses. We’re one of the only facilities around that can not only go out and perform service calls to repair heavy equipment, but the components can be returned to the shop and be completely remanufactured and tested to strict manufacturer specs with a warranty.”
D&S is able to competently accomplish these tasks with a fully-equipped service truck, including a complete Climax line bore and welding setup. Facilities inside the building include a full-service welding and fabrication bay comprised of six welders rated up to 600 amps. Their machining department can do everything from building custom cylinders to repairing whole Cat loader arms on their horizontal boring mill.
“For component repairs we have multiple cylinder disassembly benches and a hydraulic torque wrench for piston nuts capable of 25,000+ ft. lbs,” he explained. “Piston pumps and motors are repaired at or above factory tolerances by a 36” lapping table. With our 235 H.P. test stand we can check all cylinders, pumps, motors and valves for performance and leaks.
“This gives us the confidence to send all components out with a generous one-year warranty. This is also a huge benefit for our customers, as they don’t usually have to make any adjustments on the machine after reinstallation. D&S also keeps a large inventory of standard and metric hose, adapters and parts for most of the components we regularly work on. Our selection of good used parts helps us get the customer up and running many times during an emergency.”
A large part of the company’s success, even during the stubborn recession, has been their loyal staff.
“Because of the efforts by our employees and management we’ve actually grown over the past few years. We have only long-term employees. Some of our staff has been here for 24 years. In 2008 we downsized to 11 employees, but have now grown back to 16, the most we’ve ever had. There are two full time machinists, one welder fabricator and four mechanics on duty in the shop. Almost everyone is cross-trained to handle some of another person’s job. This helps out dramatically when people are on vacation or we’re too busy to have one person doing one particular job.”
For Sawyer, keeping his employees happy is key.
“When everyone feels appreciated it makes for a comfortable family oriented atmosphere,” he said. “At this point we’re still able to support high end benefits and pay. Our insurance consultant said we’re one of the last places in Central Oregon paying full medical benefits for our families. That is a huge privilege for us but also depressing to think about the overall state of the economy.
“That’s one of the reasons I feel we are obligated to contribute back to the community. We support many Central Oregon churches, homeless shelters and local outreach programs. With today’s state of economy, we need to remember how important it is to support our local businesses.”
Another way D&S tries to diversify business is by offering discounts and services to local contractors. When there are parts needed or components to be rebuilt that may be outside their capabilities, Sawyer can offer their services so they can take on larger jobs with confidence. Their two outside salespeople help keep customers happy and the work rolling in. The sales staff cover most of Oregon, Southern Washington and Northern California. Through increased national and international marketing they’ve seen sales to Hawaii, Alaska and even Russia.
“A lot of people the last couple years have asked how we stay so busy,” said Sawyer. “I just say business speaks for itself and we must be doing something right. Customers believe our positive outlook and friendly service are pleasant to do business with. This is not an act. I can say with severe honesty if we did not care or try to be the best at what we do, we wouldn’t be the business we are today. That kind of commitment starts with management and continues right through with the employees.”
With a third generation of Sawyers growing up in Central Oregon, D&S is hoping to continue to prosper long into the future.
D&S Hydraulics is located at 373 SE Bridgeford Blvd. in Bend. www.dshydraulics.com or 541-389-8006.
