For more than 100 years, Yancey Bros. Co. has helped its customers build Georgia’s landmarks, cities, roads, ports and communities. This year, the company — started by two brothers and still in the family — marks its centennial with celebrations in locations around the state.
Savannah’s party, held Friday afternoon at the dealership on U.S. 80 in Pooler, featured a cookout, games and a display of new and antique Caterpillar equipment.
“A lot of things have changed in the past 100 years, but the foundation of what Yancey Bros. Co. stands for has not changed,” said Jim Stephenson, president and CEO, who represents the fourth generation of the Yancey family.
“It has always been about delivering the highest quality equipment in the world with unmatched service and support to customers who are building Georgia,” Stephenson said. “So to celebrate our milestone in Savannah, we want to tell the stories and share the images of the people and companies that built our great state.”
From helping to excavate parts of the “Dixie Highway” in 1915 — an ambitious project to connect Midwestern snowbirds to south Florida — to breaking ground for an industrial complex in Cobb County just months after the Pearl Harbor bombing to grading work for the state’s first interstate project, Yancey Bros.’ Caterpillars have played a major role in building Georgia.
In Savannah, the company’s footprint goes back to 1914, with a 50-year break, according to Stephenson.
“We covered the Savannah area from 1914 to 1946, first as Yancey Bros. and then as Yancey Tractor when the two Yancey bothers divided the state into northern and southern regions,” he said.
The Carlton family had Savannah’s Cat dealership from 1949 until 2002, when Yancey Bros. was able to reacquire the dealership after Mr. Carlton passed away, Stephenson said, adding that the local store is thriving.
While it’s rare for a family-owned business to make it to the fourth generation, Stephenson said it’s more common among Caterpillar companies, where the average dealership age is 60 years.
“Cat is a great partner, very protective and supportive of its family dealerships,” he said. “They invest more into their dealerships than all our competitors combined.”
Other secrets to a successful family business include supportive family that understands the needs of the business and a philosophy that puts people first, he said.
“I learned that from my wife’s uncle, Goodloe Yancey III, when I took the reins 20 years ago,” he said. “The way we treat our people and the way they treat each other is directly related to the way they treat the customer.”