Macks in the Midlands

Willingham & Son’s rely on Mack fleet to deliver building supplies to contractors across South Carolina

In 1974, Newberry, South Carolina was a city of 30,000 tucked away off Interstate 26, a place where northerners would stop for a bite to eat on their way to the coast. Newberry resident John Willingham, a resourceful man who liked to scratch out a living from mechanical projects, didn’t have lofty ambitions, but began installing septic tanks.

"His mission was to put food on the table," said Austin Willingham, the 40-year-old grandson of John and his wife Betty. "The business started very slowly, and it slowly grew in the mid to late 70s."

The elder Willingham bought a dump truck and did some hauling.

"That part of the business grew quickly," Willingham said. His sons Mike and Jerry got involved and the business was named Willingham & Son’s Building Supply and Septic Tanks.

Growth factors

Since then, the company has diversified with construction supplies and additional trucking applications.

The Willinghams use their 8 Mack^Ò tri-axle dumps to help power the economy of South Carolina, with sand and gravel deliveries being the most common cargo.

“We are constantly delivering gravel to logging jobs,” Willingham says. Timber is a big business in the South Carolina Piedmont, and the logging roads quickly turn to mud after rain, which constantly needs to be replenished with gravel. For that, the local timber industry turns to Willingham’s Mack fleet.

There are also plenty of gravel deliveries to people's driveways and sand to construction sites. But it’s not all work and no play for the fleet. They’ve found a unique niche delivering water for swimming pools. So, they caulked the dump’s back around the tailgate to allow water transport.

A 2-million-mile Mack

One constant at Willingham over the past quarter-century has been Mack trucks. The company’s longest in-service vehicle, a Mack RD688S dump purchased in 1995, boasts some 2 million miles.

"We use it every day," Austin Willingham said. The truck has a new dump body and a new engine, but the cabin is all the original, along with the fuel tank. When a recent 23-year-old hire was settling into the job, he was given a choice of which truck he wanted to use for deliveries, and he chose the 1995 Mack over new models. The truck is a year older than him.

More recently, the company has averaged a new truck every year, bringing their total fleet of Macks to 11, including 7 Mack Granite^Ò models and several Mack MD models.

The next generation

When the housing market is hot – as it is now – the company delivers 3 to 4 new septic tanks daily.

But before a new home needs a septic tank, they need shingles, windows and doors, which the Willinghams also deliver with their Macks.

“You can kind of tell how the economy is going before it gets to the septic tanks,” Willingham says.

In addition to the dependability and consistency of Macks, Austin Willingham also credits the close relationship with their dealer – Shealy Mack in Columbia – for their love of Macks.

“We get good service and reliability, and we are very comfortable with the Mack brand,” Willingham says.

Mack family night

Austin says that his grandfather – who passed away in 1995 – would be in awe of what his business has become.

For the Willinghams, the arrival of a new truck wasn't just another piece of equipment arriving, it was like welcoming a new family member. The newest generation, which includes Mike’s daughters, April Bryant and Cayce Lybrand and Jerry’s sons, Austin Willingham, treat the delivery of a new Mack as something to celebrate.

"When the business would get a new truck or tractor, it was a family event. We'd all come and look at the new truck; it was a big deal," Willingham said.

The whole family would make an evening of it as everyone climbed into the cab or checked out the shiny new chrome.

Austin Willingham explains what keeps the business coming back to Mack.

"It's the reliability and the consistency. You know what you are getting, and you can count on it."