"Most of the piers we target can't have machinery put on them because they're past their ability to support any weight," said Scot. "So we go after the work from the water."

The majority of the company's pier work is for port authorities, including the Port of Oakland, the Port of San Francisco and the Port of Redwood City. The company also works for some businesses that own their own pier and wharf systems.

The Zaccors, who employ from five to 15 people depending on the work load, also tackle land-based projects. Their work includes demolition of buildings under five stories and tanks, towers and chimneys of any height; removal of underground storage tanks; and environmental excavation, backfilling and compaction jobs.

Complicated marine logistics
"Marine work has a difficulty factor of at least 10 times the logistics of land-based work," noted Gary. 'Timing is a big concern — you have tide changes twice a day. It's difficult to push a barge loaded with equipment against the tide, so it's not the kind of mobilization that you can decide to arbitrarily start at a certain time. Often the mobilization occurs at night with the incoming tide. You try to run with the tide at all times. It takes a lot of planning."

The Zaccors also have to address environmental concerns in their marine work. 'There aren't too many things that move under their own power in the water that don't have an engine with oil or something like that in it," said Scot. "Pollution in the water is always a concern. Everybody cares about it, every agency. So we're very careful in that regard."

It can also be dangerous work, so safety is a top priority. "Gary or I or both of us are involved with every single job," said Scot. "We don't just send a crew out. We do the work ourselves and we know our limits."

Caisson salvage job memorable
Both Zaccors pointed to a caisson salvage job their company executed in November 1998 as the job they are most proud of completing.

"We salvaged a 530-ton caisson, which is a dry dock plug, that had sunk in 35 feet of water in the Lauritzen Channel in Richmond," said Gary. The project involved de-watering at a rate of over 10,000 gallons a minute as well as heavy lift support with a large derrick barge."

The Zaccors and their crew ran into a number of "interesting" situations, according to Gary. "Like when we were cutting into compartments and trying to seal something that wanted to sink out of sight with all our people and equipment near it or on it," he said. "Every day on that job was a challenge, and we never really knew where we would be at the end of the day.

'The key thing here was that the object weighed more than any derrick barge in the Bay area was capable of lifting out of the water," Scot pointed out. "Lifting the caisson out of the water in order to work on it was out of the question. We lifted it up higher and higher each time. We picked it up three times. Each time we set it further up the bank, then cut off enough weight in order to pick it up the next time."

"All in all, it probably took four weeks to complete," Gary commented. "Five hundred and thirty tons is a significant amount of weight."

Excavator fits needs
Gary and Scot Zaccor turned to Komatsu and SMA Equipment Company when they needed an excavator that would fit on their barge, be transportable and have the power to handle the company's LaBounty UP70 shear. A Komatsu PC300HD-6 excavator, purchased with the help of SMA San Lorenzo Sales Representative Gary Heath, fit the bill. Zaccor Companies also owns a Komatsu PC400LC-3 excavator purchased from SMA in 1989.

"Materials handling is more of our work than straight excavation," said Gary, "although we do have operators who are used on pure excavation jobs. All of our excavators have thumbs, but whether they are attached at any given time depends on the work."

When the Zaccors attack a pier demolition job, they start with the PC300 out on the floating barge and, if necessary, the PC400 sitting on land. "We usually start at the end of the pier and work our way in towards land," said Scot. "Pier construction is primarily big beam work, so probably 20 percent of the work is cutting large timbers." The Zaccors use their LaBounty Universal Processor to cut those beams as well as for steel and concrete demolition.

"We bought the Komatsu PC300HD because it had the combination of size and power to run the LaBounty UP70 attachment, while at the same time being very smooth," said Gary. "We feel like it's a pretty unique piece of equipment."

The Zaccors also like the PC300HD's transportability ("It is the biggest legal five-axle load," Scot pointed out) and maneuverability. "It has the undercarriage of a PC400, so it has a lot more ability to drag itself around than most excavator packages," said Scot. "It has strength and finesse in one package."

Customized machine
SMA customized the machine for the Zaccors. Special features include special falling object protection shielding for operator safety and additional shrouding on the bottom to protect the machine's hose group. SMA also put on additional hydraulics and circuitry to handle the shear and reduce the time needed to switch from the LaBounty attachment to a stick, thumb and bucket. Changeover time on a previous excavator was a shop job that would take two men a day to complete. With the Komatsu, that time has been reduced to four man-hours.

Gary Zaccor continues to be pleased with the performance of his older Komatsu PC400 excavator as well. "Pound for pound, it's the most powerful machine in its class we've ever seen," he said. "Its ability is unparalleled, but because of its size, we use it primarily for land-based projects.

"We've had extremely good luck with our Komatsus on every job," he continued. "When we do need support from the dealer, Gary Heath and all the people at SMA have been great to work with. We've been very pleased with the service and parts availability that SMA has provided us."

Hands-on success
Gary and Scot Zaccor credit their hands-on approach for Zaccor Companies' success over the years. "Since our name is on the business, we're pretty particular about the quality of the work we do," said Scot. "We put the client first and we do what he wants us to do."

"We've done well because we will work when the client needs us, any time of the day or night, any time of year," added Gary. "We're used to working with general contractors' and owners' demanding schedules and meeting or exceeding them."

The Zaccors are not planning on significant growth in the future, but intend to continue concentrating on their special capabilities. "We have the equipment, we have the expertise and we have a customer-first attitude," said Gary. "Plus, we like what we're doing. We think it's a pretty good package to offer people who need our services."