The event coincided with the Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo, which annually brings thousands of people invested in the timber industry to the Midwest.

McCoy’s premises at 6442 U.S. 2/41 and M-35 opened in May and are about three times bigger than the Escanaba dealership’s former home just about a mile south on the same road.

The need to expand into larger quarters had been evident for some time; the same building had been selling heavy equipment since the 1970s and machines have gotten substantially larger since.

When McCoy Construction and Forestry — part of McCoy Group headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa — bought the business near the intersection with Danforth Road in 2018, the space had been used to sell John Deere machinery for 40 years. DC Equipment dealt there first before Iron Equipment took over in the ’80s; finally, Nortrax Equipment operated the dealership and shop for about 19 years before McCoy showed up.

McCoy Construction and Forestry had a customer appreciation event Friday night at its new facilities in Escanaba. (R.R. Branstrom | Daily Press photo)

After six years in the old building, McCoy Construction and Forestry broke ground on the site that now houses what management has called “a state-of-the-art facility for sales, parts and service.” The new facility on a 7 1/2-acre plot provides the same services as the former site, but with improvements due to greater capacity and more room to breathe. There are more bays and a cold storage facility.

A ribbon-cutting in June celebrated the new location in a relatively intimate way — the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, McCoy staff and few others were invited to attend.

The bash that took place Friday night was open to the public. Since the Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo — formerly called Logging Congress — was only open until 5 p.m., the timing of McCoy’s event allowed all the expo exhibitors and attendees to drop by the party, which served dinner and drinks beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Local Escanaba restaurant and food service Bobaloon’s catered the event, and Pike Distributing was onsite to supply beverages.

A raffle raised money for Log a Load For Kids, a program that loggers have participated in since 1988 with a mission “to raise funds to improve children’s health through treatment, education and research at Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals and other local children’s hospitals.” Attendees also had the chance to win a John Deere X350 riding lawn tractor.

Attendees of McCoy Construction and Forestry's customer appreciation event eat dinner Friday night catered by Bobaloon's in Escanaba. (R.R. Branstrom | Daily Press photo)

The night included a performance by country music artist Brad Morgan.

All the perks of the event were a way for the company to express gratitude for those who do business with them.

“This is our favorite time of the year to celebrate you, what you do and how you do it. Our customers are the BEST! Thanks for all the hard work and dedication,” McCoy Construction and Forestry wrote in a social media post promoting the event.