LANDSCAPING The right fi t:


Tree care specialists and compact equipment


BOBCAT SKID-STEER LOADERS AND ATTACHMENTS ARE A GOOD MATCH FOR TREE CARE PROFESSIONALS, COMPLEMENTING LARGER EQUIPMENT AND IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY AND EMPLOYEE MORALE


“A skid-steer loader is perfect for our business. It fi ts together like a doughnut and a cup of coffee.” — John O’Connor, The Lumberjacks Tree Service


ABOVE: Patrick O’Connor (left) and brother John O’Connor say their Bobcat S185 skid- steer loader helps improve their tree service productivity and loads their remote-controlled brush chipper.


In the tree care industry, a dependable and compact machine that picks up and delivers branches and other trimmings directly into a brush chipper and carries logs from a backyard jobsite to truck or trailer parked in the street can make a big difference. Firms that added that type of equipment — a Bobcat®


skid-steer loader — report:


• Better employee morale • Fewer injuries and accidents • Jobs completed faster • Improved productivity


“A skid-steer loader is perfect for our business,” says John O’Connor, co- owner of a Michigan tree care company. “It fi ts together like a doughnut and a cup of coffee.”


TREE WORK COMPLETED FASTER Every time John and Patrick O’Connor purchase new equipment for their tree care business, they have expectations as to how it will benefi t the company.


26 WorkSaver | FALL 2012


“Then we fi nd other ways to use it,” says John, “and it fundamentally changes the way we do our work. Now when we estimate a job, we know exactly what we can do with our equipment, and that allows us to bid jobs differently. One thing we know for sure: We can get jobs done faster.”


Six years ago, the brothers, who own The Lumberjacks Tree Service, Ann Arbor, Mich., decided a skid-steer loader would help improve productivity and employee morale. “At that point,” says Patrick, “we fi gured we might as well buy the best one on the market. That’s why we went right to Diuble Equipment and ordered a Bobcat S185 skid-steer loader.”


The fi rst job for the new loader was picking up logs with the grapple attachment and loading them into a truck or trailer. What used to take four or fi ve hours was done in 15 minutes.


“Our life instantly became easier,” John says. “We made money with the loader beginning with the fi rst job.”


Later, they trimmed trees along the streets in a manufactured home community. The S185 followed the crew, gathered up the trimmings and dumped each load into their remote-controlled brush chipper.


The same scenario was repeated at a 100- unit townhome cooperative.


“That project probably accounted for 25 percent of our revenue in one year,” John says. “Our employees don’t have to pick up wood and don’t have to haul anything out of backyards. Instead they can use their skills to operate equipment instead of being brush draggers. We have virtually eliminated the possibility of our workers getting hurt handling wood.”


The loader also enabled the brothers to add profi t-making services.


“For example,” says Patrick, “when we previously removed a stump, we left a big pile of mulch behind. Now we offer a service we call ‘stump rehab’ where we use the loader to scoop out all the mulch, level the area, bring in topsoil, rake and put down grass seed. For about 15 minutes of work we can typically add $300 onto the bill. That’s a perfect niche for us.”


There are other ways they earn additional income with the loader:


• If there are paths around the property, they offer to spread chips after the tree work is completed.


• They pick up most of the tree debris on the ground with the grapple attachment and feed it directly into the chipper, thereby eliminating the nuisance of raking up.


• When the tree work slows down, they rent out the S185 with an operator.


A few years ago when the economy was driving tree care fi rms out of business,


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