Grand-Prize Winner

Gregory Stone
Excavation Details
Rock Stream, N.Y.

Gregory Stone

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“I owned a custom cabinet and millwork company for 18 years. I built the business from scratch; it went from very humble beginnings in a two-car garage to a business that was really on the rise, manufacturing high-end retail fixtures, exotic furnishings and kitchens. Somewhere along the way, alcohol became my master and I had to make some life-altering choices.

After being away from the business for a little under a year, I started again. It just was no fun at all. Every day felt like I was returning to the scene of the crime. It was hard to try to rebuild a business that had such great potential, only to be nearly ruined. I really wanted to be out of the shop space, but felt that I had so much of my life invested that I couldn't quit.

“Two good friends of mine invited me out for coffee in the late spring of 2002. They politely voiced their concerns that they didn’t think that I could stay sober running my custom cabinet business. They observed that I didn’t enjoy the work much anymore and asked, ‘Just what are you going to do to support your family and stay sober?’ I was quite put out with both of them, to say the least. At that point, I thought they were assaulting what to me was my identity and I couldn't even imagine closing a business that I had struggled to build over 18 years.

“After a couple of days of reflection, we got together at the same coffee shop. My friend Jerry asked me if there was anything that I always wanted to do, but had never acted upon. I told him that I always wanted to own a piece of excavating equipment, because I knew of an opportunity that existed in my area and it wasn’t being served. He laughed and said, ‘No one is going to spank you if you just quit. Go get a digger if you want one.’ The following morning I did a very crude business plan on the back of an oversize envelope while having my morning coffee and off to Elmira I went to meet with Jim LaPlante at Bobcat of the Twin Tiers. I have never looked back since.

“I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, surrounded by miles of vineyards on all of the lakes. Growing good grapes requires good soil drainage. There are miles and miles of drainage systems underneath the vineyards, representing 150 years of different methods and materials. The vineyard rows are planted on 8- to 10-foot centers or less. When the vines are mature, you have about 6 to 7 feet of travel room between the rows. The vines are on wires, with posts every few feet. Repairing a broken drainage line is usually a pick and shovel proposition for the grower. I had an idea to change that and start a new service.

“I had my heart set on buying a Bobcat® compact excavator when I first met with Jim. He listened patiently to my idea and said, ‘I’ll be happy to sell you an excavator if you are determined to have one, but you’ll have an easier time paying for a skid-steer loader with a backhoe attachment. Besides, you will find more uses for a skid-steer loader when you get going.’ I had never seen a backhoe on a skid-steer loader, so I was more than a little apprehensive. Jim brought one out to my first job and it was all I could have hoped for and more. With my recent past fresh in my mind, I didn’t have terrific confidence in myself, so Jim brought out an experienced partner for me to demo. My 763 sure wasn't the prettiest girl at the dance, but she has surely turned out to be a wonderful, dependable, and hard-working partner.

“My machine had belonged to a landscaping company in Syracuse that used it to load road salt in the winter. It had blistered paint and some black-and-blues from the cowboys who had piloted her over the years. The 709 backhoe attachment was a late-model and in great shape; the whole deal was love at first sight. It just looked like freedom and a new adventure parked there in the vineyard on that first morning. We have had a lot of fun together ever since.

“My first job was installing drainage pipe for a new vineyard site in an open field. I started learning how to run a backhoe; doing that while maintaining a 1.5 percent grade was high comedy! The first few days, I was just burning fuel, but I didn’t care — I was free. Now I use a laser on the stick, but in those days grading meant using a transit and rod. On the machine, off the machine, check the grade, on the machine, fix the grade, and so on. Miles of drainage later, I was finally off and running. It was a good thing that no one was watching me; I might not have gotten a second job!

“I gained real credibility with the growers my second year when I got a call from the last viticulturist in the Finger Lakes I would have expected to give me a shot: Herman Wiemer, owner of Herman Wiemer Vineyards. Herman is a mature man from Germany who does not suffer fools gladly. If he makes no comments, you can consider yourself doing a merely acceptable job; if he is unhappy, you will surely know it quickly. He wanted me to add new drainage lines in an existing vineyard in the row centers. You’re probably thinking, ‘No big deal; just run a trencher attachment.’ Well, you haven’t met the granite erratics in the Finger Lakes subsoil; they will make you talk to yourself.

“I employ a 12-inch bucket on the 709 with a stiff leg thumb. The vertical stabilizers won’t damage the vines. The soil is a real problem: If the grade is more than 30 feet deep, the soil rolls under each opposing trellis and must be retrieved after the pipe is installed without wounding a vine. The erratics are extracted and bailed over the trellis into the next row, to be picked up with the loader bucket. If the erratic is huge, it is worried between two vines to the next row and dealt with later. I then install the coil drainage pipe and backfill. I use a 30-inch bucket to hook the soil back from beneath each trellis, backfilling in reverse of excavation. I use a trench compactor and landplane when required, have a rock pickup rodeo, and then the grower usually brings his checkbook to the vineyard with a broad grin. When water is pouring out of the end of the new drainage, it is crystal-clear to the grower that his money was well-spent. I contacted Jim and he found me a used 12-inch bucket from another dealer.

“Saddled with fear and the local legends about Herman, I started digging. The whole first day, Herman watched me fill every bucket and barely said a word to me for 10 hours. He just watched me dig 800-foot rows and all he said was, ‘Go up five rows and do another one.’ He finally went away the second day, only to tell me to ‘go up five rows and do another one,’ and so on for two weeks of continuous digging. Finally, I enjoyed a side of Herman not seen often by mere mortals; high animation! Herman was waving his arms with a rarely seen grin, telling me how he had waited over 20 years for someone to figure out how to install new drainage in an existing vineyard without destroying his treasured Riesling vines.

“Herman got me down in the trench and gave me a Ph.D.-level seminar on root structures, winter heartiness, and what must happen in the subterranean level of a vineyard to make world-class wine. It’s all knowledge I use in my sales pitch today. He informed me that he had debated with his vineyard manager for 12 years over how to improve vigor without causing total destruction. He reassured me that I provided a needed service and would do well.

“People in every industry have competitors they watch because those people are successful. Herman is a tough cookie, but he is well-respected by other growers. He makes world-class wine at his winery, and he has the awards and medals to prove it. Other growers took notice that Herman was ecstatic, and my service is here to stay in the Finger Lakes for as long as I want to do it. The drainage work is a little more than half of my season; once the fruit starts to ripen, I’m out until after harvest. Then I go back and till snow or frozen ground.

“I spend the remainder of the year after harvest doing other services. I love to install lawns with my landplane and 5B landscape rake; it competes with the drainage time, but it all works out somehow and is very profitable. Growers in the region are changing grape varieties to better serve the ever-changing wine market, so I had a steel fabricator make a hydraulic post puller. This lets me remove vineyard posts and load them directly onto a farm wagon on the fly. I use a Bobcat 66-inch fork grapple for vine removal. I set the forks at an angle, insert them about 6 inches into the soil, and start pushing down the row. When I can’t see around the pile anymore, I close the grapple tines and carry it off to the burn pile. It leaves precious soil behind and is very fast.

“The plan is to offer turnkey site turnaround, from removal to planter-ready drainage. I rent Bobcat equipment throughout the season. It allows me to never let an opportunity go by to supply a service. What better way to audit an attachment that you are thinking about buying? With rental equipment, you can quickly become the go-to guy because you can always offer a solution for your customer. I rent excavators and large frame loaders for tough work. The T300 is my favorite, but I can’t wait to try a S330. The soil conditioner is the next must-have attachment — I’ve rented it enough, I should have put it on a rental purchase agreement long ago!

“My 763 has reached the point of being a very high-hour machine. It is still dependable but is beginning to show her age. Jim is again working to get me a new and improved machine, but maybe this time around I’ll quit being so conservative in my thinking. I’m thinking about an S205: its medium frame will fit through the rows but still provide more power for the other jobs that I get into. The new machine will have really big shoes to fill; I can’t wait to see if it will! The 763 has been trouble-free other than occasional hose and routine maintenance. Growers that started as customers are now friends, and they keep saying ‘When you get ready to trade, contact me first,’ She will probably have a new life ‘down on the farm’ next, and a happy, well-earned retirement.

“I feel that I have been truly blessed by my Bobcat experience. Jim has become more of a partner than a product rep and has turned into a close friend as well. How many opportunities does a person get in a lifetime to start a truly needed service, fueled by ignorance and have it turn out well? As to my alcohol demon, it’s still in remission. With my higher power and my Bobcat machine, chances are good it can stay that way. Being in the vineyard digging for buried treasure every day is a no-stress job. No phones, no meetings, no fires to put out — It’s just grand.

“I’m one of the few lucky dogs in the world. I’ve gone from hopelessness and despair to having a job that is so much fun I’m amazed when people give me money — and good money at that. ‘Be Your Own Boss’ — Find a need not being served, get a Bobcat machine, and unleash yourself. Have I been unleashed? You betcha — in ways that I can never truly explain to another human being. Thank you, Bobcat.”

Second-Place Winners

Terry Reed
Four Seasons Construction
Whitehall, Mont.

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“I worked rotating 12-hour shifts at a gold mine for more than eight years and learned a great deal about different kinds of construction machinery, but the one machine that was the most versatile was also the one that was the most abused and neglected. That machine was a Bobcat® 863 skid-steer loader. This rugged little animal of a machine worked in some of the most extreme conditions you could possibly imagine.

“ … After six years, working hundreds of hours of overtime away from my family on cleanup detail, the excitement was beginning to wear off. I no longer looked at my job the way I did when I first started. The fear of being laid off was at the front of my mind. During a long coffee break with a friend I call ‘the Cowboy,’ I expressed my concern about the future of my family should I happen to lose my employment with the mine. The Cowboy said to me, ‘Quit your stinking whining and go out and buy a Bobcat machine. You can come clean up my horse corrals. I’ll be your first customer.’ After lots of discussion with family, friends and co-workers, I decided to take the Cowboy’s advice.

“I drove to the closest Bobcat dealer, Kamp Implement of Belgrade, Mont., and purchased a brand new 2002 Bobcat 773. The finance rate through Bobcat was extremely good and my payments were very affordable. I drove off the lot that day a new man with a new plan. The spark of a dream was ignited. I would start my own little side business and stop working all the long, unappreciated overtime hours I had been working for the past six years. I had high hopes that I would be able to take some time off to watch my kids play in a ball game or two. I was excited!

“ … April 30, 2003 was the last day I worked at that mine. I gave the company eight good years of hard work and it gave me the skills to start my own business. For that, I shall always be grateful, but without that tough little four-wheeled Bobcat machine and its amazing abilities, I probably would have never realized the dream of independent business ownership. I still own my first Bobcat 773 and can’t imagine doing business without it.”

Eric Austin
Austin's Landscape Construction, Inc.
Yorba Linda, Calif.

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“… I started working as a paralegal after I got my degree and I hated it. I like being outside and always saw myself in the construction field in one way or another. One day, I got out of my desk and gave the office manager my two weeks’ notice. The office could not believe that I would leave the cushy indoor, dress-nice lifestyle for an outdoor, manual-labor job. I started doing debris removal. I was starting from the ground up and figured demolition and removal was a good place to start. I had recently sold my condominium and had some money in the bank. I bought a two-axle dump trailer and I found a 1996 used Bobcat® 453 like one I had rented before for $5,000. I paid cash for it in April of 2002 (since then I have paid that thing off probably 50 times over). I used it for everything I could possibly use it for because it was just me — and it allowed me to do grading and demolition, rip out small trees, concrete removal, etc. “Work smarter, not harder” is the motto that should go along with skid-steer loaders. It was the best investment I have ever made.

“I became a landscape contractor in 2005 and started Austin Landscaping. I was able to get a loan from the SBA and bought a used 1996 Bobcat 320 mini excavator. I thought I loved my 453, but when I started digging trenches and breaking concrete, grading, demolition, etc., I fell in love all over again. I use the mini excavator more than anything else I have. It is awesome. I can’t tell you how many times I have rolled on to a commercial project to dig a trench in a small area and people just point and laugh. I see them laughing because it is so little compared to what they are used to seeing, and I just shrug it off. I figure, ‘Hey, I am making $110 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so I can laugh all the way to the bank.’ It never fails — by the time the trench is completed, the jaws drop. They all, without exception, say to me, ‘Man, when you first showed up with that little thing, I thought, look at the Tonka toy this guy has. What is he going to do for us? That thing is good for sprinklers maybe, but come on! But now that I have seen what it can do and how much time and labor it saved us, because of the tight fit, I am impressed and will call you for all my tight spot digging from now on.’ I just smile and say, ‘Here is my business card, and yeah, it really is an incredible machine …’”

Michael Lowes
Lowes' Landscaping
Cuba, Mo.

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“In October of 2004, I was deployed in Iraq and assigned to an engineering brigade. We needed small, multi-use, and maneuverable machines. The dated equipment we went to Iraq with could not keep up with the demands of a high-speed war. In April 2005, while working on the top of our building, I noticed a convoy heading toward our location. I could not believe my eyes as I saw four truckloads of Bobcat® S150s. Full sets of attachments to support these units were on the next group of trucks.

“The S150s were the answer to many of our needs. The S150 played a key role in unloading supplies and equipment out of CONEXes. They were small enough to go inside, pick up a pallet, and pull it out. Troops saved a lot of time and no longer had to manhandle and unload every item. The combat-ready S150s were loaded up to maintain roadways. The engineers used these machines alongside dozers and graders to build level roads for our convoys to use. The S150 was also light yet strong enough to place decking plates for bridge crews. The turnaround time for bridge repair improved and the bridges were opened for convoy traffic much more quickly. Without passable bridges, the main supply routes would be closed and many combat operations halted. Now, engineers do not leave without a Bobcat machine.

“In December of 2005, we received two S220s to call our own. This civilian machine found its way into every aspect of our daily military work. The S220s were used to unload and lift lumber, for housing construction, and for road grading. Every day, the S220s transported sandbags to be stacked up for protection against incoming rounds. The Bobcat machines played a key role in keeping solders productive, healthy, and safe.

“While deployed, I spent many hours in the hot seat. I knew if I could feel comfortable in a combat zone, I could feel comfortable at home. As a landscape contractor, I knew what brand to purchase. In the spring of 2008 we needed a new machine that was stable on hills, had at least 2,000 pounds of operating capacity, low soil compaction, and weighed below 10,000 pounds. The T250 was the answer. Our business is based on the ability to build retaining walls on slopes. This is never an easy task. Our machine is an animal. I can bring a pallet of block safely down a hill to build a segmented retaining wall.

“The serviceability of the T250 is great. I open the door and all the key maintenance items are at my fingertips. This is great for an owner-operator, since I can keep the machine working without having to send it to a shop. The Bobcat skid-steer loader has unleashed me. From combat to construction, Bobcat continues to keep me productive."

Ray Jr. Benoit
Eagle 88 Enterprises
Hay River, Northwest Territories
Canada

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“Eagle 88 Enterprises is a family-owned and operated business with four Bobcat® units and many attachments. We are celebrating 20 years of service based in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada, known as the ‘Hub of the North.’ In the four short summer months, we get nearly 24 hours of daylight and run long days. Even in the other eight months of winter, our Bobcat machines feel right at home working north of the 60th parallel.

“Our fleet of Bobcat machines has really unleashed the potential of our small family-run enterprise, where cost management is vital. Our motto, ‘No Time for Down Time,’ is something we take very seriously. Being this far north, parts are a minimum of 48 hours away by truck. We rely on these great units to work day in and day out and make us stand above the rest. We work on projects that range from delicate work around new building construction to huge capital projects such as the Mackenzie River Bridge, which was started this past spring. The bridge spans the world’s longest freshwater river and will be completed in 2012. We use the power of our Bobcat machines to clear the lines for power companies on icy winter roads and keep the lights on in remote northern communities.

“In April of 2007, we were working in the Rocky Mountains on the border between the Northwest Territories and British Columbia. Our two Bobcat T300s worked until late November, clearing trees and brush and beginning road construction for the massive $7 billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline. There is still much work to be done and Bobcat will be there from the beginning to end. Sticking to our motto of ‘No Time for Down Time,’ we must have only the best of the best while working in some of the harshest climates on earth. Whether the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius or 40 degrees below zero Celsius (that’s a 140-degree difference in Fahrenheit), our machines just have to work.

“Working above the 60th parallel, we face many unique challenges. You can drive all day without seeing any other people. There’s no cellular phone service, no radio, and truly untamed wildlife, but the biggest challenge has to be the elements. Snow, rain, mud, rock, permafrost — you name it, our Bobcat machines have worked it. On one project, our T300 ran for 24 hours a day from mid-September to December of 2005 without a minute lost to mechanical problems. We reached maximum productivity with our T300s. We got the most bang for our buck and that is one of the many reasons we return time and time again to Bobcat. We get great service from Dennis and Cliff at our Bobcat of the Peace dealer in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Bobcat lets us compete in all seasons and all conditions, and provide great service throughout the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.”

Bob Pedatella
Kodiak Landscape Design
Haskell, N.J.

Bobcat Unleashed Me
“I created Kodiak Landscape and Design in 1994 at the age of 17. My company was started with sheer determination, two lawnmowers, and every nickel and dime I had saved. I began renting machines from a place nearby. Unfortunately, all that was readily available were some real lemons. I dealt with bald tires and returned shoddy equipment because it had broken down on the job, but that was all I could afford. That changed one day when I was introduced to a real beauty that was used at my college for campus projects. It was a Bobcat® machine, and it was a sight to behold. It had real tires and was actually maintained. I became recognized as a pro on that machine. I was asked to operate and manage the Bobcat machine for all activities and lessons where it was required. I did this for four years, teaching the students and in the meantime getting to play with something that seemed forever out of my monetary grasp.

“While in college, I was introduced to the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association and through this group became acquainted with Pat from North Jersey Bobcat. It was then that I learned that ‘Bobcat’ is not just a machine — it’s a mindset embodied by the employees. In 1997, I bought my first Bobcat skid-steer loader. In 1998, I graduated from college with a degree in Landscape Management and Design. I also received an award from the Dean as a show of appreciation, for the years I spent teaching students the merits and functionality of the Bobcat skid-steer loader.

“As my company grew, so did my Bobcat purchases. The greatest benefit of owning a Bobcat machine is that it is a year-round machine. In winter, I use it to plow snow for the community as well as commercially. Not only does it move the snow, but it can clean curb-to-curb. It maneuvers in spaces that will not allow a truck to pass, such as driveways and sidewalks. I use it to log tree farms so as not to disturb private woods. In the spring, summer and fall, I use it to load leaves, grade and install topsoil on baseball fields, follow milling machines for cleanup, install trees, and haul materials. The capabilities are endless.

“Looking back, there was a large gap from the start-up of my company to when I bought my first Bobcat machine. When you have done things manually, you really understand the significance of a machine that allows you to cut time and spending, and just the plain headaches that were associated with so little time and so much to do. It has been 14 years and I own three Bobcat skid-steer loaders. I have grown up a lot as I have dealt with the good and the bad.”

Third-Place Winners

Robert Ott
C&C Excavating LLC
La Crescent, Minn.
(Week 17 winner)

Joe Emigh
Utica, Pa.
(Week 15 winner)

Otto Trebing
Tanglewood-Destiny
Roopville, Ga
(Week 17 winner)

Dennis Goecke II
Tipp City, Ohio
(Week 11 winner)

Josh Ginther
Ginther Farms
Abingdon, Ill.
(Week 7 winner)

Jethro Montgomery
Turf Concepts, LLC
Elida, Ohio
(Week 12 winner)

Marvyn Pickering
Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan
(Week 10 winner)

Devin Scheel
Firm CRS
Draper, Utah
(Week 9 winner)

Marion Perret
Trans-Speed International
Jefferson, La.
(Week 14 winner)

Richard Meffert
Raeford, N.C.
(Week 21 winner)