Week 6 Winners
Paul Watson
A&A Services
Edgewater, Md.
Bobcat Unleashed Me
“My name is Paul Watson, and I began building homes in 2005. I purchased three lots in my own neighborhood in Edgewater, Md., and soon after purchased a Bobcat® T190 compact track loader. Since the work on these lots happens just a few blocks from my own home, my T190 became more than a business investment. It has been a constant source of entertainment for my whole family. I have three young sons: Paul Jr. is four years old, Jack is three years old and Mark is six months old. Paul and Jack received radio-controlled T190 loaders when I purchased my real T190. That is when their love of Bobcat began.
“They watched intently as my brother David and I demolished the old house which sat on the three lots. The T190 destroyed that house in a matter of minutes. We used the machine to remove the debris. We then graded all of the lots effortlessly. My boys were captivated. My sister Carol also found the T190 useful when she built her new home. She used the T190 to bring her three acres to a perfect-level grade. She found it very easy to use.
“My most recent project has been by far the most exciting work performed by my T190. In September, our community's clubhouse across the street from my home burned down. Since my Bobcat T190 sits smiling in my front yard, the community association hired me for the demolition and cleanup. I knew that it was a powerful machine, but I had doubts that it could do all the work by its lonesome. It exceeded my wildest expectations. I scooped up debris and concrete with ease. The T190 took the remaining portion of the building down in minutes. I thought I would need an excavator — well, I wanted an excavator, but that little Bobcat machine is full of power.
“We quickly cleaned up the area and hope to start grading in the next few days. I was amazed by how versatile my machine is. Its power draws a crowd of people who stop just to watch it work. I am proud of my T190 and the happiness it brings.”
Jason Bot
BotCon Contracting Limited
Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada
Bobcat Unleashed Me
“Our company specializes in concrete construction and demolition in the potash mining industry of southern Saskatchewan. Until 2001, we used drum mixers to pour concrete underground. We fed 90-pound bags of gravel and bags of cement into the mixers by hand. This was very dirty, labor-intensive work. We have since switched to bags of gravel that are hauled by a rented Bobcat® S185 skid-steer loader and fed into a mixer with a Bobcat 553 and a Bobcat S100. We use Bobcat hydraulic demolition hammers to demolish concrete and potash, which saves a lot of labor. In one instance, we drove a Bobcat 463 skid-steer loader right into the mine elevator, went down 2,760 feet to a small donut-shaped tunnel cut into the mineshaft, and actually drove the 463 into the tunnel several hundred feet above the shaft bottom to do demolition and cleanup work. Without the 463, we would have had to do the job with handheld jackhammers and wheelbarrows.”
Ryan Walsh
Mandarin Enterprises, LLC
Staten Island, N.Y.
Bobcat Unleashed Me
“While I was in college, I purchased a Bobcat® 440B skid-steer loader with a bucket and plow. Overnight, I was in the snow removal business. After my first snow season, I began getting calls from my snow customers to do light excavation work. As a result, Mandarin Enterprises was born. I began doing bigger and bigger work. In 2001, I purchased a Bobcat 773 from Garden State Bobcat in New Jersey. This enabled me to do bigger excavation work and service more snow customers. H and E Tool Rental of Staten Island was my go-to rental house for mini excavators, attachments and other Bobcat machines for the bigger projects.
Mitch Roley
All Equine Arenas
Littleton, Colo.
Bobcat Unleashed Me
“On most ranches that I’ve worked, there is limited access to many areas, because of gates. I found that the Bobcat® T300 compact track loader could move through a lot of tight areas and over multiple terrains. The ease and speed of changing the attachments, from the bucket to an auger or vibrating roller, makes me look and feel very efficient. I was working on a job outside of Vail, Colo., and needed 24-inch holes for my round pen posts. I attached the auger and started drilling. The ground was really hard and on the very first hole, I hit a basketball-sized rock. With other tractors I've rented, I would’ve backed the bit out since there’s no way the machine would pull it. With the T300, I just lifted and that bad boy popped right out. Needless to say, I was impressed.
Kevin Haugan
Triple H, Ltd.
Terrace, British Columbia, Canada
Bobcat Unleashed Me
“When the logging industry fell apart in northern British Columbia, I knew it was time for a career change. I went back to school to get my journeyman carpentry ticket, but I needed something to replace the logging wages my family and I had been used to. I started Triple H, Ltd., and purchased a 2006 Bobcat® T190 compact track loader, a brand new dump trailer and various other attachments. Things exploded! I couldn't have asked for a better first year in business.