Landscape Contractors Profit from Versatile Bobcat Equipment
Mark Borst
Offering the industry’s widest selection of compact machines and ttachments, Bobcat® equipment can handle any landscape construction job that comes your way. A Bobcat mini track loader or an excavator with retractable tracks offers a smart alternative to wheelbarrows, shovels and manpower when carrying a load of dirt though a backyard gate or digging a trench where other machines can’t go.
Choose a Bobcat skid-steer loader to handle jobs as diverse as tilling soil, spreading mulch, unloading pallets of sod and transplanting trees.
If you frequently encounter wet, muddy sites, a Bobcat compact track loader will provide the traction and flotation you need to keep working.
Maybe you have to cross an established lawn, a paved driveway or a sidewalk. In that case, a smooth-turning Bobcat all-wheel steer loader will minimize damage to sensitive surfaces while saving tire wear on concrete and asphalt.
And when it comes to loading dirt into trucks, digging irrigation trenches, building retaining walls or sculpting water features, you can’t beat a Bobcat excavator for working efficiently and productively in tight spaces.
No matter what your choice in Bobcat equipment, you’ll enjoy unsurpassed performance, comfort and convenience.
Benefiting from longlasting performance
Borst Landscape and Design, a residential design/build landscape construction and maintenance contractor based in Allendale, N.J., relies on six Bobcat® loaders—five skid-steer models and a compact track machine—and a Bobcat excavator. The staff includes nine maintenance crews and 11 construction crews, says owner Mark Borst, who reports his company does about $5 million worth of business each year in northeastern New Jersey.
The construction crews use the loaders with light material and tooth buckets, pallet forks and a backhoe in a variety of jobs. The medium-size 763 skid-steer loader, equipped with steel tracks, and the bigger T300 track loader handle grading jobs in all weather conditions. An 863, 873 and two S300 skid-steer loaders work mostly on retaining wall and patio paving projects, hauling gravel and boulders and unloading pallets of field stone and concrete blocks.
Matthew Ward
Typically, one loader is assigned to each construction crew. “The loaders make each crew self-sufficient,” says Borst. “When they go to a jobsite, they can handle the entire job.”
A long-reach 341 excavator, equipped with a 30-in. bucket, travels from one job to another, digging out areas for driveways, sidewalks, patios and retaining walls. “This incredible excavator is one of the best purchases we ever made,” Borst says. “We use it more than any other single machine.”
When the construction season ends, the skid-steer loaders continue making money by clearing snow at condominium developments and commercial sites.
Borst, who started the business 15 years ago while still in college, bought a used Bobcat 743 loader in 1995. That was after a disappointing experience as owner of another brand. He’s purchased only Bobcat compact equipment ever since.
“The way the machines are built, they’re almost indestructible,” he says. “They help us get the job done efficiently. The machines really hold up to the task and breakdowns are next to nothing. That’s the main reason we stay with Bobcat.”
Another is the first-rate service he receives from his dealer, Bobcat of North Jersey, Totowa.
“They treat us very well,” says Borst. “No problem goes unsolved. They make sure it gets taken care of right away.”
Much better than a tractor
The Bobcat® A300 is more efficient, does a better job and, because of the many choices of available attachments, is much more versatile than the tractor it replaced, according to Matthew Ward.
A.J. Upton
“The A300 is great for what we do,” he says.
Matthew Ward Landscapes, Summerville, S.C., provides a variety of landscaping services, including grading, sodding, planting trees, and installing irrigation and lighting systems for residential and commercial clients.
Ward was the first in his area to own a Bobcat all-wheel steer loader when he purchased an A220 from Bobcat of Charleston.
Two years ago he traded it in for the more powerful A300. He uses this machine with an auger, smooth and combination buckets, digger, grapple/forks and pallet forks.
“We do a lot of renovation on existing lawns and the A300 allows us to get in and out without tearing up the grass,” he says.
The all-wheel steer loader’s lifting ability gets high marks when carrying pallets of concrete retaining wall blocks, palm trees and pallets of St. Augustine sod with its 2-3 in. of topsoil. “When it rains, that sod gets heavy,” he says. “The A300 does a great job of carrying the sod. It would take a really large tractor, which would tear up a lawn, to handle the loads that the A300 does.”
Firms that work with Matthew Ward Landscapes also benefit from the A300’s power and speed. “Palm tree suppliers like to deliver to us because the machine can unload a trailer load of trees in about half an hour,” says Ward. “It may take other landscape contractors using tractors as long as five or six hours to do the same job.”
Ward operates the A300 as a skidsteer loader when the job calls for maximum maneuverability. “If I’m on a hill or another area with limited room to turn around, I switch to the skid-steer mode to turn in place and get out of some really tight situations,” he says.
Other times, the A300’s inching control, which permits precise movements with high torque, comes in handy. “Before pushing into a pile of dirt, I’ll switch to creep mode to power into the dirt without stalling the engine,” he explains. “Because the engine doesn’t spit and sputter I actually save time by going slower. Once the bucket’s full, I’ll switch to travel speed to quickly carry the dirt to the dump site.”
Guy Fernbacher
The Power Bob-Tach™ mounting system is another time-saver. “I can change from one attachment to another in seconds,” he says.
Opening doors to more business
Landscape contractor A.J. Upton enjoys his work. In fact, the owner of A.J.’s of Gastonia, Inc., Gastonia, N.C., who’s been landscaping for 22 years, doesn’t even consider it work. “I’m having fun,” he says.
That’s due in no small part to his nine Bobcat® loaders and excavators. They not only simplify and ease the workload for him and his crews, but they’ve also sparked significant growth in his landscaping and landscape supply business, he says. Since buying his first Bobcat loader to replace
a small tractor with a front-end loader 10 years ago, annual sales volume
has mushroomed from about $100,000 to more than $2 million, according to Upton.
“Bobcat equipment has helped my business grow big time by allowing us to do more and different types of jobs,” he says.
Currently, his Bobcat fleet includes six skid-steer loaders—an S160, 773, 873, S185 and two S250 models—864 and T300 compact track loaders and a pair of 334 excavators. Equipped with various buckets (combination, light material and tooth) and other Bobcat attachments (auger, Brushcat® rotary cutter and industrial grapple), the machines tackle a broad range of landscaping jobs—from grading and leveling to carrying concrete blocks and loading debris.
The compact track loaders keep crews productive in wet and soft ground conditions. “We can go anywhere we need to with those machines,” Upton says. At jobsites, the powerful S250s are perfect for carrying concrete retaining wall blocks and unloading bales of straw and pallets of rock at the supply yard. The smaller loaders are used on many landscaping jobs, replacing hand labor or tackling work in areas too small for larger equipment.
In addition to digging footings and shaping banks for retaining wall projects, the 334 excavators have allowed the company to expand into building water features. The extended reach allows operators to excavate ponds, build a base for waterfalls and place large stones while minimizing the need to reposition the machine.
Most of his Bobcat machines are equipped with enclosed, heated and air conditioned cabs. “The cab protects you from the wind and elements,” Upton says. “A comfortable cab also helps increase production by reducing the number of breaks an operator takes during the day.”
Adding to the value of the Bobcat machines, he notes, are their durability, ease of operation and the service provided by his dealer, Bobcat of Charlotte. “If I have a problem, they do anything they can to help,” he says.
Bobcat equipment, notes Upton, helps him achieve his primary goal: offering the best quality service to his customers. “That’s why Bobcat machines are all we use.”
Durable loaders earn mechanic’s approval
The heavy lifting, quick maneuvering and long days involved with landscaping work can place a lot of stress and strain on equipment. It takes a tough machine to meet the challenge. Just ask Guy Fernbacher.
He knows the landscaping business both as a contractor for 17 years and, for the last nine years, as a mechanic with Scenic Landscaping, LLC. The Franklin Lakes, N.J., company designs and installs residential landscapes. Fernbacher is in charge of buying and maintaining the company’s fleet of equipment, including Bobcat® skid-steer loaders, which are used by 14 construction crews.
These loaders include models 843, 863, 873, S250 and S300, along with backhoes, buckets, pallet forks, sweepers and trenchers. The machines also keep busy in the winter removing snow for commercial customers.
“Bobcat loaders stand up to the rigors of this work very well,” he says. “There’s not a job they haven’t been able to do for us. We can count on them to work when we need them.”
That includes one job where the 863, equipped with steel tracks and backhoe attachment, dug a water line trench in an area where bigger equipment wasn’t feasible.
“I dug 1,000 ft. of trench, 37-in.-deep, in just 7 hours,” he says. “The amount of work I got out of that three-year-old machine astounded me.”
He’s been impressed by the durability of Bobcat loaders. In fact, he tells of one machine that survived a drowning. That happened on a pool removal project when the loader was parked, without an operator, next to a metal, in-ground pool filled with water. The pool wall collapsed, causing the machine to tumble into the water. “After retrieving the machine, we changed all the fluids, replaced the injector seats and it started right up like nothing had happened.”
As a former contractor he appreciates the comfort and convenience of various options on some of the loaders, including enclosed, heated and air conditioned cabs and the Power BobTach™ mounting system. “The Power BobTach system makes changing attachments a pleasure,” he says.
To reduce flat tires, he’s equipped all the skid-steer loaders with flatproof solid tires. At the same time, his equipment maintenance program
emphasizes prompt attention to any problems.
“Our Bobcat loaders make us money,” he says. “If one should break down, it gets fixed immediately. They’re not hard to service either, and the availability of parts is excellent.”
He has no plans to try any other make when he buys the company’s next skid-steer loader. “I’m very conservative,” he says. “When something works, I stick with it.”