The right way to do right-of-way maintenance

Landscaper leaves desk behind for seat in Bobcat compact loader

Pictured in back row are Terry P. Dinkelman (son), Mary Huston (daughter), and Shawn Watts (son). Front row: Owners Sheila Dinkelman and Terry G. Dinkelman.

The beginning of Dinkelman Landscaping is a common one in the landscaping industry: Terry Dinkelman had a corporate job and did landscaping on the side. Business was so good that Terry and his wife, Sheila, went into landscaping full-time. End of the story? Not quite.

When a new opportunity presented itself, Dinkelman figured out a better way to do the work — including making a major investment in the right equipment — and become even more successful. The Dinkelmans started their landscaping business, located in Carlyle, Ill., by mowing lawns and doing general cleanup. They moved into flower, tree and lawn installation, then on to water features and stone and brick work. In 1999, they purchased their first equipment; a Bobcat® skid-steer loader for lawn preparation.

Their experience with Bobcat equipment served them well, when in 2005, they had a chance to take on a different type of work — right-of-way projects for pipeline and utility companies.

“When we bid our first job, I had Bobcat loaders and attachments in mind as a time-saving, worksaving way to do the work,” Terry Dinkelman says. “I had not seen Bobcat equipment used in forestry management very often, but I figured it could give us an edge. We were one of the innovators in using loaders for right-of-way work.”

Today, 65 to 70 percent of their business is right-of-way maintenance. “We clear 25 to 50-foot easements and maintain the right-of-way so pipelines and other underground utilities can be aerially surveyed regularly,” he says. “We also clear brush and remove tree limbs around above ground electrical lines so they do not cause damage during a storm. Our work includes mowing, cutting trees and restoring the right-of-way if necessary. At times we will seed, fertilize, lay straw and do some landscaping.”

Except for cutting down trees, all of their work is done with Bobcat equipment. They have nine Bobcat loaders, purchased from the Bobcat of St. Louis store located in Fairview Heights, Ill. All are high-flow compact track machines (864, T190, T200, T250, T300, T320) with enclosed cabs, heat and air conditioning. Their Bobcat attachment lineup includes multiples of the forestry cutter, Brushcat® rotary cutter, stump grinder, auger, mower, soil conditioner, grapple, snow blade and bucket.

The track loaders also allow them to work when other equipment sits idle. “During long periods of wet weather, like the spring of 2008, we would be shut down without our Bobcat machines,” Terry says. “They not only allow us to work in less-than-ideal conditions, but they help us complete jobs in a timely manner. Property owners want us to do our work quickly and move on. Bobcat products allow us to do that because they are much more efficient than other equipment.”

The right-of-way work has been very good for Dinkelman Landscaping Inc. and its 30 employees. “As soon as we got into it, we decided to make an immediate investment in the best products available,” Terry says. “That turned out to be a very wise decision because we could not do this work without our Bobcat equipment.”

Precision landscaping work calls for Bobcat 331E excavator

The Dinkelmans also have a 331E excavator — with 12 feet, 9 inches of dig depth — which is used by the commercial and residential landscaping crew as they work around the St. Louis area. “For placing boulders and building water features, you can’t beat the Bobcat excavator,” Terry says. “It’s a heavy-duty machine that allows us to do precision work.”

The landscaping group, directed by Shawn Watts, Dinkelman’s step-son, also uses many of the attachments for their projects. Other family members are involved in the company, too: His son Terry Paul Dinkelman works on the right-of-way maintenance side of the business, and daughter Mary Huston is the director of personnel.

Visit www.bobcat.com/landscaping to read more, see photos and watch videos about Bobcat equipment designed for the landscaping market.