Excavator Creates New Business Opportunities in Small Town

Experience with Bobcat Loaders Made Buying Decision ‘Easy’

Renting a compact excavator made sense to Doug Martin because it enabled him to complement the work of his skid-steer loader. Owning one — a Bobcat® 331 excavator — makes even more sense.

Martin, a former elevator manager, started removing snow in the town of Elm Creek, Manitoba (population 310), in 1998 after he purchased a used Bobcat 743 skid-steer loader. He also has a 753. Four years ago, as his business began to diversify, Martin started renting excavators.

“Every time I returned one I would get a call about another job where I needed an excavator,” Martin says. “The more I used excavators, the more opportunities opened up. I was getting landscape jobs, installing drain tile, even cleaning out feedlot manure.”

Martin discovered that the cost of renting for a week was equal to a monthly payment on a new excavator.

“When I decided to buy, I had the advantage of having rented three different brands,” he says. “That actually made the decision easy — Bobcat stood out as the best. Better hydraulics, better controls. There was no comparison.”

“Better hydraulics, better controls. There was no comparison.”

The fact that Martin had experience with Bobcat loaders was also a plus. He has 8,200 hours on his 743 and 4,200 hours on his 753. “I’ve spent less than $1,000 on parts and service for those two machines. Why would you buy anything else?”

He purchased a 331 excavator from Greenvalley Equipment, Morden, Manitoba. “The machine’s 10-foot, 2-inch dig depth is ideal,” Martin says. “My first big job with the excavator was cleaning out a stretch of waterways,” he says. “I positioned the 331 on the bank, used the bucket to remove soil and debris and dumped the material into a truck. Later I returned to place stone for erosion control. The 331 made this project fast and easy.”

Martin, who has the only compact excavator in this rural area of southern Manitoba, has been able to expand the landscape portion of his business. “The addition of the 331 makes us more creative,” he says. “Shaping yards and placing rocks are valuable services we can now provide. It’s a real advantage.”

The advanced hydraulics of the 331 is a feature that sets the Bobcat excavator apart from the competition, according to Martin. “I know I can count on the machine to deliver precise, predictable operation. That allows me to successfully work in the most challenging situations,” he says.