For more than 30 years, Arbor Age magazine has been covering new and innovative products, services, technology and research vital to tree care companies, municipal arborists and utility right-of-way maintenance companies
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/166866
SPECIAL FEATURE Photos provided by (from left to right), Morbark, Air-Spade, Vermeer, Loftness, Rayco, Terex Equipment Trends 2013 Arbor Age magazine recently asked a wide range of equipment manufacturers and suppliers to share their insights about equipment for professional arborists, and how the trends they are seeing will impact your equipment decisions. Their observations are as follows: What trends are you seeing with regard to equipment and supplies for professional arborists? With Tier 4 emissions in our sights,we have seen professional arborists make purchasing decisions sooner than they may have anticipated due to the new emissions.Another trend that we are seeing is that professional arborists are trying to keep their machines under 10,000 pounds to avoid the need for special licenses to haul larger equipment. — Casey Gross, tree care products sales manager, Morbark, Inc. Advanced equipment and safety. From a manufacturing perspective, there is always the demand to make equipment more effective in performance and design, especially proper ergonomic design. For example, some equipment advancements in compressed air excavation tools now afford a greater output on performance, and yet are easier to use and are lightweight in construction. From a safety perspective, it is always striving to ensure that safety is infused from all possible angles, i.e., not just the operator or equipment, but throughout the entire work site, including drop zones. — Rick Sweet,Air-Spade product specialist More and more companies now are starting to use mini skid-steers to feed their brush chippers. In the labor-intensive tree care industry, a mini skid-steer is another tool that can go a long way toward improving productivity and profitability. Instead of dragging or carrying logs and brush from the backyard to the chipper, a mini skid-steer does the work. It is easier on employees, and allows them to concentrate on other aspects of the project. Plus, arriving at a jobsite with a mini skid-steer enhances the chances of picking up more work. For example, the mini skid-steer can be used to restore the landscape after various tree removal projects. Multiple attachments, which can be changed easily and quickly, allow you to diversify your business, doing jobs such as using an auger to the plant trees.Three attachments that are especially popular in the tree care industry — an all-purpose bucket, a log grapple, and a brush grapple — can handle most of your jobsite needs. — Mike Rector, solutions specialist,Vermeer Corporation 8 Arbor Age / September 2013 The use of compact equipment continues to gain momentum in the industry.Many arborists are starting to understand how compact machines can boost efficiency by accessing areas where large-scale equipment can't. — Bill Schafer, product manager for Loftness Specialized Equipment Gasoline engines are showing up on many new machines in lieu of diesel engines.This is especially true in applications that had been using diesel engines below 100 horsepower. Electronics are being used more.Some arborists are fearful of machines heavily laden with electronics. But as machine controls become more sophisticated, the use of electronics will likely continue.Advanced safety features, emissions controls, remote controls, etc., are all fueling the use of electronics on modern stump cutters, brush chippers, and the like. — J.R. Bowling, vice president, Rayco Mfg. Our professional arborist customers are looking for lighter, more cost-effective units. New regulations are forcing tree-care professionals to work even higher than before, and these larger units need to stay as light as possible to stay on cost-effective chassis.Also, we continue to see a trend with our customers managing their equipment investments very carefully.That is, when our customers do need to purchase equipment, they are choosing machines that are the right fit for their particular business needs.We are seeing less "buying off the rack" and more focused purchasing decisions. — Dan Brenden, product manager,Terex Utilities The majority of arborists have to travel to many small jobs throughout the day.They may have to trim a tree in one neighborhood, cut one down in another, and remove a stump — all in the same day. Professional arborists are always looking for ways to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get equipment into position to do the work. In some cases that means finding a stump grinder that is easy to get on and off the trailer, and travel faster to where the stump is. In other cases, it means using smaller equipment, like a brush chipper than can fit through a standard 36-in gate rather than having to haul branches to the curb. — Sean O'Halloran, marketing product manager at Toro www.arborage.com