Landscape & Irrigation

January/February 2016

Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.

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Investing in a compact excavator can significantly expand a land- scape business owner's fleet and offer value far beyond its con- ventional role of digging. Pairing an excavator with the right at- tachment for each job can improve versatility, create more project control, delay the purchase of a dedicated piece of equipment, and open up new revenue sources. According to Tom Connor, Bobcat Company compact excavator product specialist, when paired with the right attachments and a coupler system that allows for quick and easy exchanges, business owners in the landscape in- dustry can decrease time on their jobsites while increasing their profit. The following are eight applications in which excavators and their attachments work well. 1. Clearing — In wooded or overgrown areas tar- geted for development, compact excavators can improve properties with their ability to level dead or fallen trees and remove underbrush. Their rubber tracks help to provide access through thick vegetation and soft terrain. Versatile attachments like midsize buckets with teeth, three-tined grapples and rotating grapples can grab, pull and drag saplings and rooted undergrowth, as well as sort and load material. Flail mowers can efficiently clear tree branches and sap- lings up to 4 inches in size, and are ideal for removing unwanted vegetation from hillsides, roadways, ditches, trails and riverbanks. Clearing vegetation before it is too early to dig in spring is an op- portunity to generate some additional income. 2. Park maintenance — All of the landscaping jobs performed for residential or commercial properties are typically needed in municipal and federal park main- tenance, as well. Buckets and grapples assist with clean- ing and clearing land and building campsites. Clamps move broken concrete, brush, logs, tree stumps, boul- ders and other odd-shaped objects — even old play- ground equipment. Grading blades make great tools for rough or finish grading, backfilling and leveling. Expanding opportunities LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION 18 January/February 2016 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com 8 Applications you can perform well with a compact excavator ■ BY ALLISON MCNEAL ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BOBCAT COMPANY

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