They say you don’t know you’ve got a good thing until it’s gone, but Kevin Stone could have done without the lesson. He’s built the fleet of Landscape Concepts Management skid steers over the last 13 years and he was satisfied with all 125 of them. And then there were 122.
“It happens every year – someone drives off with a loader,” Stone says. “This is the first year we haven’t gotten them back.”
Stone has just put in an order with his local CASE dealer to replace the three stolen skid steers, which the company will need for its high-volume commercial snow removal business this winter. Landscape Concepts Management president Michael Kerton had a former partner who leased his skid steer fleet to the company during the winter months until Stone approached the CASE dealer to ask about buying used rental skid steer loaders. He told the dealer they were interested in buying 10 to 15 loaders, and wanted to compare used prices to new prices.
“CASE got wind of our interest and said they’d make it much more attractive for us to buy new if we were going to buy that many,” Stone says. “They made us a corporate buyer and gave us a big break. For the price of a two or three year old machine I got a new CASE loader with a warranty and half-percent off finance rates.”
The company has averaged 18 new skid steer purchases per year in the past four years, and Stone boasts that at 300 to 400 hours a year, the machines should last 20 years or more – as long as they’re used just for snow maintenance. “The machines I use year-round don’t have that kind of life cycle,” he says.
To tend to the loaders, Stone has a team of seven mechanics who are employed year-round. Ten skid steers need attention during all four seasons, mainly used for grading, tree work and pallet moving in the summer, and then for snow removal with the rest of the fleet in the winter. But the mechanics spend most time with the skid steer loaders in the winter. Last winter, LCM’s major market – the northern suburbs of Chicago – was hit with 91 inches of snow, and the mechanics checked each machine at least once a week to make sure it was ready for every job.
“Without fail, I had no problems with machines,” Stone says. “I had to fix a few hoses on snow plows. There were a handful of problems – maybe five or six over the course of a few months – but with 125 skid loaders working fulltime almost every day, it’s pretty incredible.”
Comfort and ergonomics are as important as reliability, Stone says, and in this category, his skid steers excel.
“The CASE cab is so comfortable, with the heat controls,” he says. “The machines are quiet. Guys in 30 degree temperatures can be in there in a t-shirt. It’s important. We’re concerned with keeping our guys comfortable for that number of hours in the field. We want to keep them happy.”
Operators are required to attend a training rodeo during Saturdays in October and November. The staff learns vital skills before they hit the winter snow, including how to change the fuel, how to check the oil, where controls and gears are and where the fuse and heat panels are. Stone and his leadership crew put down dirt and have the operators run the skid steers with plows and pushers attached.
“Our staff will be out there in the middle of the night in the dark and if they don’t know where the controls are, they’ll be pretty lost,” Stone says. “We send our account managers out to the rodeo, too. If someone doesn’t show up, the account managers can jump in and lend a hand. Plus they know what the operators have to deal with on a daily basis.”
It’s a reliable backup plan, but Stone says it’s been a few years since he’s had to rely on an account managers. His operating crew is as reliable as his loaders.
The company owns a range of skid steers, from the smallest 420s and 40XTs to mid-range 60XTs, 430s, 445s, 90XTs and 450s to a large 95XT, an 1840 and an 1845. His most versatile machine is the 430, which, Stone says, is a good combination for snow. The skid steer fleet ranges in price from about $24,000 for the 420 to about $33,000 for the 450. Each machine is enhanced with a 2-speed transmission, which the company started using 6 years ago. The transmission allows operators to travel quickly between sites; a push of a button drives the speed from 3 miles per hour to 11. “What used to take all day now takes just a few minutes,” Stone says of the driving time. “Some properties might be a mile apart.”
A portion of LCM’s work is along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, and last year LCM began clearing the snow at Sears Tower. “We can just barely get in there,” he laughs. “The space requirement is 6’3” and the CASE 420 is about 6’2”.”
Tight spaces, big jobs: Another winter’s on the way, and Stone’s ready with all 125 skid steer loaders.
“It happens every year – someone drives off with a loader,” Stone says. “This is the first year we haven’t gotten them back.”
Stone has just put in an order with his local CASE dealer to replace the three stolen skid steers, which the company will need for its high-volume commercial snow removal business this winter. Landscape Concepts Management president Michael Kerton had a former partner who leased his skid steer fleet to the company during the winter months until Stone approached the CASE dealer to ask about buying used rental skid steer loaders. He told the dealer they were interested in buying 10 to 15 loaders, and wanted to compare used prices to new prices.
“CASE got wind of our interest and said they’d make it much more attractive for us to buy new if we were going to buy that many,” Stone says. “They made us a corporate buyer and gave us a big break. For the price of a two or three year old machine I got a new CASE loader with a warranty and half-percent off finance rates.”
The company has averaged 18 new skid steer purchases per year in the past four years, and Stone boasts that at 300 to 400 hours a year, the machines should last 20 years or more – as long as they’re used just for snow maintenance. “The machines I use year-round don’t have that kind of life cycle,” he says.
To tend to the loaders, Stone has a team of seven mechanics who are employed year-round. Ten skid steers need attention during all four seasons, mainly used for grading, tree work and pallet moving in the summer, and then for snow removal with the rest of the fleet in the winter. But the mechanics spend most time with the skid steer loaders in the winter. Last winter, LCM’s major market – the northern suburbs of Chicago – was hit with 91 inches of snow, and the mechanics checked each machine at least once a week to make sure it was ready for every job.
“Without fail, I had no problems with machines,” Stone says. “I had to fix a few hoses on snow plows. There were a handful of problems – maybe five or six over the course of a few months – but with 125 skid loaders working fulltime almost every day, it’s pretty incredible.”
Comfort and ergonomics are as important as reliability, Stone says, and in this category, his skid steers excel.
“The CASE cab is so comfortable, with the heat controls,” he says. “The machines are quiet. Guys in 30 degree temperatures can be in there in a t-shirt. It’s important. We’re concerned with keeping our guys comfortable for that number of hours in the field. We want to keep them happy.”
Operators are required to attend a training rodeo during Saturdays in October and November. The staff learns vital skills before they hit the winter snow, including how to change the fuel, how to check the oil, where controls and gears are and where the fuse and heat panels are. Stone and his leadership crew put down dirt and have the operators run the skid steers with plows and pushers attached.
“Our staff will be out there in the middle of the night in the dark and if they don’t know where the controls are, they’ll be pretty lost,” Stone says. “We send our account managers out to the rodeo, too. If someone doesn’t show up, the account managers can jump in and lend a hand. Plus they know what the operators have to deal with on a daily basis.”
It’s a reliable backup plan, but Stone says it’s been a few years since he’s had to rely on an account managers. His operating crew is as reliable as his loaders.
The company owns a range of skid steers, from the smallest 420s and 40XTs to mid-range 60XTs, 430s, 445s, 90XTs and 450s to a large 95XT, an 1840 and an 1845. His most versatile machine is the 430, which, Stone says, is a good combination for snow. The skid steer fleet ranges in price from about $24,000 for the 420 to about $33,000 for the 450. Each machine is enhanced with a 2-speed transmission, which the company started using 6 years ago. The transmission allows operators to travel quickly between sites; a push of a button drives the speed from 3 miles per hour to 11. “What used to take all day now takes just a few minutes,” Stone says of the driving time. “Some properties might be a mile apart.”
A portion of LCM’s work is along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, and last year LCM began clearing the snow at Sears Tower. “We can just barely get in there,” he laughs. “The space requirement is 6’3” and the CASE 420 is about 6’2”.”
Tight spaces, big jobs: Another winter’s on the way, and Stone’s ready with all 125 skid steer loaders.
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