Like so many others in the landscape industry, Warren Brelsford has horticulture in his blood. Growing up in Bucks County, Pa., he spent his free time working at Bright Leaf Landscape Center & Florist, the family nursery. So when he decided to branch out and start his own business at the ripe young age of 18, it seemed only natural for him to carry on the family tradition.
In 1993, equipped with a clientele of 35 homeowners and a payroll that included himself and two others, Brelsford began WDB Lawn & Garden, charging $30 to $35 per mow. Knowing the challenges new businesses face, he never expected his startup company to be a long-term solution toward providing for his family. But the more hurdles Brelsford jumped, the more enthralled he became with his landscaping business.
“Perseverance is honestly how I got here,” says Brelsford, who studied landscaping at Rutgers University and earned a business degree from Kutztown (Pa.) University. “And I took more of a liking to lawn care. It was just more or less like a hobby.”
Fifteen years later, Brelsford says he still feels that way, though his customer base and business have grown immensely. He now employs a staff of 12 at WDB and has moved into the high-end residential and commercial sectors of the industry. In addition, Brelsford says WDB has government contracts working with school districts, courthouses and library systems. Overall, he estimates 25 percent of his customers are residential and 75 percent are commercial or government.
As his company began to expand, Brelsford invested in landscaping machinery to ease the demands for manual labor and to make his business more appealing when bidding for commercial or government contracts. Until a few years ago, Brelsford worked with a fleet consisting of a New Holland L555 skid steer, a John Deere front-end tractor loader and an International Tractor front-end tractor loader, the only machine of the three he still uses today.
In 2005, when he decided it was time to expand his fleet, adding another skid steer was the obvious choice.
“They’re just compact,” Brelsford says. “They’re easier to work with than a big front end loader because they’re hydrostatic. All you have to do is push a handle forward or backward, right or left, instead of turning a steering wheel as you do in a vehicle.”
Before purchasing a new skid steer, Brelsford covered all his bases. He evaluated Gehl, Bobcat and New Holland products and prices before deciding that a Caterpillar skid steer was the best option for his company. He says the quality of their machine and their service agreement made it an easy decision to invest $20,000 in a CAT 242B Series skid steer with an operating capacity of 2,100 pounds.
“If you ever have a problem with the machine, if it ever breaks down, their service is unbelievable,” Brelsford says. “They’ll come right out to your job site and fix the machine for you, whatever you need. And if they can’t fix the machine, they’ll rent one to you or give it to you until that one is fixed.”
Brelsford purchased the skid steer from Ransome Rents, a CAT rental facility in Levittown, Pa.
“Ransome rents and sells, which is great for me,” Brelsford says. “If I wanted to try a piece of equipment, I could rent it first and then see if I wanted to purchase it.”
Brelsford says the impressive safety features of the CAT skid steers reinforced his decision.
“I like that it has a gas pedal that can control your speed,” says Brelsford. “It also has that bar that comes down overtop of you, which is great. You’re not strapped into the machine. It has a safety belt, but you can just put down the bar and that keeps you safe as well.”
After adding a CAT 242B in 2005, Brelsford was so pleased with its performance that he decided to add a second one in 2007, paying about $24,000 for the machine. WDB has put its CAT skid steers to use in both residential and commercial applications, renting attachments from CAT to meet all the needs of the landscaping industry. Brelsford says his company has fitted its skid steers with augers, rockhounds and jackhammers, among other attachments, for use in planting, moving material and excavating for patios and walkways.
The only complaint Brelsford has with his skid steer is that it sometimes doesn’t meet the lift capacity that he would like, but he chalks that up to his decision to go with the 242B, rather than a larger skid steer, like a CAT 262C or 272C.
“I can still lift pallets, but I can’t lift them straight up in the air as I can from a tractor-trailer,” Brelsford says. “I’d like to get one size bigger or get a track machine.”
If his business continues to grow as rapidly as it has during the past few years, Brelsford may soon be able to afford the bigger skid steer or track machine he desires. But he knows controlled growth is best to ensure WDB continues to provide a quality service.
“Don’t grow too big too quickly,” he cautions.
Just big enough to add another piece of machinery.
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