Seizing an Opportunity to Expand

Ohio landscaper grew his business with Bobcat equipment

As Judd Powell's landscape supply and installation company has grown, so too has his fleet of Bobcat loaders, excavators and attachments, which keep his business running smoothly, year-round.

Judd Powell took advantage of an opportunity to expand his business more than 10 years ago, and with some help from his dependable Bobcat� equipment, has successfully grown into one of the largest landscape maintenance, installation and supply companies in his area.

Powell embarked on his landscaping career in high school; mowing lawns after school with a truck and trailer. It continued to grow after he graduated from college, adding more employees and expanding his services. In 1993, Powell met the owner of Tom's Mulch and purchased landscaping materials from him. Six years later, he purchased the 11-acre business and has since added a 5,000-square-foot retail operation next door. He supplies landscaping materials to local companies and homeowners in the area of Dayton, Ohio, with 14 different mulches, composts, topsoil, gravel, stone, boulders and salt in the winter.

First Bobcat purchase

1999 also marked the year when Powell purchased his first Bobcat machine � an 873 skid-steer loader. Since then, he's had eight Bobcat loaders to help him run his businesses. "Today we own three S300 skid-steer loaders, a T190 compact track loader and a 430 excavator," Powell says. "We really like the size of the S300s because they're very versatile for what we do, excel at heavy lifting and are great for snow removal; there's no limit to what we can do with them.

"We purchased the S300s with the two-speed option, which has improved our operations here at the landscape supply yard. We cover more ground and get the customer in and out faster. It speeds up snow removal, too."

Outside of the landscape supply company, Powell oversees six landscape installation and renovation crews and 11 delivery trucks. Crews install hardscapes, softscapes, ponds and retention walls on new and existing landscapes. Bobcat loaders, his excavator, and his attachments replace manual labor and tools, to get jobs done quicker and more efficiently.

"We gain two extra weeks a year thanks to the T190, and it's a lot less damage to existing turf."

� Judd Powell

Production boost

The addition of a compact track loader meant more production from his installation crews. "The T190 improves our efficiency, getting us on the jobs earlier in the spring," he explains. "In wet, muddy conditions, we can access the site much sooner than we could with other equipment. We gain two extra weeks a year thanks to the T190, and it's a lot less damage to existing turf."

The combination of the right Bobcat equipment, strong relationships with local companies and his Bobcat salesman, and a solid business plan keeps owner Judd Powell one step ahead of his competition.

Visit the landscaping page to read more and see pictures of Bobcat compact equipment in landscaping.

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