Carl Faulkner began his career in the cab of his father’s excavator over 30 years ago. Working for his father’s company at a young age, and staying in the trade all these years, Faulkner decided to start his own company in 2012. Located in Imperial, Missouri, Faulkner Excavating specializes in site development, clearing and infrastructure work for residential and commercial sites in Jefferson and St. Louis Counties.

“Most commonly we do subdivisions,” explains Faulkner. “We’ll do the excavating for subdivisions, we’ll install the infrastructure of the sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water mains, the services to reach each lot. We’ll also do commercial lots.”

CASE Construction Equipment will celebrate its 60^th anniversary of wheel loader production with a variety of promotions and activities throughout the year. The activities start at World of Concrete 2018 where the first 500 people who visit the CASE booth (C5748) will receive a commemorative CASE t-shirt celebrating the milestone.

The current offering of CASE wheel loaders evolved from the W9, the first CASE integrated four-wheel drive wheel loader introduced in 1958. The W10 and W12 four-wheel drive models and the front-drive W5 loader soon followed. The W series grew through the 1960’s and 1970s, including the mammoth 15-ton W26 articulated loader, introduced in 1968. It was the largest wheel loader offered at the time, boasting a 3-yard standard bucket. The 4-yard W36 arrived in 1977. The W series loaders all featured cabs mounted on the front half of the machine.

CASE Construction Equipment has added to its skid steer and compact track loader attachment line with the introduction of new Hydraulic Pallet Forks with Nursery Sleeves. Ideal for landscapers, nurseries, municipalities and other contractors who deal with both palletized materials and live nursery stock, the new forks transition easily between the standard and “nursery fork” configurations. The hydraulically controlled tines run off of standard auxiliary hydraulics and can be positioned from a 10- to 44-inch spacing for optimal handling and transitioning between different tasks — all without leaving the cab. These new forks allow contractors to own a single set of forks for multiple jobs, and help protect the integrity of root balls on large trees during transport. For more information on the complete line of attachments available for CASE skid steers and compact track loaders, visit CaseCE.com/Attachments.

CASE Construction Equipment is now accepting entries for the CASE Kickstart Contest, a business development contest where landscaping contractors can win a suite of prizes designed to take their company to the next level. Business owners are encouraged to enter the contest at CaseCE.com/Kickstart by answering basic questions about their operation, and describing how they would evolve their services by winning the contest. The deadline for entry is March 30, 2018.

One (1) grand prize winner and one (1) runner-up will be named, with the grand prize winner taking home the following package:

CASE Construction Equipment announces the availability of Michelin^® X^® Tweel^® SSL All-Terrain Airless Radial Tires as a factory-approved/supplied option on all skid steer loader models. Airless radial tires perform just like a pneumatic tire, but without the risk and costly downtime associated with penetrations and impact damage. CASE is the first skid steer loader OEM to offer the Michelin X Tweel SSL from the factory.

The Michelin X Tweel SSL is one single unit, replacing traditional tire/wheel/valve assemblies. There is no need for complex wheel/tire mounting equipment. There is no air pressure to maintain once each tire is bolted on. The AT models feature a deep open tread design for excellent cleaning and traction, and a deep layer of undertread allows the core to be retread many times.

CASE Construction Equipment has issued a call for entries for the 2018 Dire States Equipment Grant. Originally launched in 2016, this is the third year that CASE has offered the grant, which provides one winning community with $25,000 in free equipment use to help offset the costs of building or repairing a critical piece of local infrastructure. Representatives of municipal, county and other local governments are eligible to apply for the grant. Entrants will be asked to describe the project and provide a detailed assessment of how that local piece of infrastructure will benefit the community.

Submissions can be completed at DireStates.com/Grant. The deadline for entry is March 30, 2018, and winners will be announced in April.

Launched in 2016, CASE G Series wheel loaders have been honored with the prestigious Good Design™ Award in the Industrial Category from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

CASE Construction Equipment received the Good Design™ Award for its G-Series wheel loaders – the latest generation of the brand’s proven product line, which introduced a revolutionary windshield design and raised the bar on operator comfort when launched in 2016.

It’s all about labor and time savings with these landscaping attachments.

When talking about attachments, we often start with the fact that the machine — whether it’s a skid steer, a compact track loader (CTL), a backhoe or a wheel loader — is the base platform that allows the owner/operator to do a job. The base purchase of that machine comes with a standard bucket, which is great for many applications.

Tracks and pneumatic tires represent a significant percentage of total cost of ownership (TCO) for any piece of landscaping equipment. Proper maintenance and operating practices can go a long way to ensure that equipment owners are getting the most out of their investment, as well as working towards a safe and productive job schedule.

This article serves to identify some initial purchase considerations that will ultimately affect TCO over the course of a machine’s service life, as well as maintenance and operational factors that will extend the life of each asset and ultimately lower its TCO.

The rent vs. purchase equation is discussed at length in the landscaping industry—but the conversation is most often geared towards the primary equipment platform: the skid steer, the mini ex, etc. The decision to rent or purchase attachments and other ancillary equipment shares many of the same financial considerations, and there are several factors that help a business owner determine whether it makes more sense to rent or purchase attachments.

There is no right answer that will work for every business owner. Each individual should look at factors such as cash flow, taxes, estimated utilization rates, as well as associated costs like maintenance, depreciation and resale values. Additional factors include the size of the operation and the types of jobs and applications in which the attachment will be used.