One lucky landscape contractor will win a suite of prizes from CASE Construction Equipment through the Kickstart Contest, a landscape business development contest. The grand prize winner — announced Monday, April 9 — will receive a six-month free equipment lease, professional consultation from landscape contracting industry expert Jeffrey Scott, $3,500 Parts & Service Reward Card and other premium prizes.

All submissions were compiled online at CaseCE.com/Kickstart. Contractors were asked to answer questions about their operation, including some of the best business advice they’ve ever received.  We’ve distilled some of the best business tips from more than 350 entries into bite-sized chunks you can easily scan and apply to your business.

CASE Construction Equipment has developed a universal machine control option for its production class M Series dozers (1150M, 1650M and 2050M) that makes each machine factory compatible with all major suppliers of machine control technology, including Topcon, Trimble, and CASE precision partner Leica Geosystems, within a single “universal machine control” option.

CASE universal machine control provides a universal harness for blade guidance systems, universal machine brackets and mounts, and universal jumpers to integrate any industry solution into each dozer. This allows CASE dozers to be deployed, straight from the dealer, into any fleet-wide precision or machine control solution an owner/operator/contractor may deploy on their worksites. It also helps improve retained and resale value, as that CASE dozer will be compatible with any solution during resale into its 2^nd or 3^rd operational lifespan.

We spend time preparing our equipment for snow removal and other cold weather work in late fall or early winter, but what steps do we take to get our equipment ready to transition back into dirt work in the spring? From checking and changing fluids, examining hoses and attachments, to doing a thorough cleaning and ensuring that all salt is cleaned from the machine – having a transition plan from season-to-season helps ensure the long-term performance and value of your equipment.

Clean-Up, Grease Up
Get each machine into a warm bay or other dry place and give it a thorough cleaning and inspection. Look for signs of wear or damage, any leaks, or any other anomaly that might indicate a problem. Thawing and freezing cycles and the presence of water can wreak havoc on greasing systems… make sure each grease point is serviced as recommended in the owner’s manual.

CASE Construction Equipment has named Michel Marchand as vice president for North America, replacing Scott Harris who has taken a similar role at CASE IH. Marchand, who previously served as the regional sales director for Canada, will now oversee all CASE Construction operations in North America.

“He has both comprehensive knowledge of the construction equipment business and a passion for the CASE brand,” says Leandro Lecheta, chief operating officer — NAFTA, CNH Industrial. “Throughout his career, Michel has consistently developed strong partnerships with our dealers in order to maximize growth and seize all the opportunities that the market has to offer.”

As the third generation in his family’s construction business, Corey Metts grew up on the seat of a dozer pushing and pulling levers.

“There are not many jobs where you wake every morning and get to go play with tractors. It’s really the only thing I’ve ever known.”

Emissions trends over recent years have driven machine innovation – stricter emission regulations, new fuels, common-rail fuel systems and the need for cleaner fuel are all driving the need for improved filtration technology.

Today’s machines are engineered to the highest performance standards—each machine is a highly engineered system of complex working parts, which should be maintained by only using genuine filters and lubricants to ensure continued optimal performance. Using non-OEM-specified filters and lube creates a weak link in the system, and can compromise the performance of a machine.

CASE Construction Equipment introduces the new SV212D and SV216D single drum vibratory compactors – compatible with both smooth and padfoot drums. With best-in-class centrifugal forces, self-adjusting torque control system and the most climbing power in the industry, these machines are built for industry-leading performance in the toughest applications.

Able to climb grades of up to 65 percent, the SV212D and SV216D feature a low-center-of-gravity axle-free design and a high-traction hydrostatic drive system that provides constant power to the wheels and drum with an electronic self-adjusting torque control system. The machines’ new 154 HP Tier 4 Final engine also delivers greater torque than previous models.

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.