by Beth L. Gainer

A LINE OF UNIQUE, MULTI-PURPOSE TRACTORS HAS BEEN HELPING NURSERY AND LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS STREAMLINE THEIR TASKS.

A vacuum cleaner, a food processor and the handy-dandy vegetable slicer all have one thing in common:  With the help of attachments, each appliance can perform a multitude of tasks to save time and labor.  Now nursery and landscape professionals can get their hands on machines that, with their numerous attachments, efficiently perform many nursery and landscape tasks -- Power Trac, a series of tractors manufactured by Power Trac Inc. in Tazewell, VA.  These vehicles are being touted as one of the most popular new products in the green industry. 

With labor so scarce, several nursery and landscape professionals find this series of tractors invaluable members of their growing and landscaping operations.  In fact, some in the nursery trade believe these vehicles are even more helpful than skid-steer loaders and traditional tractors.  "I think this line of tractors offers more for the green industry than any other series I have seen in my career," says Dwight Hughes, owner of Dwight Hughes Nursery in Cedar Rapids, IA.

What these tractors offer is versatility.  Each Power Trac machine comes with more than 20 front-mounted attachments, such as buckets, augers, adjustable forks, rototillers, backhoes and trenchers that are hydraulically hooked onto the tractors through the vehicles Quick Attach feature.  The operator can quickly and precisely attach each implement from his or her seat rather than having to get out and manually attach it.  This saves the operator time and labor, as well as reported helps prevent injury.

Power Trac machines also have a unique motion that helps nursery and landscape professionals navigate the areas they are working in.  The tractors are articulated, which means the center of the machine pivots horizontally-- up to 45 degrees in each direction.  The wheels on the side of the steering direction move inward, while the ones opposite the steering direction move outward.  This allows movement on lawns and landscapes without causing damage to them.  "When you turn a skid-steer, it tears up turf," says Frank Pyott, director of marketing and sales at Power Trac, inc.  "With our machine, you can work on a finished lawn and replace shrubbery or trees without disturbing the grass.  When you leave, no one knows you were there."  The flexible movement of the vehicles' front and rear portions allows for sharp turning in tight spaces, where traditional machines cannot fit.  And because each wheel is not on an axle, but has its own motor, the machines don't get stuck.

The base of each tractor oscillates vertically, up to 12 degrees, to provide a stable center of gravity for slopes and rugged terrain.  For example, if one wheel runs over a log or rock, the middle of the vehicle's base pivots as needed so that the remaining three wheels stay on the ground.  This is said to prevent the machine from flipping over.

These compact machines are reportedly tough, as they are made of a one-quarter-inch-thick steel-plate frame and unibody construction.  "A lot of [machines] today are three-year throw-aways," says Pyott.  "The nursery industry wants something that lasts longer and is heavy-duty."  Jayson McConnell, owner of McConnell Nursery in Shreveport, LA, agrees.  He has ben using this vehicle for his wholesale business, which sells 3 to 30 gallon container plants.  Power Trac is built like a tank, so if you bump into something, it's not going to fall apart," he says.

Several models are available.  The PT-400 series comprises models PT-418, PT-422 and PT-425.  The PT-418 is an 18 horsepower machine that weighs 900 pounds, the PT-422 is a 22 horsepower machine that weighs 1,050 pounds and the PT-425 is a 25 horsepower machine that weighs 1,100 pounds.  All PT-400 series have a ground speed up to 8 mph and a lift capacity of 800 pounds.  The 30-horsepower PT-1430 weighs 1,800 pounds, has a lift capacity of 1,200 pounds and a ground speed up to 8 mph.  The 45 horsepower PT-2445 weighs 3,500 pounds has a lift capacity of 2,600 pounds and a ground speed up to 12 mph.  Hughes speaks highly of all models, particularly PT-2445, which comes with more than 30 attachments.  "PT-2445 is the only articulated tractor in America that I'm aware of that has a three-point hitch capability," says Hughes.  He says that while skid-steer loaders can only carry one front-mounted implement at a time, this model can work with an accessory on the front and on the back simultaneously.  "You can put all kinds of attachments on the vehicle.  You can use a backhoe, rototiller or any lawn preparation tool on it," says Hughes.  "It's an extremely versatile tractor.  Any landscape company can use it."

Power Trac Inc. based the design of the its tractors on the underground material-haulage vehicles used for the coal mining industry, which needed strong machines that were compact enough to fit into small spaces.  "Our smallest machine weighs 800 pounds and fits in the back of a pickup without attachments," says Pyott.  About seven years ago, the company began producing the machines for such uses as public utilities, cemeteries and services and services that mow grass, clear snow and lay pipelines.  Interestingly, the nursery industry found out about the machines almost by chance.

About four years ago, Hughes was looking through a green industry trade publication and saw a Power Trac machine that happened to be in a picture of a generic trade show floor.  He had been looking for a power wheelbarrow with lift capacity, and knew instantly that the tractor was articulated and would provide such a function.  He called the publisher, which tracked down the manufacturer's phone number.  Hughes purchased one and was so delighted, that he immediately started telling nursery and landscape professionals all about the product.  Before long,  Power Trac Inc. was inundated with phone calls.  "We didn't find the nursery industry; the nursery industry found us," laughs Pyott.  "The machine is somewhat revolutionary to the industry, but it's something the industry needed for a long time."

A 'Swiss Army Tractor.' John Kippley, owner of Envirodesign Inc. in Corcoran, MN, finds Power Trac vehicles invaluable for such tasks as landscape construction and installation, plant installation, edging, mulching, installing brick pavers and water gardens.  "I call it my swiss army tractor," says Kippley.  He marvels at the ease of attaching and detaching his bucket, rototiller and adjustable fork implements.  "Normally you need to get out of a machine to hook and unhook buckets.  Power Trac levers enable you to do it from your seat.  You can hook on a bucket and switch to another bucket.  It's really fast, and I really love that," he says.  "A rototiller usually hooks up on three point hitch on a tractor, and that's a project in itself.  With Power Trac's Quick Attach, it's done hydraulically."  Kippley adds that he likes the fact that attachments hook onto the front of the machines instead of being rear mounted.  He says that particularly with the rototiller, he can see how the times are turning and digging.

Kippley also uses adjustable forks to haul pallets and B&B trees and to loosen the soil.  He uses an 8-cubic foot, 54-inch wide bucket attachment for digging up sod and the 18-cubic foot, 60-inch-wide bucket for hauling large amounts of dirt and mulch.  With only three employees, Kippley knows that time management and efficiency are crucial.  McConnell uses the auger attachments to dig for tree installation and uses forks to move pallets around.  "We can lift large container trees with [pallet forks]," he says.  "We can also use pallet forks for ripping out old plants and root systems."  McConnell says his Power Trac saves his company lots of time and labor.  "We used to have to wheelbarrow soil around and hand load it.  It used to take two guys two to three hours to install 7 yards of landscape mix," he says.  He adds that with Power Trac, it takes one man only a half hour to perform the same task.

McConnell also loves the Quick Attach feature.  "It allows me to change attachments in about 10 seconds per attachment without getting off the machine," he says.  "It's like having one machine that does 20 different things.  The employees really appreciate it and have fun using it."  He says that with less time spent on arduous tasks, his workers are not worn out.  And efficiency is the bottom line, he says.  "We do more business and volume, and at the same time we are making our jobs easier.  It's a lot easier to work 60 hours a week [with Power Trac] than 20 hours a week doing manual labor," says McConnell.  "Our sales increased about 35 percent in 1998 from 1997 and with one less worker than the year before."

Mobile Units.  In the nursery and landscape profession, ease of mobility is the name of the game.  And the Power Trac vehicles' articulation and oscillation features are designed to provide such mobility, even in tight spaces.  "The way the tractor pivots in the center makes it easier to turn.  I can turn around edgings," says Kippley.  He adds that because the machine can hydraulically lift attachments fairly high, vehicle mobility is good.  "If you're coming down a steep hill with a rototiller, you can't normally lift it up real high on a little tractor," he says.  "With Power Trac, you can easily lift [the attachment] up."  McConnell also likes the articulation feature.  "We can put the machine in the nicest yard in our area and it doesn't do any damage to the turf," he says.  "For a skid-steer, one side locks and the other side spins and tears stuff up.  And Power Trac weighs less, so it causes less damage to the lawn."  He also likes the fact that the tractor's compact size helps it move in tight spaces.  "I can go inside a 5-foot-wide gate," he says.

The tractor's maneuverability also helps nursery and landscape professionals perform their day-to-day tasks.  Kippley has a 6-by-12 dump trailer on which he attaches ramps and then drives his Power Trac vehicle up the ramps.  He uses a large bucket to pick up such items as dirt and gravel right from the trailer itself.  "The Power Trac goes up slopes nicely.  Its compact size enables me to do this," says Kippley.  McConnell also appreciates the tractor's ease of motion.  "I can drive up a ramp to where [the implements] are sitting on the trailer and attach them," he says.  The machines pivoting action not only helps with navigating the area, but helps the operator use the attached implements with precision.  "Let's say I'm trying to line the bucket up perfectly.  If I'm off by 2 inches, I just pivot the center of the machine and the bucket moves," says Kippley.  "With a regular tractor, I have to back up and try it again at another angle."

Saving time and labor is the bottom line for green industry professionals.  And with the labor shortage, it has become more important than ever for growers and landscapers to streamline work.  For Hughes, time management and labor reduction are crucial.  "Power Trac's increased our worker productivity immensely and cut the physical labor involved to do landscape installations," he says.  "Fewer people, more production."  Tim Ruesch, owner of Tim's Tree Farm, inc. in O'Fallon, MO, agrees.  "My accountant says [using Power Trac] saved me 18 percent in one year in labor-productive wages," he says.  He uses the machine for such tasks as digging and trenching.  Kippley also enjoys the tractors' multipurpose use.  "I think it's a real versatile tractor and accomplishes many things."

Power Trac vehicles are designed to give nursery and landscape professionals as much flexibility as possible.  "[The tractor's use] is limited only by your own imagination," says Pyott.  "You can do anything with this machine with this machine that your mind can conceive."

Beth L. Gainer is an associate editor of AMERICAN NURSERYMAN.