Fifteen years ago, Queensland arborist Gavin Rowan bought a small vegetation management business that came with a handful of trucks, a few chippers and 10 staff. Today, Heritage Tree Care runs more than 50 trucks and employs around 140 staff across several depots from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and Toowoomba. It also uses a Vermeer HG6800TX horizontal grinder. Vermeer’s HG6800TX Powering Ahead is leading the industry. In fact, Vermeer’s HG6800TX Powering Ahead has been a turning point for the business.

Expanding Beyond Traditional Arboriculture

What began as a traditional arboriculture service has expanded into a diverse operation. It now includes vacuum excavation, land clearing, porous paving, and in-house traffic control. The company’s scale and capability mean it can handle projects ranging from routine tree maintenance to clearing and infrastructure work. Furthermore, Vermeer’s HG6800TX Powering Ahead continues to impress with its performance.

“We’ve got a bunch of excavators now and a few depots,” Rowan said. “We’ve branched off into a few new areas, but it’s all still about doing the job properly and safely.”

The next logical step in the company’s growth came with a move into large-scale wood and green waste processing. After years of running an expanding fleet of chippers, around 25 at last count, Rowan decided it was time to invest in a high-capacity horizontal grinder.

“When we bought the business, it came with a couple of chippers, and then we bought a few more,” he said. “The logical next step was obviously to get a grinder, and I’ve got a lot of faith in Vermeer gear.”

Heritage Tree Care’s new Vermeer HG6800TX tracked horizontal grinder has proved itself an asset across multiple applications.

The company uses it to do some of its land-clearing work. Heritage Tree Care has a holding yard for mulch and waste. Consequently, the machine is utilised to process stump grindings and palm mulch. It also handles the rubbish it brings back from jobs. Rowan said he bought it to recycle waste streams in his own yard. However, it’s ended up going out of the yard quite often.

Stocked by local agent Vermeer, the grinder comes with a 950-horsepower (708-kW) CAT C27 Tier 4 Final engine. It is built to handle heavy workloads in tough environments, with Vermeer’s HG6800TX Powering Ahead in demanding conditions.

The grinder features a 24-inch (60-centimetre) ground clearance and a track-driven undercarriage. This gives it the ability to tackle uneven or soft terrain often found on clearing or recycling sites.

Its Series III duplex drum and smart feed system are designed to maintain throughput and minimise blockages. This allows operators to process more material in less time. Rowan has been impressed by the results.

“It’s a good machine, this machine – she’s quick,” Rowan said. “We’ll probably throughput 2,500 cubes of product today. It’s incredible. These kinds of machines get worked hard in dusty, dirty environments, but they go pretty good.”

Service, safety and training support

Rowan said Vermeer’s after-sales service has been an important factor in keeping the company’s operations running smoothly.

“With this gear, I can call Vermeer parts department and get parts on a weekend if I need it,” he said. “Someone’s always there to help you, and the boys are all close to our yard. Someone will run the parts out to me and give us a hand to try and keep us on the road as much as possible. I like all that. It’s what they’ve been trying to do to help us.”

This responsive support, coupled with Vermeer’s reputation for durable, easy-to-use equipment, gives Rowan confidence when it comes to safety and training new operators. He said he’s always like the safety in the Vermeer gear. He also said they are also good machines to teach others how to operate equipment. This is because they are easy to use.

The grinder’s intuitive controls and safety systems mean less-experienced staff can quickly gain confidence operating it.

“It definitely gives me faith to send out guys who are relatively new to the industry and train them up in it,” Rowan said. “Obviously they’ve got to get their tickets to use it, but it seems to work well for the guys.

“Nigel Dobier, Vermeer’s general manager up here has been extremely good in helping us. The team behind him are professionals in their field. We’ve been very happy with their products and their service.”

Building for the future

From a small operation with only a few trucks, Heritage Tree Care has grown into a major Queensland business offering a range of vegetation management services. The introduction of the HG6800TX marks another step forward. In addition, it expands its recycling and processing capability. Importantly, safety and efficiency remain the company’s strength. Clearly, Vermeer’s HG6800TX Powering Ahead is helping Heritage Tree Care meet its goals.

Rowan said the move has already paid off.

For more information on Vermeer solar and energy equipment, call your local Vermeer Australia team on 1300 VERMEER or contact us

Original article from Inside Waste Magazine.