The Bear Paw attachment from National Attachments is grabbing attention across the United States as an "extreme" machine. On a job site in New Hampshire, the Bear Paw 200H has been delivering uncompromising strength for Mike Workman of Workman Excavating, based in Gilmanto, NH.

Attached to a Hyundai 160 LC-3 excavator, Workman has found the Bear Paw to be a reliable and versatile solution to his attachment needs. He has been able to hold larger rocks longer and better.

"The Bear Paw holds on to rocks of all sizes," said Milford, "I've had the thumb with rocks in angles that I never would have dreamed of. I'm impressed with the construction."

Three serrated full-length tines are able to grab Workman's heaviest irregular shapes. The attachment's pins are tapped and bolted for a secure fit. Additionally, the pins are tied together with "full-vault pales" and industrial box tubing.

When Flip Henry of Chappell Tractor Sales Inc., Milford, NH, first introduced the Bear Paw, Workman was most-impressed with the attachment's wide grip.

Workman uses his Bear Paw for a variety of applications, including retaining wall construction and debris removal.

The Name Behind the Attachment

National Attachments Inc., headquartered in Gorham, ME, introduced the Bear Paw as a "tough guy" in the thumb market.

"We wanted to offer the most advanced extreme-service mechanical thumb that money could buy," said Scott Guimond, founder and president of National Attachments. "We wanted to raise the bar and set a new standard of thumb that the consumer can unconditionally rely on."

Guimond brought the Bear Paw to Chappell Tractor in 1997, and over the years, Chappell Tractor has purchased a large number of the attachments.

In a relationship that dates back many years, National Attachments and Chappell Tractor have formed a friendship based on mutual respect and admiration. "We enjoy dealing with National Attachments because of their integrity," said Corey Chappell of Chappell Tractor. "They don't just tell us what we want to hear. If they say it's going to take two weeks to get an attachment, that's when we get it, even if it may cost them getting the order, they never misrepresent what they are able to do."

Chappell Tractor also looks to Guimond for his vast knowledge of attachments. "No one else in the industry that we deal with has as good of an understanding of the technical design of attachments as Scott. He has never steered us wrong," said Chappell. "We are committed to always standing behind what we sell, and National Attachments helps us live up to that commitment by never selling us inferior products."

The Bear Paw, for example, is a product that Chappell Tractor has been very impressed with. "It is one of the few quick attach systems that is rated for a hammer," Henry said. "The system does not increase the tip radius of your bucket even when the stick is fully extended. You have no loss of break out force. Because of the flat wedge design, there is no change in the pin locations."

Chappell Tractor represents New Holland Construction and Agricultural along with Hyundai, Kubota and EZ-Screen. The company covers southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts.

National Attachments Inc. serves the construction, demolition and recycling industry, and represents in excess of 100 different manufacturers that produce every attachment conceivable.

For more information, call 800/839-9981.

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