JCB iron has helped Maietta Lawn Care complete its projects more efficiently, productively and safely.
Maietta Lawn Care is fast approaching its 20th anniversary and according to the company president Justin Maietta, a lot has changed since he named the company when he founded it.
"The lawn care part of our name was really only a factor the first few years of the business," Maietta said. "Generationally, our family has a history of being in the construction and excavating business and lawn care was a good way for this business to get started. But we very quickly moved into landscaping, snow removal, and then, excavating projects and we purchased the support equipment to make that happen."
Maietta Lawn Care's customer base is primarily in the southeastern Maine area, including Cumberland County, Scarborough, Portland, and the surrounding areas.
"Certainly, some of those early lawn care customers grew into being our commercial customers, but we have developed a significant book of commercial excavating and site development clients in this region and it is growing for us all of the time," he said. "I'm very proud of our diversity of experience and we have continued to maintain some of the lawn care and landscaping customers."
Maietta Lawn Care's equipment fleet has grown significantly over the past 20 years and a high percentage of the fleet consists of JCB machines purchased from Alta Equipment Company.
"A few years ago, we needed to upgrade our skid steers and we took a look at the JCB," Maietta said. "For a lot of different reasons, but in particular the side entry door and the safety advantages of that door really appealed to us. I like not having our operators climb in and out of the machine across the front-end bucket — and the dangers that come with that."
"As the amount of commercial snowplowing that we did increased, I really appreciated that side entrance door," said Adam Maietta, Justin's brother. "For example, if you had to stop at a gate to get an entry ticket, climbing out of the skid steer across the front bucket in the middle of a snowstorm was not only a pain, but it was dangerous. The side door entry on the JCB skid steer made all the difference in the world."
Maietta's experience with that JCB skid steer led him to other JCB equipment purchases from Alta Equipment Company, including a JCB 409 compact wheel loader.
"As our company grew, we needed more loading capacity and the JCB 409 fit the bill for some of our commercial properties," said Adam Maietta. "A big plus of the JCB 409 that I appreciate is its over-the-road speed. We register the machines so we can drive them from property to property and with a speed of 25 mph, it has been a real time and money saver for us."
As the company continued to grow and the size of projects and customers base grew, Maietta Lawn Care needed to purchase a larger wheel loader —a JCB model 427 wheel loader.
"When it came time to shop for the larger loader, we compared multiple brands in the same size category and the JCB machine had more power than the others by far," said Adam Maietta.
Then, Maietta Lawn Care needed another excavator and the company went a little outside of the norm and added wheels with the JCB Hydradig 110W, JCB's wheeled excavator and tool carrier equipped with a Steelwrist tiltrotator.
"The Hydradig is a very unique piece of equipment on wheels and to be honest, I was skeptical at first," said Justin Maietta. "However, this past summer, we worked on a lot of projects located in parking lots and it's extremely handy to be able to drive anywhere on the site without damaging it. Plus, the Steelwrist tiltrotator is a totally unique piece of equipment that allows you to do just about anything. The flexibility you have with your attachments is above and beyond anything we've ever had before. This purchase has been way beyond my expectations."
Adam Maietta added that the JCB Hydradig 110W has saved the company many man hours.
"You can clean up corners without having to put someone down in the hole and you can reach areas that you could never reach with a conventional bucket," he said. "The maneuverability is astounding. Depending upon what attachment you use, if you don't have a skid steer available, you can move material across a parking lot at 27 mph without spillage.
"The visibility of the Hydradig is excellent," he added. "You have no tail swing, so the machine body never comes outside of the wheel base — the counterweight of the machine is all below you and there are no blind spots in the cab; you get total visibility all the way around. The only thing you have to focus on is how high up you are with the boom."
The serviceability of the Hydradig has impressed Adam Maietta, too.
"Everything that needs to be reached is accessible from ground level," he said. "The panels are easy to reach and easy to open. You can also get to the motor and pull it out so that you can access everything."
While JCB iron has helped Maietta Lawn Care complete its projects more efficiently, productively and safely, there's more to it that keeps the company coming back to JCB and Alta Equipment Company, according to Justin Maietta.
"JCB has great lease programs," he said. "No one else offers the same options that JCB offers us and they have been great to deal with. The payments actually fluctuate seasonally to adjust to our cash flow."
He added that Alta Equipment has been great to deal with for service.
"Any issues that we have had are few and far between," he said. "When we have needed their service department, they are on top of it the same day, and if they can't fix it right away, they've given us a machine to use while they work on ours. Even during a period where the supply chain is broken, Alta Equipment Company has had the parts we've needed every time."
"Our sales rep with Alta Equipment Company is Toby Reynolds and he has been a great representative for Alta Equipment Company and JCB," added Adam Maietta. "He is available to us 24/7, is a great source of information, and is becoming sort of like a part of the family. You can tell he enjoys taking good care of his customers."
Recently, Maietta Lawn Care had the opportunity to tour the JCB factory in Savannah, Ga.
"The entire facility was very impressive," said Justin Maietta. "The company's dedication to quality and having the right inventory of parts on hand to support the dealers was obvious. And what we most appreciate about working with Alta Equipment Company for JCB equipment is that we share the same philosophy in how to deal with customers. No matter how big or small the job is, first and foremost, take care of the customer. Do the job well, get it done on time and the customer will keep coming back."
For more information, visit www.maiettalawncare.com and AltaEquipNE.com. CEG
JCB 409 Compact Wheel Loader: Specs at Glance
- Pilot steer for excellent maneuverability
- 25 mph road speed
- Powerful turbo charged engine
- Easy ground-level service access
- 500-hour engine service intervals
- 12,830-lb. operating weight
- 1.3-yd. standard bucket
- 74 hp Tier IV final engine
- No DEF or DPF
JCB 427 Wheel Loader: Specs at a Glance
- Heavy-duty articulation joint
- Well-positioned steering rams
- Optional five-speed transmission with torque converter lock-up
- Eco mode, which reduces fuel consumption, yet maintains productivity
- All-day comfortable operator environment
- JCB Smoothride load suspension
- 30,000-lb. operating weight
- 3.1-yd. standard bucket capacity
- 179 hp engine
JCB Hydradig 110W: Specs at a Glance
- 109 hp engine
- 25,258-lb. operating weight
- Four-wheel steer, two-wheel steer and crab steer
- 13-ft. turn radius
- Works comfortably within the confines of a two-lane road
- Reverse steer option
- Reduced front swing and tail swing of just 5 ft.
- Kingpost allows operators to dig parallel without compromising stability
- Top speed of 25 mph
- Three mobility modes: Highway mode, Site mode and Creep mode
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