A Boston-area firm plays a key role in stump-grinding equipment development.
Clark L’Abbe’s roots are not in any tree-related industry despite his current success in tree grinding. L’Abbe, who owns Hillside Co. based in Danvers, Mass., actually has roots in aviation and extensive knowledge in aircraft engine repair and maintenance. He also has a proven skill piloting World War II-era bombers as part of a traveling aviation tour.
Because of his roots, L’Abbe’s time is currently divided between owning and operating one of northeastern Massachusetts’ larger stump-grinding businesses and educating the public about the role U.S. aircraft play in securing the country’s freedoms. In addition, L’Abbe serves as an informal technical advisor to manufacturers of the stump grinders he uses on a daily basis.
Stumped by a move
In 1984, after a successful career servicing jet engines for a major manufacturer, L’Abbe made a career shift that took him into a business doing rototilling and light construction work throughout the Danvers area. It was in that part of the business that things dramatically changed for L’Abbe.
“Stumps are obviously a big a part of any rototilling operation, and when I would come upon any, I simply pulled them and hauled them off for disposal,” he says. “Well, one day we sent two loads of stumps to the landfill, only to find out it was no longer accepting them for free. Suddenly, disposal costs for my debris had almost doubled because of the stumps.”
L’Abbe says he initially tried to solve the problem by contracting with an outside source to grind stumps on site for him. That contractor, however, proceeded to speak directly to a customer and undercut L’Abbe’s bid for the work.
But one evening, after parking at a local rest area, L’Abbe found himself next to a trailer carrying a stump grinder.
“It seemed like a sign,” he says, “and from that point forward I knew we had to get a grinder of our own. We made one purchase, then another and we haven’t looked back since. Today, we own about eight machines and, together with my son Ben, my wife Heather, my daughter Lindsay and four additional long-term personnel, we have built a nice business around them.”
Making improvements
Because of his extensive mechanical knowledge, L’Abbe worked with his regional equipment dealer to make improvements to the stump grinder line that the dealer was handling at the time. When the dealership started to handle Morbark equipment, Morbark made the same request of L’Abbe as it moved into the stump grinder market.
“I was happy to offer what input I could,” L’Abbe says. “I knew from their tub and horizontal grinders that Morbark built a rugged machine, so I felt confident they would take my design suggestions and do the same with a new stump grinder. My comments were based on what I was experiencing in everyday use with the grinder, and they obviously listened to what I had to say. As a result, modifications were made and have appeared on Morbark models released since then.”
Those modifications included things like a stouter grinding wheel; the addition of debris curtains, which help contain material during the grinding process; and changes to the position of the drive unit on the tracks, which has resulted in added power when machines are moving.
“The track machine I have now is one of the first Morbark ever made,” L’Abbe says. “And even though it only has an 86-hp Cat engine – as opposed to the 100-hp units commonly found in stump grinders – I would put it up against anything else out there today.”
Remote improvements
According to L’Abbe, there have also been a number of major changes made to the remotes used in conjunction with Morbark stump grinders – changes that were driven largely by his son Ben’s feedback to the company.
“As a result, the new remotes are far more responsive,” L’Abbe says. “Small machine movements or onsite adjustments are easy and accurate. We can actually feel the unit better than anything we’ve ever used in the past.”
L’Abbe adds that because stump grinding creates such a dusty environment, the dust can affect a person’s ability to breathe. So being able to distance himself from the machine and operate it remotely is critical to him. Having confidence in that remote is important, too.
“This is the first remote I’ve ever had that I truly feel I can trust,” L’Abbe says. “The fact that Morbark took so much of our input and incorporated it into the new design speaks volumes to how well we work together.”
Proactive testing
The track machine to which L’Abbe refers is the D 86 track stump grinder, which Hillside first tested for an extended period of time before purchasing outright. Although long trial periods might seem a bit unorthodox, they have proven successful for Morbark in the past, according to Jason Showers, the company’s product manager.
“When we develop a new product, in some cases we prefer to have a controlled testing environment for long-term issue discovery,” Showers says. “Clark is a trusted ally and willingly shares feedback both good and bad, so we can see how the machine will react over an extended period of time. The objective is to capture any issues that do not appear in general beta testing and quickly address them before they reach our end users.”
Key player
Hillside’s success, like that of most smaller grinding businesses, is predicated upon performance. But L’Abbe says the competitive nature of the stump-grinding business in the Northeast makes performance even more vital.
“I still get the same money for stumps that I did in the 1980s,” he says. “The only difference now is how fast we can do a job. In the old days, a project that would have taken us three hours can now be done in 20 minutes. That’s allowed us to tackle more work in a day and make a decent living doing what we do. But it isn’t always easy.”
L’Abbe says he’s enhanced his company’s value to a range of companies in the area by providing instant service. He cites the example of a contractor putting in a fence or doing a driveway who suddenly comes upon a stump.
“That operation is essentially dead in the water until that issue can be resolved,” L’Abbe says. “When that happens, you are looking at a crew of three or four men standing around while the clock is running. That’s when they call me; if I know it’s a critical issue, they know I’ll be there.”
Right the first time
L’Abbe says he has also found that several businesses can be booked correcting the mistakes of others – mistakes that, unfortunately, end up costing homeowners more money.
“Last year I did 237 regrinds – projects that were the result of my competitors not grinding out the flair, not chasing the roots and not going deep enough in their stump-grinding projects,” L’Abbe says. “We had one job this year in which a lady had 15 stumps in her backyard that were ground by a local one-person operation.
“Afterward, she had the landscaper come in to start work only to find out that, on each stump, only the top had been removed. They called me in to finish the job, and she had to pay for it all over again. I hate to see that happen, but it’s an unfortunate part of this business.”
By comparison, the Hillside approach to grinding is more thorough according to L’Abbe. Because Hillside’s Morbark stump grinders have the ability to grind deep, L’Abbe and the Hillside team leave little room for error, grinding each stump to a depth of 8 to 12 in.
“We like to get it right the first time, so we grind down to an average depth of 10 in., which might seem like overkill to others who do what we do,” L’Abbe says. “But because about 90 percent of the people end up raking about 4 in. of the grindings back in before throwing another 4 in. of loam over it, that 10-in. depth gives them plenty of room to re-plant in the same spot.
“If we did stumps to just 5 in. below grade, that would only allow for an inch of loam and we would be blamed when grass wouldn’t grow. This approach has really worked out well for us.”
Attitude changes
To cope with today’s challenging business environment, Hillside has had to make adjustments to its business model, shifting from a company that originally specialized in supporting land clearing and development companies to one that focuses on reclaiming projects.
“We still work with area tree companies, taking care of stumps they produce as part of their projects,” L’Abbe says. “However, we are also doing a lot of reclaiming jobs. Few people today are buying more land. Instead, they are trying to make better use out of what they have. So about 75 percent of our work is with area contractors who are improving existing properties.”
Because Hillside does a broad range of work, L’Abbe says having a variety of machines available is an advantage for the company. Backyard reclamations or work on hilly sites really benefit from the stability its track machine offers, he says. L’Abbe cites one recent project in a nearby city in which an embankment was so steep that walking up was a challenge. Yet, the track unit handled the embankment with ease.
“Golf courses, on the other hand, need a wheeled unit because we obviously can’t bring a track machine out there and dig up their greens,” L’Abbe says. “So we feel we have the right tool for the right job. We can’t compete with someone who is just doing it as a hobby.
“When you factor in the amount of fuel these machines burn, add in taxes, insurance, travel costs and so on, sometimes there’s not a lot of money left over. But we love what we do, we do it better than most others and we are happy that, working together with Morbark, we are helping to improve the equipment that is so critical to our operation.”
Larry Trojak of Trojak Communications is a freelance marketing communications professional based in Ham Lake, Minn.