GROWING CAT® FLEET EXPANDS BUSINESS CAPABILITIES
Jim O’Connor of Growing Seasons Landscapes had once been part owner of a non-Caterpillar construction equipment dealer, but at The Green Industry & Equipment Expo, he “took a liking” to a new Cat® 262D skid steer loader.
“It was on the cutting edge of comfort and styling,” O’Connor says. “Caterpillar is superior in operator
comfort, as well as visibility. I feel it’s a lot better than the competition.”
O’Connor formed Growing Seasons from a bankrupt company he bought in 2007. Sons Josh and Justin O’ Connor then “spearheaded it and took it to a different level,” guiding the business through the economic downturn. With an expanded portfolio of services, Growing Seasons now employs 34 people – up from three in its earliest days.
Versatile Fleet with One Brand: Caterpillar
As the business grew, so has its fleet of Cat equipment and its reliance on the service of Cleveland Brothers and One Call Rentals, a Division of Cleveland Brothers.
In the beginning, Growing Seasons, located south of Pittsburgh, only performed landscape maintenance. Those services remain, even as the business has diversified to include commercial landscaping as well as oil and gas site maintenance.
The firm’s first Cat machine was a 262D skid steer loader, purchased in 2013 after the GIE+ Expo in Kentucky. Since then, Growing Seasons has purchased a 259D compact track loader, a 289D CTL, and a 305E mini excavator. The versatile fleet does “everything from new landscape construction, to erosion control, to excavation,” says Josh O’Connor. “Every machine moves every day.”
Building a Cat fleet offers many advantages, says Jim O’Connor:
Dependable service and support. “Anybody can sell you a piece of equipment, but you need the service and you need the people behind the scenes to make sure you’re back up and running,” he says.
A comprehensive line of skid steers that allows room for growth. “A lot of other skid steer manufacturers only make products to a certain size, and after that you have to jump ship to a different brand. That’s not the case with Caterpillar.”
Operator efficiency. Operators can be trained on one brand of machine – Cat – eliminating the need for multiple trainings on multiple brands.
Simplified stocking of parts, filters, and oils. Parts can even be swapped out among machines as needed. “It gives you flexibility,” says O’Connor.
Growing Season Builds a Strong Relationship with Cleveland Brothers
Growing Seasons purchased their Cat machines with work tools for standard tasks. When they need more specialized tools, or even additional machines, they rely on One Call Rentals.
“We rent dozers when needed,” says Josh O’Connor. “Right now, we don’t use them enough to justify buying them. The One Call Rentals side makes it easy. I call and talk to the rep. I tell them what I need, where I need it, and when I need it.”
Growing Seasons has built a strong relationship with all aspects of Cleveland Brothers, “from service to
rental to specking new machines,” says Josh. Technicians arrive promptly when called. Parts, aligned with the serial numbers of Growing Seasons’ machines, are delivered to Cleveland Brothers’ nearby SITECH facility for convenient pickup.
Leverage Cat & Cleveland Brothers as a Competitive Advantage
In the coming year, Growing Seasons expects to look into purchasing a Cat D4 dozer and a 308 mini excavator. The pivot to Cat machines and Cleveland Brothers dovetails with Growing Seasons’ commitment to “a very high attention to detail,” says Josh O’Connor. “How it gets done is meticulous, and that attention to detail is what we strive for.”
Cat machines also mesh with the consistent branding that Growing Seasons cultivates, says Jim O’Connor. “Caterpillar has an image worldwide, and that tells people something. On our lettering and logo, everything is consistent. When we pull up on site, nobody has a question. Everything is the same. We take a lot of pride in that. We’ve done a lot of research and spent a lot of money to keep that identity clean and clear.”