Companies in the News: Updates from Gravely, Ruppert Landscape, Bobcat and more

Gravely donated a one-of-a-kind Gravely ZT HD Stealth for a raffle to benefit Sassy’s Hope, an organization that helps those battling cancer in Northern Georgia. (Photo: Gravely)

Gravely auctions off mower for charity

Earlier this summer, Gravely raffled off a one-of-a-kind Gravely ZT HD Stealth during the 44th Annual Phillips “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” Championship Rodeo in Resaca, Ga. All proceeds of the event went directly to Sassy’s Hope, an organization that helps those battling cancer in Northern Georgia.

The event sold 500 tickets for the mower raffle and selected Matthew Smith as the winner.

Drifter’s Trading in Eton, Ga., worked with Gravely team to donate the machine and help raise money for Sassy’s Hope.

“We were more than happy to support a cause like this,” said Stephen Ariens, vice president RapidCare at Ariens Company. “We leveraged our RapidCare customer support facility, which is dedicated to taking care of our dealers to make it happen. Our RapidCare team took the time to paint custom parts for the cause. It was an honor to be involved.”

Kress Commercial earns CORE eligibility

Kress Commercial now qualifies for the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE) for Professional Landscapers by the California Air Resources Board.

California Climate Investments, the state agency that oversees CORE qualification and manages billions of Cap-and-Trade auction dollars to incentivize the program, awards the CORE designation and related voucher funds as part of the statewide initiative that helps professionals switch from gas-powered equipment to zero-emission technologies.

(From left) Louis LaBonte of Ruppert Landscape; Dan Novack of Balfour Beatty Construction; Bob Jones of Ruppert Landscape; Brett Harton of Foulger-Pratt Contracting; Derek DiPiazza of Gilbane Building Company; and Paul Pestun of Ruppert Landscape. (Photo: Ruppert Landscape)

Ruppert Landscape and Associated Builders & Contractors host networking event

Ruppert Landscape, No. 13 on the 2023 LM150 list partnered with Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington (ABC Metro) to host its annual summer networking. ABC Metro hosted this event at Ruppert’s headquarters in Montgomery County, Maryland for more than 25 years, with more than 500 people attending this year’s event.

“We take great pride in our association with an organization that excels in its efforts to support our industry and remains committed to keeping us well-informed about local, state, and national issues affecting the building and construction industries,” said Bob Jones, president of Ruppert’s landscape construction division. “Our involvement with ABC, and events such as this, afford us the opportunity to interact and build stronger relationships with customers and other contractors.”

Bobcat Donates $250,000 to parks

Bobcat Co. extended five grants, each worth $50,000, to parks across the nation as part of its partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).

In addition to the grant offering, every park and recreation department that applied for the grant — regardless of receiving the grant or not — will receive a new Bobcat zero-turn mower to help them accomplish more for their community spaces.

The recipients of the $50,000 grants include the city of Stonecrest in Stonecrest, Ga.; Davidson County Parks and Recreation in Lexington, N.C.; Buffalo Parks in Buffalo, N.Y.; San Antonio River Authority in San Antonio, Texas; and Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation in Auburn, Wash.

FieldBin wins startup of year award

FieldBin, a field service management (FSM) software provider, earned a Gold Globee in the 15th Annual 2023 Golden Bridge Awards for Startup of the Year, IT Software category.

The Golden Bridge Awards celebrate organizations that have demonstrated outstanding achievements, innovation and excellence across various industries.

“FieldBin’s nomination showcases the innovative approach taken by the company to support field service businesses and professionals. FieldBin’s commitment to helping businesses improve their profitability and efficiency is evident through its comprehensive FSM application,” said a Globee Awards judge. “This is a great solution for an industry that is so stuck in the yesterday’s technology.”

Felling Trailers will host an online auction of an FT-3 drop deck utility trailer to benefit Pockets of Hope in September. (Photo: Felling Trailers)

Felling Trailers to host trailer for a cause auction

Felling Trailers will host an online auction of an FT-3 drop deck utility trailer to benefit Pockets of Hope. Pockets of Hope provides backpacks filled with essential and comfort items like socks, blankets, combs, etc., for children as they enter foster care.

The company said it manufactured and painted one of its most popular trailers, custom “Hope Blue” with custom green pinstriping and the Pockets of Hope emblem.

The Trailer for a Cause auction will start Sept. 11 at noon and end on Sept. 15 at noon at https://www.felling.com/our-company/trailer-for-a-cause/.

LMN hosts ask me anything online event

On Aug. 16 from 12-1 p.m. EST, Janna Bradley, co-founder and COO of Landscape Management Network (LMN) will sit down for an interactive Q&A session. Throughout the free event, Bradley will answer audience questions about landscaping and business using insight she’s gained from more than two decades in the industry.

Bradley will also share how she co-founded and built a $50 million landscaping business including — what’s worked, what hasn’t, and actionable tips to help your own business grow.

Attendees can submit questions when they register or live during the event. To register, visit https://golmn.com/webinars/ask-me-anything-live-webinar-signup/.

Kubota Tractor chooses 8×8 communications platform

Kubota Tractor deployed the 8×8’s XCaaS (eXperience Communications as a Service) cloud contact center and unified communications platform. 8×8 us a leading integrated cloud communications platform provider.

Kubota said because the platform is cloud-based, it no longer has to manage and maintain on-premises systems and can instead troubleshoot remotely. Further, by having a single-vendor platform, Kubota said 8×8’s analytics and reporting help monitor call quality, wait times and the number of incoming calls on any given day.

Isuzu’s Scranton, Pa., warehouse finished in a tie for second place with CNH Industrial in Reno, Nev. in Carlisle & Co.’s 2023 North American Parts Benchmark. (Photo: Isuzu)

Isuzu parts distribution center one of North America’s top-performing warehouses

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America said its parts distribution center in Scranton, Pa., was recently named one of North America’s top-performing warehouses in Carlisle & Co.’s 2023 North American Parts Benchmark (NAPB).

The Scranton warehouse includes a 100,000-square-foot parts distribution center and a 30,000-square-foot training and technical assistance facility — finished in a tie for second place with CNH Industrial in Reno, Nev.

The rankings were based on five metrics including warehouse staff productivity, warehouse worker productivity, warehouse errors and lines shipped.

American Rental Association to host Women in Rental and Young Professional Network conferences

The American Rental Association (ARA) will host its 2023 Women in Rental and Young Professional Network (YPN) conferences in Clearwater Beach, Fla., in October.

The conferences will be held back-to-back at the brand-new JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa. The Women in Rental conference will take place Oct. 23-24. The Young Professional Network conference will take place Oct. 25-26.
to foster lasting relationships and create deeper engagement within the industry.”

Complete event details and registration information can be found at: https://arawirconference.com/ and https://araypnconference.com/.

Carl Stickels, Northeast region business manager for Takeuchi-US (left) and Mark Butler, president of Butler Equipment, celebrate the new partnership next to Butler’s personal Takeuchi TL250 compact track loader. (Photo: Takeuchi)

Butler Equipment joins Takeuchi’s dealer network

Butler Equipment is the latest addition to Takeuchi’s dealer network following its acquisition of the Takeuchi business previously held by Terry W. Kahle in Knox, Pa. Two additional Butler Equipment locations in Harmony and New Castle, Pa., will also serve both new and existing customers in Western Pennsylvania. All three Butler Equipment branches will provide rentals, sales and service support of Takeuchi’s full line of compact excavators, track loaders and wheel loaders.

Butler Equipment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Huston Group, has been in business since 1899. Mark Butler, president of Butler Equipment, said representing Takeuchi will help the company build upon its customer-focused tradition.

Yanmar America launches parts e-commerce platform

Yanmar America unveiled a new parts e-commerce platform, aimed at enhancing customer service. The platform offers a user-friendly solution for customers to access Yanmar genuine parts at www.buyyanmar.com. The platform allows customers to purchase Yanmar genuine parts 24 hours a day for prompt delivery.

Got news? Let us know!

Have promotions or updates about your team? Send it to Editor Christina Herrick at cherrick@northcoastmedia.net, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming Companies in the News.