Brent Rolffs has a unique view when it comes to tree care equipment.
He’s solidly in the Vermeer camp. The thing is, that was the case long before Rolffs got into the tree care business, or the landscape business before that.
Rolffs’ support of Vermeer comes from his firsthand knowledge of the equipment’s quality. He worked for several years in Vermeer manufacturing facilities at the company’s headquarters in Pella, Iowa. That included a stint in the environmental plant, where brush chippers, stump grinders, compact utility loaders and many other pieces of equipment relevant to his second career are made.
No question
So it was an easy decision on what equipment to run when he and his wife, Brenda, bought Pella Tree Service in 2007.
“I knew right away,” Rolffs says. “I knew what went into a product. I knew the research and development. I knew the testing that they did.”
Pella Tree Service has a fleet that includes three Vermeer BC1800XL brush chippers and a Vermeer SC1102 stump grinder. Two or three tree crews work on any given day. About 60 percent of their business is tree removals. In recent years, the bulk of the rest has been plant health care, particularly treating trees for the emerald ash borer invasion.
Brent and Brenda Rolffs also run a landscaping company, Hackert Landscaping.
Performance is no. 1
Don’t misunderstand the loyalty factor, however. That only goes so far. If the equipment didn’t perform, the Rolffs family wouldn’t buy it.
“I’ve got good brush chippers,” Rolffs says. “They just do the work. The quicker you can do the job and get out, the better off you are. That makes you more competitive.”
That advantage in productivity allows Pella Tree Service to submit more competitive bids and land more jobs.
Remote control boosts efficiency
Rolffs believes his crews are even more efficient after recently beginning use of the Tree Commander™ remote control from Vermeer on two of the brush chippers. An operator can use the remote to control the infeed rollers, including restarting the rollers if the chipper’s lower feed stop bar is inadvertently tripped by a branch.
Pella Tree Service crews use skid loaders to feed their brush chippers, which is more efficient than manually handling that material. With the Tree Commander remote control, the skid loader operator can control some of the brush chipper’s functions without getting out of the machine or relying on another crew member.
“Now you can sit in the skid loader and push the button and get things rolling,” Rolffs says. “I estimate it will help us be 4 to 5 percent more efficient. Over a year, that’s a big deal.”
Customer service
Rolffs says in addition to the quality and dependability of his brush chippers and stump grinder, the support he gets from his local dealership, Vermeer Iowa and Northern Mo., is another reason he purchases Vermeer equipment. He cites a time last year when he needed service on a brush chipper ASAP because he was under contract.
“Vermeer Iowa came in early the next morning, fixed it for us, and we were ready to roll,” he says. “I really appreciated that.”
Rolffs emphasizes customer service with his own companies. He says they get a lot of notes saying the crew members acted and looked professional and did a great job. The same goes for his equipment.
“A lot of people comment on my truck and my equipment,” he says. “That’s a compliment. I want to have that professional image.”
But professionalism goes beyond that. He tells his customers that many people can trim a tree, but does that contractor have insurance, are he and his employees properly trained, is the equipment up to date? Rolffs can say “yes” to all of that, and he also has International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborists on staff.
He thinks of the compliments they received on a job a few years ago beautifying a traditional town square. Or all the times they’ve handled the complex task of removing a storm-damaged tree that fell on a home.
“I just love tree work,” Rolffs says. “We want to be the leader in the industry, not the follower.”