When Ryan Thrasher left the Army, he started a landscaping business in San Antonio, Texas. Five years later, he packed up his family and moved from San Antonio to Maine, where his business, Canyon Springs Landscaping, has matured and diversified.

The company's goal according to Thrasher is "to change the status quo of landscaping providers by offering intuitive, industry-leading solutions, and ensuring that all projects are completed to the highest industry standards with customer service as a top priority and dedicated to the promise of quality."

The firm does a wide variety of services, including landscaping, hardscaping, water features, road and path building, and aquascaping.

"We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop," Thrasher said.

Being a one-stop shop requires a wide variety of equipment, and Thrasher's brand of choice is JCB.

On the site of a recent project — constructing an indoor horse-riding arena, including a gravel roadway, in southern Maine — Canyon Springs Landscaping had an assortment of JCB earthmoving equipment, including a 48Z excavator, a 409 loader, a 260T tracked skid steer and a model 190 wheeled skid steer.

"I'm a big fan of JCB," Thrasher said. "They are by far the best machines I have run, and I have run a lot of machines. In my opinion they can't be beat. We use them in our snow removal operation; there's no worry about slippage or tipping over or issues with attachments, which is very important. The way their system is designed I never have to crawl under a bucket. The cab offers better visibility, which is always a plus.

"The JCB 409 wheel loader is also an important part of our fleet. It's got the high-speed axle so it can really zip around. It's definitely boosted production on this project by quite a bit. The JCB 48Z excavator has been another great addition to our fleet. It's surprisingly strong for its size. We use it on every job we go to and it certainly saves us an awful lot of shoveling."

Thrasher also appreciates the JCB's operator comfort and reputation for safety.

"We use these machines for wintertime plowing. After a big storm, we can spend as much as 20 or 30 hours at a time sitting in the cab of a skid steer or loader, so comfort is key. Anytime added safety measures come into play it's a big bonus, particularly the way the skid steer is designed with the side-entry cab."

Dealer Support Key

Canyon Springs Landscaping's JCB dealer is Alta Equipment Company, and Thrasher doesn't hesitate to refer the dealer — and his sales rep — to his associates, including other landscaping contractors.

"The people behind the dealership are very important to us. Our rep from Alta Equipment Company is Richard Loabe and he's been incredibly helpful to us. He regularly goes above and beyond to help us out. He will go pick up parts for us and or get us in touch with the right people when we need support. And it's not just Richard. Alta's service department has been great. We had a difficult situation in the middle of the night when we were plowing, and Alta's service department was able to respond to us within a half an hour at our site.

"Parts are typically readily available to us; the longest I've ever had to wait for a part was three days and that is by far the exception to the rule."

For more information about Canyon Springs Landscaping, visit www.canyonspringslandscaping.com.

For more information about Alta Equipment, visit www.altaequipment.com.

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