When Toby Carlson purchased the Power Crush Company in 2000, he only had three pieces of equipment – a tub grinder, a screener and a small jaw crusher.

With only 4 acres of space to utilize initially, Power Crush had to expand as business volume increased significantly. Currently, the company operates on approximately 25 acres.

Power Crush is a recycling facility for wood waste, concrete and asphalt located in Kings Park, NY, on Long Island. The company's market focuses in Long Island and the New York City area.

During this past spring, Power Crush Operations Manager Les Poinelli was in the market for a new hydraulic stump harvester to match up with his Daewoo 300 Series 68,000-lb. (30,844 kg) excavator.

Each week, Power Crush receives hundreds of truckloads of wood waste. At the stump processing area, there are large mounds of unprocessed wood stumps waiting to be treated. Additionally, the company had landed a job that involved clearing 15 acres of trees for a homebuilding site in Eatons Neck, Long Island.

According to Poinelli, an ideal stump harvester should have two abilities. The harvester should possess the capacity and durability to split as many stumps as the excavator could possibly manage in one day. Also, the shear should be proficient at shearing, handling and pulling stumps out in the field for excavating purposes. With the help of National Attachments Inc., Poinelli found the stump harvester that met and exceeded hi criteria.

"Until now, Power Crush had a shear that [we] were using at the recycling facility," said Poinelli. "Quite frankly, it had proven to be very unreliable, awkward and difficult."

While searching for a replacement shear, Poinelli contacted Eric Dupee, attachment procurement specialist of National Attachments. Dupee recommended that he purchase a custom-engineered attachment to ensure that it would meet Poinelli's criteria, while keeping up with Power Crush's high volume.

As per Dupee's recommendation, Poinelli opted to buy the NYE model 5SH stump harvester. He found the harvester not only powerful and efficient, but also aesthetically appealing.

"One of the first things we noticed upon the delivery of the NYE stump harvester was the professional look of the tool," said Poinelli. "It was perfectly painted to match our orange excavator."

Power Crush employees noticed the largest difference in the NYE harvester upon its first operation.

"There was a huge power difference," Poinelli said. "The tool is mounted with very aggressive teeth, which gave it great pulling power."

With the combination of the excavator and new NYE harvester, Poinelli reported that 4-ft. (1.2 m) diameter stumps were being pulled out of the ground with ease.

"We have operated the NYE stump harvester for some time now and have found it to be very reliable. We have put 1,000 hours on the tool and have not had any difficulties at all," said Poinelli. "With the speed and durability of this product, it doesn't take long for the NYE harvester to pay for itself."

On site, Power Crush employees use the NYE stump harvester mainly to split logs because of its quick speed and mobility.

Poinelli also said that he is satisfied with the overall service he received from National Attachments.

"Through this whole process, we have had no disappointments. When the machine was delivered, it fit our excavator like a glove," said Poinelli. CEG

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