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Takeuchi technologies help landscape company flourish

Kindret Landscaping Group has been helping Winnipeg’s businesses and residences look clean and beautiful for decades. The third-generation, award-winning full-service landscape construction firm specializes in designing, building, and maintaining commercial and residential landscaping throughout the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. These services include landscape architecture, design/build, concrete works (including restoration), aborist services, and property maintenance with snow removal in the winter months.

Ryan Kindret, Managing Principal for the Kindret Group and the third generation working in the family business, has been involved with the company as far back as he can remember.

“I grew up in the business. I started by watering flowers and then graduated to pushing the lawnmower,” he recalls.

Kindret worked in the family business until his late teens, when he earned a scholarship to go and play hockey at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. After a shoulder injury ended his hockey career in 2009, he went back to school to earn his business degree, graduating in 2011. He then returned home to help grow the family business and grow it has.

The company has been recognized with several industry awards in recent years, including perennial winners of the Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association (MBNLA) annual awards for landscaping – its most recent win is the Award of Merit for Polo Park Plaza 2021.
Kindret Landscape Group currently employs approximately 80 people in peak season and owns and operates wheel loaders, track machines and excavators, along with its fleet of trucks. To keep up with demand this year, the company expanded its fleet by purchasing three Takeuchi compact equipment units: a TB260 compact excavator and two TL6R track loaders.

The units were provided by Ian Webster, light construction sales representative for SMS Equipment in the Greater Winnipeg Metropolitan Area.

“Ian had reached out and stopped by our office with some product information a few years ago, offering demos,” Kindret recalls. “At the time, we weren’t looking for new machines, but then we grew and started taking on more projects.”

Kindret appreciated Webster’s responsiveness to his questions and decided to purchase his first TL6R track loader from SMS Equipment.

“Demoing them, they seemed like workhorses and that they could handle our complex and challenging jobs,” Kindret says.

The Takeuchi unit received positive feedback from operators and management, so when the company was looking to purchase a new compact excavator, they decided to try renting a TB260 compact excavator.
 
“The feedback from our field operations was that the operators really enjoyed it, so we decided to make the purchase – and then another TL6R” Kindret says. “I don’t think they ever wanted to give the rental back."
Aftersales Support

Aftersales Support

The aftersales service was a key consideration for purchasing the equipment from SMS Equipment.

“Ian is always there to help us out with whatever we needed, working with our shop and shop managers, going over all the equipment with them,” Kindret says. “He has been great with checking in with us, letting us know about sales going on and if we need servicing.”

Webster’s background as a Red Seal certified heavy equipment technician with eight years of experience under his belt as a service technician with SMS Equipment gives him unparalleled insight into the proper maintenance and operation of the equipment.

“I think that really helps. I can answer a lot of questions on the fly without having to ask for technical support from other people,” he says. “If anyone has a question or an issue, I’m just a phone call away. I’ll always do my absolute best to help them.”

Webster also assists his clients with training new operators from time to time.

“If a new operator is unfamiliar with the controls of a piece of equipment, I can walk them through it. It’s a small thing I can do to help out. This is something I’ve done for so long that it comes naturally to me. I think a lot of people appreciate that."

Machine Versatility

The TL6R track loaders are used for various applications during the busy season, from grading to transporting soil and gravel, moving pallets around and more.

“We use them for everything,” Kindret says, adding that his company purchased several attachments to take advantage of the track loaders’ versatility. “We have a tree spade we use to dig out tree holes. We have forks and buckets. A planer to do fine grading. A boom attachment to hook a chain up to for lifting big burlap trees and putting them in the holes.”

The company also uses its TL6R track loaders in the winter to service some customers 365 days a year.

“We put snow tracks on them for better traction on parking lots and use them for snow removal,” Kindret says, adding that having year-round contracts helps retain employees during the slower season.

“Everyone wants to work year-round, and we have clients that want work year-round. They’re the perfect machines for our business.”

The TB260 compact excavator is used to dig out many shrub beds on the company’s landscape projects and dig trenches, holes for tree planting, and minor grading.

“It’s very versatile. We use it on a lot of our larger projects,” Kindret says.
Doing more with less

Doing more with less

Kindret says the key benefit of his company’s purchase of Takeuchi compact equipment has been the ability to do more work with less manpower.

“That’s evidenced on our financials and job costing sheets. The machines are doing a lot more than we expected,” Kindret says. “The machines are saving a lot of labour costs for us. In a climate like Winnipeg, where you have six months of landscape work, if you’re lucky, the Takeuchi machines are a big part of our business.”

In the future, Kindret would like to see his family’s business continue to grow and expand.
“I want to keep tackling more challenging projects and keep adding and improving our services in the businesses we currently have, which keep our customers happy,” he says. “If a job is new to us, we’ll definitely look into it and see if we can do it. Our long-term goal is to phase into verticial integration, keep investing in our fleet and team members, and tackle any project that comes our way, big or small.”

Kindret says investing in Takeuchi compact equipment is a big part of its winning formula.

“When it comes to winning awards, having the right equipment for those jobs is a big part of that,” he says.
Takeuchi TL6R (Cab)

Takeuchi TL6R (Cab)

EMISSION RATING
Tier 4 Final 

NET HORSEPOWER
65.20 HP @2,700 rpm (48.60 kW @2,700 rpm)

OPERATING WEIGHT
7780 lb (3530 kg)

BUCKET CAPACITY
14 cu ft. (0.40 m3)

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Takeuchi TB260

Takeuchi TB260

EMISSION RATING
Tier 4 Final

NET HORSEPOWER
47.60 HP @2,400 rpm (35.50 kW @2,400 rpm)

MAX OEPRATING WEIGHT
12645 lb (5735 kg)

MAX DIGGING DEPTH
12′9.40″ (3895 mm)
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