A Queensland-based landscaping supply business has expanded its business offering with the purchase of a new Takeuchi TB217R excavator, bringing the reliability, performance and backing of Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA).
Scenic Rim Landscaping Supplies, basing in the Gold Coast hinterland, was purchased by owner Chris Larrescy in 2022, and in the purchase was a 1.7-tonne excavator used to hire out to other businesses.
With roughly 2500 hours of use, Mr Larrescy wanted to add a new excavator to his fleet with the aim of eventually replacing the older unit, settling on the Takeuchi TB217R due in part to his family’s familiarity with TMHA Brisbane area sales manager Mick Brumm.
“I know dad’s bought a machine or two off Mick so I thought, I’ll give Toyota a go,” Mr Larrescy said. “All in all, I am happy with the machine.”
The Takeuchi is used primarily for short-term hire purposes by other businesses and tradespeople, clearing and levelling earth to make room for storage tanks, tiling and landscaping.
To be used potentially by multiple businesses every week, the Takeuchi unit needs to be both easy to operate and reliable, facing different usage cases every day.
Mr Larrescy said that customers have been impressed with the performance of the Takeuchi, providing power and capability which belies its compact size.
“They all love the tilt hitch, that’s a winner for them,” he said. “They reckon it’s got a bit more power, they’re all happy with it.
“As much as the breakout force is reduced with the tiltage, I reckon on a little machine like that the extra weight on the end helps to drive it into the ground.”
For Mr Larrescy, the exceptional build quality of the Takeuchi unit was a major factor in purchasing, along with the competitive financing provided by TMHA – a critical consideration for any small business.
“Everyone that’s looked at it said they’re on par, if not better built than the other machines,” he said.
The compact dimensions and weight of the Takeuchi TB217R also means that it is easy to transport from job site to job site – a critical feature for a business which hires out its machines.
Mr Larrescy had a custom 2.8-tonne capacity trailer built, which allows him to safely and securely transport the excavator from job site to job site, and back to Scenic Rim Landscaping Supplies.
Its light weight allows it to be safely towed by vehicles with a 3500kg braked towing capacity such as 4x4 pick-ups and SUVs.
“We opted to put that on a 2.8-tonne payload trailer, because I wanted the augers attached to the trailer, and once you throw the set of buckets and the augers on it you need to upgrade from the 2.2 to the 2.8 capacity,” Mr Larrescy said.
The tiltage was heavier again, but everything on there would be under 2.5 tonnes.”
The performance of his new Takeuchi machine has convinced Mr Larrescy to look at expanding his range of mini excavators, by adding a 2.5-tonne machine to his hire fleet.
He said he was working with Mr Brumm on getting a price for a larger unit, with plans to sell the older excavator which came with the business.
“Mick rang me today and he’s getting me a price on the machine the next size up,” he said.
“That was actually my plan all along – start with another 1.7-tonne unit, and upgrade to a 2.5-tonne machine and sell the old one.”
Another reason for Mr Larrescy to choose TMHA is the work-ready state of his Takeuchi, which Mr Brumm and his team ensured was ready to go to work as soon as it arrived.
“I like the fact that machine came out ready to go, I didn’t have to fit dogs and chains and figure out ways to tie it down – Mick sorted all of that,” Mr Larrescy said.
“It was really good. Sometimes when you buy some things, you just know you’ve got to fix this, and sort that. It just came ready to go which I was very surprised and happy with.”
Along with its excavator hire business, Scenic Rim Landscaping Supplies also sells a broad range of soils, sands, quarry materials and concrete blocks to assist with landscaping projects large and small.
Chris Larrescy standing proud next to his new Takeuchi TB217R mini excavator