EQUIPMENT FOCUS
job, or because it’ s a homeowner renting one for ease of use.“ Transportation gets to be an issue too, and smaller is better for hauling things,” he said.“ It’ s great for rental on the small end, just a lower cost, less things for operators to damage with a smaller machine.”
Seeing is believing
During my use of the small Kubota loader, I could see the ease-of-use factor and the potential benefit for a homeowner. I could also just see really well.“ The primary building blocks of having smaller machines are based on the visibility factors, mainly the opportunity to sit inside machines up a little bit higher and have greater visibility outside around you,” said Jake Sickels, product marketing manager for New Holland.“ Even if you’ re standing on the back of a machine, you still get that same maneuverability, lifting capacity, hydraulic flow to run those smaller attachments— all while working in more confined areas; that’ s what we’ re looking at.” Sure, you can still get decent visibility on a traditional skid-steer or compact track loader, but not like you would get with a mini track loader.
Price
Comparing price of mini equipment to more traditional compact equipment involves many factors, from initial cost( whether renting or purchasing equipment), cost of ownership( including maintenance, storage, transportation needs), and the cost opportunity for dealers that can now sell to a potentially new and growing market. That last category is a big one for New Holland and its dealers.
Compare the New Holland C314 mini track loader, priced at about $ 40,000, with the company’ s C332 compact track loader, priced at about $ 75,000. That range is pretty consistent across manufacturers, give or take a few thousand bucks. And that can make a big difference for certain buyers. And it presents new market opportunities for dealers, especially for a manufacturer like New Holland whose dealers sell equipment that is much more expensive.
“ Dealers love it,” said Sickels.“ Of course, a dealer will need to sell 20 of these [ C314 mini loaders ] to sell one combine. However, they get more individual connections when selling construction machines because it’ s one after another as opposed to one machine that’ s going to last 10 years. They’ re selling fleets of machines at a time.”( The retail price of a New Holland CR10.90 combine starts around $ 600,000 and goes up from there).
Increasing opportunities in the construction and landscape markets is a big driver for New Holland to expand beyond its home base of agricultural equipment. Over the last few years, New Holland has made an effort to grow the construction and landscape side by making retail opportunities more distinct from the ag side.“ With the increase of our different product options, like small articulated loaders going into landscape opportunities, now we’ re able to separate those a little bit better,” said Sickels.
18 OPE + December 2025 www. OPE-Plus. com