EQUIPMENT FOCUS
As I learned during my homeowner test, the controls on the Kubota are easy to use, and pro users will appreciate their simplicity. The stand-on platform is roomy and stable, and also easy to jump off if you need to operate as a walk-behind( after pressing that safety-override button).
The Kubota has a rated top speed of 4.9 mph, and Steiner appreciated that when moving rocks from a worksite to a dump trailer, or from the transport trailer to the jobsite. They switched attachments from the bucket to the stump grinder a couple times( and so did I in my own practice driving). It takes a bit of patience to get the attachments to seat just right on the machine. Sometimes the locking pins click right into place, sometimes we had to try again( the dealer alerted us that the Kubota would require some practice here).
It did take a lot of practice to find the best RPM range to keep the Kubota from bogging down when lifting the bucket or running the stump grinder attachment. Both Steiner and I killed the engine multiple times while working. Not sure the solution to that issue.
Neither Steiner nor I used the Kubota long enough to consider maintenance needs. It does appear easy to access all essentials under the hood, with the fuel fill, battery, air intake, filters and more. We both appreciated the diesel engine’ s miserly fuel usage.
Buying that AGT mini saved Steiner hours of labor.“ It’ s an hour of shoveling by hand compared to a couple minutes of using the loader. It changes the whole game for the type of jobs we could take,” said Lord.“ And using the Kubota would save us even more time with its speed and reliability, I’ m sure.”
Would they buy one? Lord said they would like to, and he knows it would be a good investment.“ The more machines we have, the more jobs and money we can make. We bought two mowers and they were in use all summer,” he said. Steiner is not in a position right now to drop $ 40K on a new mini, however. With equipment financing relatively expensive, that’ s a decision a lot of small business owners are probably reaching right now.
But the Steiner team has already seen the business-boosting efficiency of mini loaders. Lord talked about the ease of loading and transporting the Kubota on the company’ s smaller trailer. They appreciate the narrow size to help them get through fence gates. And they appreciated the diesel fuel, though they’ d buy a gas-powered mini too.
With the right attachments— Steiner would want a pallet fork attachment for moving retaining wall blocks and other hardscape materials— a machine like this stand-on Kubota SCL is an efficiency booster and business builder for a company like Steiner Landscaping. And it’ s a back saver, plus a whole lot of fun, for a homeowner like me.
COMPACT EQUIPMENT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
“ If you’ re the owner, you can connect and monitor machine location and fuel level,” said Laufenberg.“ Sometimes you can put in a code and check out how operators are performing versus another.” That kind of connectivity is increasingly important for business owners, and it’ s possible in a variety of machine types— from mowers to loaders.“ As you grow up in our product line with the telematics you can get alerts if there’ s something going wrong with a machine,” added Laufenberg.“ You can prevent something major from happening. Telematics is becoming very important for not only location and asset management, but also for managing the equipment so it can stay productive and not have as much downtime.”
Farmers and construction operators already know about the technology possibilities for proficiency in grading, digging and detailed sitework. These advancements are relatively new to mini loaders and excavators, but they are coming for most manufacturers. The landscape market will decide how much tech is needed on site to build a retaining wall or complete an irrigation install. That will, of course, vary by business.
Technology advancements have traditional equipment makers boasting about their high-tech capabilities as much as torque and power ratings.“ CNH acquired a company called Hemisphere GNSS in 2013. Since then, we’ ve been working with the Hemisphere team to develop in-house machine control solutions,” said Sickels.“ Customers can buy a machine, they can buy their attachments, and they can buy their technology all in a single location, and that can also be financed with CNH finance.”
Final thoughts
Such brand building is better for manufacturers than for users of this smaller equipment. Buyers want small machines that can help them do more work for less money. And they will find increasing value in technology; but those features will develop to meet the needs of users, not necessarily to create the need.
Buyers will and should look at features, controls and the specifications they need to get work done. What can they get on a trailer? How many attachments? Lift height and angles, horsepower, fuel type, maintenance requirements, etc. How quickly can a crew get to work? In the end, mini loaders are popular for their low-cost utility right now, as the rental market proves.
www. OPE-Plus. com December 2025 OPE + 21