Forestry equipment supplier adds Sany Heavy Equipment brand

WAUSUA, Wisconsin — Small excavator or skid steer? This is the "which is preferred" choice of Jason Thomas, owner of Promethean Artisans, which provides a full range of landscaping services, including hard beautification.

Three years ago, Jason formally established his own company and has been operating independently for more than a year. However, he has nearly 10 years of experience in the landscaping industry working for other companies. After starting his business, he tried to decide whether the first major equipment he bought was a small excavator or a skid steer.

He happened to bid for a job at a Scandinavian forestry equipment dealer in Wausau, Wisconsin. He did not get the job, but he met Randy Klug, a Scandinavian forestry equipment sales representative. Randy and Jason started talking about excavators. Randy introduced SANY's new product line to Jason.

Jason likes what he learned from the Sany Mini Excavator. He knows excavators very well. "I have a lot of experience in mechanics," Jason explained. The 34-year-old Wausau, Wisconsin, grew up on a dairy farm and has enough time to learn and repair machines.

Jason started operating farm tractors for his grandfather when he was a child. Later, when his father sold the clay to local landfills and racetracks, he gained experience in operating excavators and bulldozers. "All my mechanical experience is attributed to my father and his father," he said.

Although he didn't want to do housework when he was young, "I am grateful for the skills I learned."

Jason started working in a factory when he was 18. At the end of the decade, he worked two jobs in the factory, sold all his property, drove west, and lived in a truck for two months. He recalled: "I have been looking for something that I feel is missing in my life, but found that it is always in front of me." "That's what brought me back to Wisconsin."

When he returned to Wisconsin, Jason began to consider combining his love of the land with his aesthetic know-how. "My stepfather suggested that I apply for a local landscaping company-Land Art-and then I fell in love with the industry." In the next few years, he worked for several different companies, telling each employer He plans to start his landscaping business. Jason is not only learning while working for other companies, but he is also imagining and envisioning his business and what kind of services it will provide.

He really understands small excavators. He runs most major brands.

This brings us back to Trinity. Jason received a SANY SY35U mini excavator in July. By the third week of October, he had already invested 172 hours on the machine.

"We use it for anything," said Jason of Trinity Machine. "We want a machine that can save us." This is why he chose a small excavator (rather than a skid steer) as his first large-scale equipment investment.

"We have been changing buckets," Jason said, his Sany mini excavator has three buckets. For example, he uses a 12-inch bucket to dig trenches. 32-inch toothed buckets and 36-inch buckets are used for tasks such as pulling out tree stumps, moving, carrying or loading stones and boulders, trees and shrubs, and other materials.

In order to save money, Jason chose to replace the bucket manually. Sany Heavy Industry also provides an automatic system to replace the bucket. Jason said that the manual system-a pushpin-worked very well. He and his team-his brothers and friends-can change buckets quickly and easily.

The buckets of Sany excavators come from Felco Industries, which manufactures them. Jason points out that these barrels illustrate the extent to which Scandinavian Forestry Equipment can help customers. He encountered difficulties with bolting. Randy jumped into a car with a technician from the dealership and headed to Jason's construction site at 6 pm to make sure everything was in order.

Jason described the employees of Scandinavian Forestry Equipment as "very personable people." The company "proved itself" in every interaction. "I really believe they will be there," he said if needed.

Digging trenches, removing tree stumps, moving soil and other materials are all work done by Promethean Artisans in the process of performing various landscape services. Currently, most of the focus is on hardscape, but the company can do everything from installing coverings or rock beds to building retaining walls and drainage systems.

When TimberLine talked to Jason, he had just finished building steps and custom railings, which involved moving some big rocks. He explained that the real challenge was to find anchor points on the boulders to connect railings made of 1-inch steel pipe.

Promethean Artisans operates in a customer engagement model. "I like to involve homeowners in this project," Jason said. "I want them to tell me what their goals are."

After listening to a potential client talk about their vision for the landscape project, Jason provided them with some alternatives and cost estimates. He will lead his team to engage in suitable jobs anywhere in Wisconsin.

Wausau is the home base of Prometheus craftsmen and is located in the center of the state. It has nearly 39,000 residents and is part of Marathon County; the population of the metropolitan area is approximately 134,000. The town is located about 90 miles northwest of Green Bay. Jason worked in the house he rented and parked the Sany mini excavator in the garage.

Jason is interested in expanding his business into the field of timber construction. He envisioned building small wooden houses and renting them out to generate income. When he gets the land, his first wooden building will become his company's store.

Jason is no stranger to timber work. He has some experience cutting down trees with a chain saw—usually Husqvarna or Stihl—and milling logs with a chain saw to make planks to build furniture. "I don't mind cutting planks with a chain saw," Jason said, although he would outsource the long sawn timber to the local sawmill. He can use SANY to push a tree in the direction he wants it to fall, but for very tall trees, he will advise customers to use a tree removal company.

As an energetic person, Jason considers himself unique. "I always knew I didn't fit this box," he said. "I have always been a bit provocative." His career was named after Prometheus, a god in Greek mythology and regarded as the author of human art and science. "Absolutely original" is what Jason wanted to convey with his company name.

If someone tells Jason that he can't do something, his answer is, "Look at me." He is committed to learning more during the winter downtime and attending courses to increase his knowledge base and what he can provide customers choose.

When Jason first heard about Sany and its mini excavator series from Randy, he didn't know much about the brand, but he knew about excavators. "I have run all of these," said Jason of the excavator. "I have a lot of experience. I ran (SANY). It feels like everyone else."

After recognizing that the Sany Heavy Industry SY35U mini excavator was comparable to the best of its kind in his business, Jason completed the purchase from Scandinavian Forestry Equipment. Whenever he needs to equip a project with a skid steer, he will rent one, usually from the Sunbelt rental company. Iron Bull dump trailers are used to transport excavators bundled together. A GMC AT4 pickup truck is pulling the trailer.

Sany Heavy Industries manufactures a wide range of heavy equipment, including mini excavators, excavators, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, cranes, forklifts, etc. The company was founded in 1989 by four welders. Today, it is a multinational heavy equipment manufacturing company-said to be the third largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world. Its business includes R&D and manufacturing facilities in Germany, Brazil, and India, as well as a new $60 million facility in Peachtree City, Georgia.

The employees of Scandinavian Forestry Equipment understand that those who work in the forest products industry that they have served for a long time include those whose jobs have brought them into various fields-companies like Promethean Artisans. This year, Scandinavian forestry equipment expanded to supply construction equipment, adding the Sany brand.

Scandinavian Forestry Equipment's mission is to exceed customer expectations and establish profitable long-term partnerships by providing efficient, reliable, world-class forestry equipment solutions. The employees have more than 80 years of comprehensive experience in the forest products industry. The company is headquartered in Manchester, Pennsylvania, and has a second office in Wausau, Wisconsin. It has an expanding network of affiliated distributors and has representative offices in the west, the Great Lakes region and the northeast.

Scandinavian Forestry Equipment is owned and led by Greg Porter, who launched the business in 2017 after leading Log Max's long and successful tenure, which produces cut-to-length timber harvesting accessories.

The company's main forestry product line is EcoLog brand wheel harvesters and cut-to-length logging forwarders. EcoLog is a Swedish manufacturer whose machines combine agility, compactness and powerful functions.

Scandinavian Forestry Equipment also provides Eltec crawlers for forestry operations, Quadco, Southstar and Waratah logging and harvesting accessories, Cranab and Hultdins grabs, grab saws and cranes, Slagkraft forestry mulch, lawn mowers and land clearing equipment, and Two forestry manufacturers wheeled forestry and construction machinery tracks.

(For more information about Scandinavian forestry equipment and its product line, please visit www.scandforestry.com, email info@scandforestry.com, or call (717) 793-3102.)

Promethean Artisans is more than just a company created and operated by Jason. This is the embodiment of his philosophy of life. "I want a fulfilling life," Jason said. He recalled a conversation with a veteran contractor in Oregon before starting the company. The contractor showed him the importance of combining the aspects of his life that he valued with his life's work.

Jason not only likes to interact with customers, but also likes to meet with competitors. His goal is to “really” connect with his chosen professional life. "It's not just about interpersonal communication," Jason said. As a self-employed person, "no one is holding your hand", independence is very important.

Jason looked for information about landscaping methods and methods in each location-formal courses, face-to-face conversations, and online forums. However, at the most basic level, it is about identifying the problem to be solved and proposing a solution.

"I like to try to find solutions to challenges-such as railings," Jason said. As for what made Jason fascinated by the hardscape, he cited a rocky trail installed for his grandfather when he was only about 14 years old. The satisfaction of seeing the results of the excellent work motivated him to continue this route to Promethean Artisans.

"I want to build a community," Jason said, "to conduct non-profit training (in trading)." The idea of ​​helping train young people in the construction industry is in line with his interest and commitment to high-quality work.

"Developing trade skills is very useful for their lives. However, creating a safe place for young people to express their creativity, talk about life, and build lasting friendships is really interesting to me if they learn a thing or two in the process. Thing, that's also cool."

Jason's grandfather died when he was almost 15 years old, and a few months later his great-grandfather and great-grandmother also died. It is difficult to lose those family members. He recalled: “I was really lost when I was working in a factory in high school and early adulthood.” “I want to help young people so that they don’t lose out for pursuing other people’s goals instead of their own goals like I did. A large part of life."

In his free time, Jason likes to build furniture, do mechanical work and stone work for personal projects. There are also video games played via the Internet. "I'm an old-school gamer," Jason said. "A lot of friends have moved out of this country and state. We keep in touch through games."