Tough Times Call For Smart Applicating Measuress

Turfco’s patent-pending T3000 sprayer-spreader sets a new standard for applicators, thanks to its ‘user designers’

By Marty Whitford /Editor-In-Chief

The verdict’s in on Turfco’s patent-pending T3000 Applicator: By all user accounts, the new sprayer-spreader marks a revolutionary — not just evolutionary — advancement in applicator technology.

“I’ve been using Turfco’s T3000 for more than six months, and can wholeheartedly vouch that not only does this new applicator deliver the most comfortable ride on the market, but it also completely redefines the labor and fuel efficiency standard,” says Jason Collins, owner of St. Louis-based Earthscape Plant Health Service.

“Turfco’s T3000 is boosting our fertilizer program productivity, and related sales, 100% to 150%,” Collins notes. “We’ll add $120,000 to $150,000 in annual fertilizer program sales with just the one T3000 we purchased. That’s why we’ll be doubling up and buying a second Turfco T3000 Applicator next March. Why not? It’s proven to pay for itself in less than a month.”

User-Designed

George Kinkead, president of Minneapolis-based Turfco Manufacturing, says he’s not surprised lawn care professionals are revved up about the company’s new T3000 sprayer-spreader. But Kinkead is quick to tip his hat to Turfco’s team of “user designers” for the warm marketplace reception that this new applicator technology has garnered.

“This isn’t about us. From the very beginning, it’s been all about our lawn care pro customers,” he adds. “Our contractor customers truly were our co-engineers on the development of this machine.”

Seeking extensive contractor input from so many users for so long — hearing the good and the bad about Turfco’s “new baby” daily and taking immediate corrective action where necessary — required a checking of egos at the door, brutal honesty and true partnering.

“After we conducted extensive beta testing of our T3000 Applicator and again saw the clear benefits of partnering with end users, we decided to kick it up a few notches,” Kinkead says. “We created an ‘A Team’ of lawn care pros from around the country who bought our T3000 and agreed to report regularly and extensively on the applicator from April until September.

“In the past six months, we made more than 20 key modifications to the T3000 thanks to our A Team alone,” Kinkead adds. “Many of these industry-first advancements could have only come from end users’ close and constant unbridled input, and quite a few are behind our pending patents and rave reviews at GIE+EXPO.”

Earthscape’s Collins was on Turfco’s T3000 A Team. So was Matt Nichols with Jonny Nichols Landscape Maintenance, based in Dover, DE.

"With the T3000, our average stop time per round went from 38 minutes to 20 minutes, which has helped us reduce our fuel and labor costs while enabling us to grow our customer base," Nichols says.

Features & Benefits

Unveiled at GIE+EXPO in Louisville, KY, in October, Turfco’s T3000 is a stand-on riding applicator that operates with ease, minimizes operator strain and maximizes productivity, says Scott Kinkead, Turfco executive vice president.

Just as key, Kinkead adds, the T3000 is designed from the ground up for versatility: It can tackle small residential and large commercial jobs and accommodate the full gamut of granule and liquid fertilizer solutions with rare ease and efficiency.

Turfco’s T3000’s key features include:

• An ergonomically friendly steering wheel to circumvent common operator fatigue while improving application accuracy;
• A pivoting front axle and floating operator platform to minimize strain and shock on the operator;
• Cruise control so the user can easily operate the machine’s multitude of spraying and spreading options while driving;
• Unparalleled control and stability — even on slopes and uneven ground — thanks to smartly positioned saddle tanks, a low center of gravity and a hydrostatic transaxle braking system;
• The ability to fit through a 36-in. gate for residences and then go next door to complete a 64,000 sq. ft. commercial application with a single fill;
• An adjustable high-pressure/high-velocity spray system for larger droplets, better coverage, less drift and fewer callbacks;
• Separate spray/spread systems — but matching application widths at 6 ft. and 9 ft.;
• An easily-adjustable pressure dial that allows lawn care professionals to quickly change spray widths from 6 ft. to 9 ft.;
• A 4 ft. trim spray and 15 ft. wand for easy trimming and spot treatments on the fly;
• Patent-pending mechanical control of the applicator’s two-speed spinner: Just flick a switch to toggle to/from 6 ft. and 9 ft. widths;
• The ability to quickly adjust rate for trimming widths to eliminate over-application and fertilizer waste; and
• A wrap-around deflector that helps avoid prills and minimize clean-up.

For partnering so extensively with lawn care pros and jointly developing such promising applicator productivity and profitability gains, Turfco’s new T3000 Applicator is my “Pick of the Show” for this year’s GIE+EXPO. For more information on the T3000 sprayer-spreader, please call 800-679-8201 or visit www.turfcodirect.com.