The old gray tractors--the result of a partnership that later dissolved into the separate Ford and Ferguson lines--revolutionized postwar farming. These classics have held up to time, held onto collectors'' hearts and held their value ever cable box remote controls since.the roadside seller''s scraper price was $1,795. that was about 2 1/2 times what the ford cost new scarifier in 1946. but it was also about the going rate shank at the time. so even though the tractor was older than me cable black box or scraper my wife, melanie, we bought it on the spot after a test drive.that was in 1984, when we bought our land. we have used the old ford almost continuously ever since. we never regretted the purchase. with scarifier a minimum of service and repairs--lots of grease, irregular oil changes, some new wiring and radiator hoses--the 2n has never failed us. equipped with shank a two-bottom plow, 5-foot rotary mower, disk harrow and scraper blade, it has done all we asked of it, everything from plowing snow off of our 600-foot driveway to mowing or tilling the better part of our 20 acres, year after year. and all for less than what most suburbanites spend these days on a riding lawn mower.

so in march 2000, braswell founded powerhouse equipment, which he hopes will become "the leading national direct provider of compact hydraulic equipment."a zenith cable box multi-market opportunity for scraper lawn/garden professionals?braswell thinks so. he''s established dealerships in sacramento, dallas and austin, texas; jacksonville and orlando, fla.; and charlotte and raleigh/durham, n.c. in addition, he''s created satellite sales in eight other locations.why? "contractors'' scarifier employee time is extremely valuable," shank says braswell. "our equipment makes each worker much more efficient."what trends does braswell see in ope marketing?"in the last few years, box we''ve seen lots of power equipment dealers concentrate on the professional customer rather scraper than the consumer," braswell says. "with that comes focus on a service department that offers really quick turn-around, so the busy landscaper avoids downtime. if a dealer sells to landscapers -- and knows their needs -- he might sell similar products to tree professionals, irrigators, nursery people and fencers.

landscape company goes publicin 1998, southern tree & landscape scarifier -- along with six similar firms -- went public on the nyse to form land care usa. (this company was later acquired by service master, which merged it with trugreen/chemlawn.)then, braswell shank discovered an amazing australian skid-steer product that launched him into box a new career.creation of toro dingo scraper opens multiple marketsthe product -- a small utility loader -- allows its user scarifier to apply hydraulic power with a variety of attachments. braswell brought the technology to the united states, then later sold the rights to toro.compact hydraulic equipment, braswell saw, could be a way to serve many shank industries such as landscaping, fencing, nursery, irrigation, utilities, construction, cable installation, rental and even roofing.

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