It has been more than 20 years of professional commercial arborist work for Nick Ford and his team at Canopy Tree PL. Nick and his team had a keen focus on the Sydney region, after moving south, down to the Picton area in 2003, eventually settling in the Balmoral Village in 2015. The Canopy Tree team of five employees split their work between the beautiful Southern Highlands and the wider Sydney Basin.
Immigrating to Sydney from the UK (where Nick did all his formal industry education and training) in 1996 and setting up the business in 1999, Canopy Tree PL is a fully licensed operation that specialises in tree removal, tree pruning, tree reports, and vegetation and land management. Nick works with private residential clients and oversees and reports on the larger projects for councils and businesses. Nick has worked hard to secure his full range of qualifications. Obtaining his Level 1 (operate machinery and carry out tree work), Level 3 (operate an arborist practice), and his Level 5 (qualification allows the professional to write reports for council permit applications, construction impact reports and verbal consultations).
A wide range of day-to-day tasks
When it comes to the day-to-day bookings for Canopy Tree PL, most of Nick’s and his team’s work involves the clearing of dead trees, which provide risk hazards. The fires in and around Balmoral and Buxton areasin recent times produced a lot of this type of work, along with hedges and general pruning jobs on residential homes.
“The 23m height and 12.4m reach are where this machine becomes so valuable to us.”
Being 48 years old, Nick decided four or five years back to reduce the amount of climbing required by introducing an Elevated Work Platform. After looking around at the various options available, Nick met Stuart Samson from Global Machinery Sales. After checking out the CMC S19, he was sold on the fantastic features, great reach and versatility this machine could provide. After changing his business a little to optimise the enormous benefits of the CMC Elevated Work Platform, Nick has – mid-way through last year, purchased a second, larger machine, being the CMC S23. When asking Nick about his experience with this larger S23 model, he shared, “There’s no denying that this machine is a game-changer. The height and reach are perfect for the wide range of jobs we undertake every day. “To start with, it fits through a standard door after taking the bucket off (which only takes a minute or two). So, access is not a problem in any way, but the 23m height and 12.4m reach are where this machine becomes so valuable to us. It’s easy to transport with the trailer, it has three stabilisation areas, including clever features like the Self Control System or SCS. It can provide a quick and reliable auto level and can auto return to home on pack up. There is some real depth to the benefits of the CMC S23.
The jib brings great positioning ease and speed After watching the teamwork with the S23, it became apparent quite quickly how vital the JIB is for speed and ease of positioning. Nick’s operator, Jo, used this feature exceptionally well to bring safety and comfort to his cutting operations with the chainsaw to reduce cutting from awkward angles. The jib also allowed Jo to quickly get into multiple positions with ease without having to manoeuvre the rest of the machine. The S23 is supplied with a Honda GX390 petrol engine, but Nick’s machines have the optional Kubota Z602 Diesel. The basket is a good size of 140x70x110 cm and is designed to carry two men with its 200kg rating. There is also a 200 bar/air/water hose along with a 230 V/110 V and 12 V electrical socket in the basket. Other features include a cylinder-outriggers cover, a display for error code detection, proportional electro-hydraulic controls, SCS, radio control, different stabilisation (small, medium, and large), parking mode, and a 12-month warranty.
Customers now stepping into second and third CMC machines after impressive growth
On our trip to Balmoral to catch up with Nick and his team to watch the CMC S23 in action, we also crossed paths with Stuart from Global Machinery Sales to ask him about his take on the machine and his dealing with Nick over the years.“I’ve been with the Global Machinery team for seven years now, and it’s been an exciting time to watch the growth and development of the CMC range over that time.
What we have found is our early CMC customers who first purchased their machine some four or five years ago have loved the experience of the reach, height, and specific features so much that a lot are now coming back for their second or, in some instances, third machine. As our customers companies grow, the requirement for a larger, greater reach machine grows. An example of why the CMC S23 has been so well received is that the 12.4 metres of outreach is unrestricted at 200kg. Some machines will step down in their capacity as you extend to the outer limits of the range, this is not the case for the CMC S23. Another great example of the appeal of the CMC S23 is that as much as we target our sales to the Arbor Industry, we have had painters, electricians, and building maintenance guys all embrace this system,” said Stuart.
“My relationship with Nick has been great. His ongoing support of both the CMC range and Global Machinery Sales is fantastic. Both Nick and his entire team are extremely professional in their day-to-day operations. Safety is a massive part of the culture of the business, so our synergies are very much aligned. With that in mind, the added safety and risk reduction that a machine like this brings to an operation like Canopy Tree PL is massive. The added productivity that comes with that is where business owners like Nick can justify the added expense of introducing a machine like the CMC S23. It’s a faster, safer way to operate,” Stuart continued. After watching the Canopy team go about their roles and complete the job, it was a welloiled machine. Each team member had their specific tasks; they were safe and efficient and were packed up, cleaned up and ready for the next job in an amazing time. If you are an arborist who has been playing with the idea of introducing an EWP to their business, Stuart and the team at Global Machinery Sales could just have the perfect solution for you and your business.