Chris Capsis, owner and lead Arborist of Outdoor Tree Service, is a multi-facetted guy, a marine mechanic by trade, surfer and arborist, who realised nearly a decade ago the increased speed, efficiency and safety of working from spider lifts and EWPs. With the 11-meter outreach of his CMC S18F, Chris and his team are safely and efficiently completing jobs in times that simply weren’t possible when only climbing.
With 22 years as an arborist under his belt Chris has seen many changes in the industry over his time, some he is a fan of and others not so much. But one thing for sure, Chris and the Outdoor Tree Service team have fully embraced and love their CMC S18F.
Chris shared: “I started out with a lawn mowing business and I used to live with a mate that was in the tree business. After starting to do work with him and finding I was well suited to the industry and had a passion for it, it just evolved from there. Having a mechanical background allows me to do a lot of maintenance and repair work myself saving the company thousands in repair bills and reducing down time costs.”
A small but highly efficient team
Chris has gone through several incarnations of his business over the years with it at one stage involving three crews, and all the headaches that go with running a larger team. Today Chris has gone full circle deciding to run with a smaller and more efficient team. “I have given up on trying to please everyone all the time, instead today I focus on keeping our smaller team happy and productive, we run two 4×4 chipper trucks, 1590XP and 915XP Bandit chippers, Bandit and Rayco stump grinders, a 40ft truck mounted EWP, track CMC spider lift EWP and Stihl chainsaws. My first machine was a Bandit 9-inch chipper about 20 years ago. They have evolved a lot since then. My first stump grinder was a Rayco 1625 super junior stump grinder. Other equipment we have purchased includes an RG 50 4×4 super, an Angry Ant loader and recently the CMC spider lift.”
The CMC S18F excels in real world conditions
Chatting with Chris about the challenges of climbing, shoulder injuries and surgeries it highlights the massive advantages that the CMC S18F has bought to Chris’s business and how that directly translates to the significantly faster completion of jobs, added safety and reduction in work-related injuries onsite. “The ability of the CMC S18F to work in real world conditions is one of its best features – from the adjustable tracks which can reduce to narrow width of access of 770mm allowing it access into doorways and narrow gates, to its massive horizontal reach of 11m and 18m of height.