GIANT skid first ‘’staff member‘’ at Masters of Trees

Family business Luchtenberg Masters of Trees was founded 7 years ago by Ruben Luchtenberg, together with his wife. Besides Ruben and his wife, the team consists of 4 ‘guys’ and number 5 is on the way. For felling, pruning, repairing, planting and transplanting trees, customers have come to the right place at the innovative company. Luchtenberg also provides his clients with sound advice and works mainly in the high-end private sector, which includes vast estates with their accompanying forests.

Reading time: 10 minutes. 28-10-24

Ruben Luchtenberg closely follows developments in the market and says: ‘TOBROCO-GIANT is constantly evolving and for me that is an important reason why I am so loyal to GIANT’. Almost as soon as Luchtenberg Meesters was founded in trees, his first GIANT was purchased. ‘The Skid was my first staff member. Yes. I worked a lot as a self-employed person. In the evenings and weekends, he also worked in demolition. And there I did a lot of different jobs. In demolition, everything is done with machines. But in tree care, you always have to move everything manually. And that breaks you down at some point. So then I thought, this has to change. GIANT machines were already familiar to me and when I saw the Skid for the first time, I didn't have to think about it for long.’

‘We have been working nicely. Do you have another job?’

If Ruben likes something, he has no reason to switch. The investment he has made in the Skid is mainly for his team. The landscapers he works with initially only looked at the short-term investment. Ruben explains: ‘If, instead of the Skid, I had to bring a guy to do all the work, it would cost a lot more money and time. I took the Skid and the gardeners saw how quickly I could carry out my work. And at the same time, it's an investment in my guys.

I hope they will still be here in 25 years. And that's only possible if I take good care of them. My boys are often on the case at 15:30, saying: hey Ruben, we worked nicely. Do you have another job?’. The machine is designed to be ergonomically manageable. In addition, the sprung operator platform is easy to adjust to the height of the operator, so that the operator can always operate the machine with a straight back.

Not on a trailer, but in a van

Luchtenberg mainly wanted a small machine. He uses the Skid mainly for moving and transporting branches and logs. GIANT's 650+ attachments allow the Skid to be used year-round for a wide variety of jobs. And thanks to its design, the Skid is easily manoeuvrable, accessible and more stable on difficult terrain.

That the Skid is so light while lifting so much is what Luchtenberg appreciates most. About the other features, Luchtenberg says: ‘The Skid is nice and narrow. It gets everywhere. We move it in the van. This is what I like about it. It's fast. And time is money. The Skid is like a wheelbarrow, you just take it with you. It's really ideal.’ Luchtenberg is very pleased with GIANT's shovels: ‘I have driven a lot of shovels in the past. Just about all types I think.’

Skid on tracks: more stability less footprint

Luchtenberg Masters in Trees already owned 2 Skids on wheels. And now the Skid GS950T on tracks has been added. With the expansion of the machine park, Luchtenberg deliberately chose the Skid on tracks. Ruben: ‘The Skid on tracks has more stability and less footprint on the ground. Moreover, the Skid on tracks lifts more. And that is very important for us.’ The arborist also owns an aerial platform, a mini-excavator and a large chipper. For Ruben, recommending a machine from GIANT to colleagues is a matter of course: ‘I am really very satisfied. Every Skid has improved again and that is just perfect.’

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