These days many new people in the building business are buying equipments one by one and one of their first choices is the backhoe as they find that they can carry out different types of jobs with it. It functions as both an excavator and a wheel loader.

The front or the loader end of this equipment is what acts like the wheel loader with a bucket that can be dragged on moving materials, stuff has been dug up or it can also be used to fill up a big excavated area. You can fix forks to the front end that can be used to pick up pallets, used as brooms to clear the area, or you can even fix a clam that can press materials that are left behind in the bucket.

The back end of the backhoe resembles an excavator and usually the person operating the machine can swivel the seat and begin the work from the back end. In fact more work is carried out by the back end of the backhoe than the front end. The backhoe loader is a very useful equipment, but before you purchase one, ensure that the vendor gives you a demonstration of how to handle the machine. You will quite definitely have learn to manage the controls of the one that you are buying, as different makes will have variations on the controls. Also ascertain that the backhoe loader that you buy is fitted with a tool connector that can attach different kinds of attachments to it. There are many companies like Case Corporation, Fiat, Caterpillar Inc., Hitachi Ltd., John Deere, Komatsu Ltd., etc that manufacture backhoes, so you have a good variety to choose from.

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What can I say, I’ve been shooting film ever since…

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with many of the best cinematographers around. The great thing is that I was exposed to many approaches and styles. I learned what I liked and I learned how to problem solve for a variety of lighting situations.

My favorite lighting style is to shoot with natural-looking, motivated light sources. I enjoy working with large soft sources and then “paint” in the shadow areas. I work very hard to make certain that whatever story is being told is enhanced and communicated with the light and images.

To me, the best cinematography is the kind that takes you into another world ? cinematography that brings you the experience of the story and makes you quickly forget that you are watching a movie. Seamless and realistic.

The great masters of light who inspired me include Dante Spinnoti, ASC Heat, The Insider, Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC Sugarland Express, The Deer Hunter, Don Burgess, ASC Cast Away, and Contact, and John Toll for his brilliant work on Legends of the Fall. Finally the greatest master of light in my opinion is Rembrandt. His art has truly been inspirational to me. My favorite piece is The Polish Rider, a magnificent work of art.

Directors I admire include Akira Kurasawa Ran; Tony Scott Enemy of the State; Ridley Scott Gladiator; Gus Van Sant Good Will Hunting; and Michal Mann Insider and Heat.

I’ve been blessed by being able to make a living doing what I love to do.”

A CONVERSATION WITH RAJIV JAIN ( ICS / WICA)

QUESTION: Where were you born and raised?
RAJIV JAIN: I was born on the 29th of November, 1964 at a Civil Hospital, in Lucknow, India in a working class (Indian term: Lower Middle Class Family), hard core Hindi speaking family. I spent my formative years in Etawah which is nestled in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. That is where I grew up. It was a one-horse town with a one-horse bank. I had a great child-hood though. We came from a fairly closed in urban area, and suddenly I was in this environment where we could ride bicycles out into the bush. We also had the river. It was beautiful. I loved the outback and the wide-open spaces. My father was working in a bank and we moved / on transfer every two to three years. My mother is whole world centered around her kids and the home, so as you see, I led a very sheltered childhood with little or no contact with the outside world so to speak off. My father had a still Instamatic camera that fascinated me but I was forbidden to lay my hands on it, its funny but somewhere my curiosity in photography actually developed I was forbidden to touch that camera. My dad envisioned me as a Doctor, Engineer or an IAS officer.

QUESTION: Your Qualification…
RAJIV JAIN: I went to the University of Lucknow in Lucknow, State of Uttar Pradesh and also I had the good luck of going to the Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts (Bhartendu Natya Academy/ Bhartendu Natya Akademi), Lucknow. I majored in Stage Craft and minored in Stage Lighting, intending to become a Light Designer.

QUESTION: Did you plan to follow in your father’s footsteps?
RAJIV JAIN: I don’t think I ever saw myself in the banking profession. I actually caught the filmmaking bug when I was around 10 or 11yrs old. A Satyajit Ray movie called Shatranj Ke Khilari was being filmed in my neighborhood in Lucknow. I watched the trucks going up the street, and then snuck around to the house where they were shooting. I watched them setting up the lights and cameras. I was in complete awe.

QUESTION: Were there any other influencers in your family?
RAJIV JAIN: My mother is a religious person. I had often watched her pray, I do not think I need to elaborate for who all those prayers went up for. Our careers and our future was my mother is utmost concern. I still remember that moment as if it were yesterday, i was chatting with mom as she cleared the dinner dishes and she happened to ask me what i wanted do with my life after getting my diploma from drama school, at that precise moment i had a piece of 35mm still film in my hand “I would like to do something with this” I said looking at the film. Its been a long journey since then but my mom stood by me in those formative years and guided me every step of the way. I was very keen to join the Film & television Institute of India, but i failed to qualify for the entrance exam, however moving from still photography to theatre and then cinematography seemed like a very natural progression.

QUESTION: Were you interested in movies in those days?
RAJIV JAIN: Ya sure! like any other kid my age the world of movies fascinated me, it was not the case of being star struck every aspect of the movie interested me, so it came as a very spontaneous reply when one of my all time favorite professors (Guptaji) asked me what I wanted to become in life? ” I want to make a career for myself in the film world, i want to create magic behind that screen”. So yes, my love for cinema goes back a long way. I grew up watching Hollywood & Indian movies. I was not drawn to foreign films. American films were the ones I enjoyed seeing. Not any more than most kids, but I managed to see the big hits of the time. My dad took me to see Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Strangelove, The Longest Day during the 1970s. He loved the big historical dramas. I became a movie buff during the early 1980s, while I was going to Drama School in Lucknow. Some of my bohemian friends and I happened to find a folk & classical music & dance theatre, professional drama company, amateur still photography club and underground cinema called Lucknow Film Society. They showed classic and new wave films. They were usually 16 mm images projected on a wall. That is where I discovered the world of cinema. I remember seeing Metropolis and Citizen Kane, and films by Bergman, Fellini, Truffant, Welles, Cocteau and Stan Brahkage. That was during my late high school and early college years. I began reading about movies and directors and started clicking photographs. I did see one movie that changed my life at that time- it was a Goddard film called Contempt that Raoul Coutard shot. It was a Cinemascope film, which was very similar to what I was doing in still photography, although obviously twenty years prior to that. It used a lot of primary colors. It was a movie that put a lot of emphasis on composition and it had wide shots and long tracking shots with two little people walking against a big red wall. That was the first time that I made the connection in my mind that maybe films was where my career was headed. I was starting to feel limited by still photography. It was the first time I recognized the potential of cinema where by a narrative story can be told in a visual way.

QUESTION: Were there particular movies that made an impression on you?
RAJIV JAIN: Citizen Kane, Vertigo, La Regle du jeu, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Tokyo Story, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Sunrise, Battleship Potemkin, 8-1/2, Singing in the Rain, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Strangelove, Bicycle Thieves, Raging Bull, Vertigo, Rashomon, Seven Samurai.

QUESTION: Tell us about your background?
RAJIV JAIN: My first encounter with the physics of light came by accident. One day, as I was cleaning paint brushes in a darkened garage, light falling through a crack projected an image onto the wall turning the room into a giant camera obscure. My first exposure to film was with a process camera attached to a darkroom the size of my apartment. It just so happened that one of the Surendra jija ji (universal sister in law) he was a very avid 35 mm photographer who always had his Nikon camera strung around his neck. He got me interested in photography and encouraged me to go to Kanpur, with him to take stills of a student demonstration in 1980 s. That was my first experience with a camera where I was able to express myself by taking photographs. I started studying photo manuals-trying to learn about composition. I looked at how artistic photographers used the foreground and colors and light and shadows. That fuelled my desire to learn more and more. I had a full time job in a darkroom and was going to a photography studio at night and taking pictures on weekends. That just was not satisfying my thirst for learning more about photography. After finishing my education in Lucknow in 1985 I relocated to Mumbai / Bombay and started as an runner / apprentice / trainee in low budget serials, features and industrials.

QUESTION: Were you thinking at that point in your life that you wanted to get into narrative film making?
RAJIV JAIN: I must admit, I never thought there was much of a chance for me to work in Mumbai / Bombay. It was very very hard for north Indians to get a break in Bombay.. The only other place they were making movies back then was in Calcutta and Madras. I decided to learn English, with the concept that I might go over there and give it a try. Of course, with all the work I was doing, I never got into any real sequence of lessons; and I am partially dyslexic, so it was difficult learning a new language.

QUESTION: How did you get started in the business? What did you do?
RAJIV JAIN: I started as a gofer, apprentice, trainee, spark, grip, key grip, loader, best boy, focus puller and worked my way up to gaffer (Indian term: chief assistant to DOP).

QUESTION: How long did you work as an assistant?
RAJIV JAIN: Oh, around 7 – 8 years.

QUESTION: What did you do when you completed you assistant job?
RAJIV JAIN: I worked in Mumbai / Bombay on documentaries, industrial films and commercials as a camera assistant and gaffer. They were all small projects. I worked with a couple of cameramen who were shooting locally. It was mostly 16mm and a little 35mm, mainly to make some money. While I was doing that I was still shooting mainly short films and some documentaries. I was always working on my craft and building my reel, with the idea that one day I would shoot features. When I got out of assistance ship, I gaffed a bit, assisted a little bit and was shooting industrial films, documentaries, commercials and other small jobs. I shot sales films for medical companies promoting new products and techniques, small dramatic religious films for a company T-Series, which distributed them to temples, and some variety shows. I got a lot of jobs through people I knew in during my assisting days. It’s very important to make friends because they’re the ones who are going to want to bring people they know along when they get a job. We had our own revolving group of guys who all did different jobs depending on who was shooting and who was gaffing.

QUESTION: When did you decide to concentrate on cinematography?
RAJIV JAIN: Immediately. I thought the directing process was too long, and I liked being a cinematographer. During my second year of drama school In 1985, I worked for three to four months for a Lucknow television station. It was my job to select what was good enough to make up the programme. It was a great internship. I also learned the craft as a second and first assistant cameraman in Mumbai / Bombay under Ashok Mehta, Binod Pradhan & K.K.Mahajan

QUESTION: What was the deciding factor in making that decision?
RAJIV JAIN: I didn’t want to look back some day and regret that I never tried. I didn’t want to be 80 years old wondering if I could have succeeded. If I failed, I could have gone back to Lucknow knowing I gave it my best shot. So, I came to Mumbai / Bombay in the midst of a fuel crisis – just traveling in auto rickshaw was a big challenge. I went around interviewing at various DOP s because they were much more accessible than big feature film operations. There was no way I could get in the door at any of those places. After about three months, money was running low. I was walking by a kind of a warehouse in Mumbai / Bombay on a Saturday, and I could see though an open door they were building sets. I remember thinking; they would not be working on a weekend unless they were behind. So, I walked in, found the foreman and told him I was a carpenter. He asked if I had any set-building experience? I lied and said yes. It was only a half lie because I had built many sets for plays in drama school. The only similarity is that they are both made out of wood. They were building sets for television commercials.

QUESTION: Did working as a gaffer help you in cinematography?
First in India Gaffer means Chief assistant to DOP. We do not have the tradition of gaffer. I approached that job thinking like a cinematographer. I would bring a new technique or a new type of light to the attention of the cinematographer I was working with, suggesting it as something that would help to tell the story in a better way. I think I learned more by watching other cinematographers work than anything else. One of the only ways to really learn cinematography is from another cinematographer. That is how I think the knowledge gets passed on. You end up picking up little pearls of wisdom along the way. The most important things I learned by watching other cinematographers at work were not technical, but how to make the set comfortable for the director and actors, and how to make it a creative environment instead of a technical environment.

QUESTION: How did you get into T-Series music videos?
RAJIV JAIN: I tried to work as a freelancer for a while but it was tough to get into the union. There was a company called Super Cassettes Studios that was run by the late Gulshan Kumar in Bombay. They had an editing place first and then they opened up an online editing facility. They were hiring a lot of people at that point and I had some experience as a cameraman and crew person, so they brought me in to be an all around studio maintenance guy. I also learned to run the tape machines. When I got in there, It was quite a small place at the time, so I learned all kinds of things. I had already done two videos at that point. I was working in the studio on commercial stuff and they would bring in union lighting cameramen, and I would sometimes work as an operator for them. I was kind of a lighting technician for them, so I learned more in that studio in the space of one-and-a-half year than anywhere else. It was a very intense education because they brought in high-quality video being recorded to one inch. We used the Sony camera and it was quite a good camera. I still think it is better than the cameras that are out there now, but we were always trying to get a film look out of it. We would play with the filtration and black levels and all kinds of lighting to see how we could get it to look like a film.

QUESTION: That sounds like it was a great experience for you?
RAJIV JAIN: Yeah, I got to shoot a lot and be fairly creative with the camera on that video. I also got to be in the postproduction process. It was a really exciting editing process, and then we did some kind of in-studio effects as well, which I got to shoot. That was a real good break for me and then the director put me forward for a lot more projects after that. I started doing documentaries. I went on the road with them and on tour three times. I did a documentary in Delhi about the recording of music videos, which we shot on video; all the documentaries we shot on video, but it really gave me an opportunity to play around with the image and lenses and moving the camera. It was great!

QUESTION: What was your first feature?
RAJIV JAIN: My first feature as an independent DOP was Army (1994) starring Sharukh Khan, Sridevi & Ram Shetty directed it. It was color in anamorphic. I changed the contrast with lighting to eliminate all the gray tones. That was my signature, pure blacks and whites with no grays. Late Mukul S Anand visited the set when I was shooting, and later I worked with him for his production house MAD Films on his commercials (1994).

QUESTION: What do you look for when you are reading a script? Is it the story, the director, a combination or something else?
RAJIV JAIN: Usually it is the story, but there are some people who are so talented and good to work with that I am always inclined to say yes; I shall go anywhere. I think primarily it is the story that has to grab me. I don not necessarily think about it visually at that point…ideally it would be a film I would love to go see. I am also looking for something different than I have done before. I crave variety. It is a combination of things. At first, I thought the script was the most important thing, but I discovered scripts are constantly changing. It is not so much about the shots you make. Cinematography is about the environments you create. A film is a reflection of a series of two-dimensional images projected on a white screen. It is static flashes of light projected through a lens that somehow stimulates the brains of people in the audience and create a three-dimensional moving world. When you agree to shoot a film, you are making a moral commitment – it is an obligation you owe to the director and to the audience. There has to be a visual continuity that makes the audience feel like they have witnessed a slice of life. I tend to be more interested in the concept of a film. I ask the director to tell me what they want to do with the film. There was one film called Army. The movie is two and a half hours long, and it is the only movie I have worked on where only two pages changed during shooting. It is the best script in a Indian movie that I have ever worked on. There are not many experienced cinema directors in India because many of them are from TV. I have tried to train myself to understand what is necessary to make a film for the cinema.

QUESTION: What were some of the other low budget movies you worked on?
RAJIV JAIN: I do not claim the ones before Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. The first thing I did out of my being an independent was a small movie named Rasta that was shot over 15 days in Jaisalmer and never got released. It was my first full-fledged narrative experience. I did other films after that. Those films played a big part in putting things together in subsequent movies because you learn from your mistakes. You learn that there is no time like the present on a film. There is no going back. You need to plan and also persevere through the hard times on a film. On lower budget and independent films, those hard times come all the time. There is no easy shoot, because the powers of commerce are bearing down on your shoulders. The main thing I learned doing these movies is that you have to answer to yourself eventually. You have to pace yourself and stay true to the purpose. When we made Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (in 1998) I had a clear idea of the purpose and that told us how to shape the look, but I did not know it worked until it was screened. I was terrified looking at the dailies and not knowing if I was on the right path. When I saw the first rough cut, it was probably my most terrifying and most exciting experience.

QUESTION: Your recent work includes two features. The last one was Badhaai Ho Badhaai. Describe your experience shooting a comedy feature.
RAJIV JAIN: Comedy can be tragedy. I believe the hardest part about it is that if we shoot everything flat, it is just going to look like a flat comedy. Comedy is bright but you still want to see texture in the sets. In comedy, I think a lot of times it plays static because it is about the comedy, it is not about the joke. If the joke is happening in the frame, people should be listening. If you move the camera to tell the joke, it is distracting. Now, if you move the camera for a reaction in the picture itself, that is a different thing. I think comedy is harder to light than drama. There are different levels of comedy and I photographically see each level differently.

QUESTION: How did you get started shooting commercials?
RAJIV JAIN: While I was still assisting in camera, the production company called and said the agency wanted me to shoot their next commercial. I had never shot 35 mm film, so I was shocked. I still remember the slate with my name on it. That was a magic moment. The commercial came out good, and that lead to other commercials, mainly in India. Shooting commercials, I learned how to collaborate with many different people, jumping from one project to another with many different looks and locations. I think I have applied a lot of what I learned from shooting commercials on to shooting features. It is not a conscious thing. I was just in so many different situations solving the same types of problems.

QUESTION: Who were some of the cinematographers you worked with on commercials?
RAJIV JAIN: I worked with K.K. Mahajan, Binod Pradhan, Vikas Sivaraman and then Ashok Mehta.

QUESTION: Did you move back and forth between commercials and feature?
RAJIV JAIN: I did almost one feature film in three years. The rest of my time was on commercials. Commercial work is very interesting because you can try a lot of tools first. In India now, commercials deal a lot with aesthetic so it is just like still photography, and you learn to create different worlds and they are eager to get those kind of non-realistic worlds. I learned to take risks, because if you want to achieve something special you have to try, and sometimes you succeed and sometimes you do not but then that is all part and parcel of the learning process.

QUESTION: Have commercials affected the way you shoot movies?
RAJIV JAIN: They give you a firmer grasp of the possibilities for what you can achieve with photography. You get a lot of experience creating different looks in different ways that may apply to a movie. The more you shoot, the more you learn. Occasionally, you will discover something new that you can build on.

QUESTION: Do you have a particular style that makes your work recognizable?
RAJIV JAIN: I think everyone has got his or her style, but I would hate for someone to go in a movie theater and say ‘Oh, RAJIV JAIN shot that because that is his style.’ I would like them to say, ‘Oh, who shot that?’ I think you have got to be more versatile in your looks these days. Every film is different, so you like to think that you can put something different into each movie as opposed to creating a repetitive look.

QUESTION: How many features, commercials, music videos have you shot?
RAJIV JAIN: 6 features, almost 1032 commercials , 43 music videos & 150 documentaries, corporate & industrial films.

QUESTION: Have all your projects been restricted to India or have you done shoots abroad as well?
RAJIV JAIN: I shot in Austria, France, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Holland, Russia, Singapore, Sri lanka, Switzerland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates & United Kingdom.

QUESTION: How did you finally get into the Indian Cinematographers Society and Western India cinematographer s Association?
RAJIV JAIN: You could apply to get into the Association. I had experience both in commercials and movies as an assistant, and also as a cinematographer on five feature films. I had much better documentation as an assistant for getting in the union. I was a loader for K.K.Mahajan on five features & two TV serials, and I was an assistant for Binod Pradhan on two features & approx. 300 commercials and Ashok Mehta on two features & approx. 100 commercials. I pulled focus for one year until I moved up to chief assistant & camera b operator.

QUESTION: Is cinematography a talent that you are born with, a skill you learn, or both?
RAJIV JAIN: I think you have to be born with the ability to visualize. As a child, I spent a lot of time looking out of the window in school when I should have been looking at the books. I got scolded for it many times. I grew up and yet I still do it. I still fantasize, more than I think an average person would dare to do. Out of that kind of daydreaming, you end up making images that take on a kind of reality of their own. Movies have influenced how we make love, what we wear, how we eat, how we walk, how we talk, and how we act in everyday life. You have to be able to walk across the bridge into this imaginary world and be able to walk back. One of the tricks is that you have to know how to handle light. You must have a feeling for different kinds of light. Where do you get that knowledge? You have to know film like the back of your hand. That is a skill among others that you have to learn. Even as a kid, I responded to light emotionally. It is always been a part of me. Filmmaking grabbed me at a young age and gave me a voice I did not have in any other part of my life. I am lucky to have found an outlet for that. I ca not imagine doing anything else.

QUESTION: Finally do you ever get used to the fact that you are living your dream?
RAJIV JAIN: The night before I shot my first commercial for Late Mukul S Anand, I only got two hours of sleep and I had a panic dream that our interior hallway set had been built less than half scale-it was kind of like. We could not walk on it much less film on it. There was no room for our lights or the actors. In my dream, I kept asking, ‘How are we going to shoot in this space’ After 600 commercials & 5 Feature Films later, I still do not sleep much the night before the first day of shooting. The truth is that I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to earn my living by using shapes, colors, contrast and movement to bring a story to life. I love the collaboration with the director, production designer and actors and the passive collaboration with the composer, editor and writer. When I hear a carefully crafted musical score and images that I have photographed come together on the screen it brings tears to my eyes. It is really incredible how the music can enhance my work. I have talked to composers about this and they tell me it is the same for them when they hear their music and see how the photography works with it. We have almost no contact during the making of the film, but are key collaborators in the emotions that bring it to life on the screen.

QUESTION: Do you feel a sense of responsibility since a lot of people will be influenced by the movies you make?
RAJIV JAIN: I feel a responsibility towards the public and for a business that I have loved all my life. I take a lot of pride in the fact that I can work in Bollywood in the tradition of the great filmmakers who were here before us. Movies have brought something into our lives, and we have a responsibility to give something back.

First and foremost, you need to determine your needs. What will you need your tractor to do? Do you have an acre or two that needs mowed once or twice a week? Do you need a tractor for mowing, towing, snow plowing, carrying items, gardening or harvesting fields? Be sure to get enough tractor that will handle the attachments you are going to use.

Gas or Diesel?

Do you need a gasoline or diesel powered tractor? For most residential, mowing applications gasoline powered tractors are the way to go. If you have more than five acres and plan on doing some plowing, hauling, heavier mowing and adding any attachments then diesel is probably the tractor of choice.

Lawn Tractors

Lets look first at your average lawn mower. Something that will be pretty much be used for mowing and nothing else. Your average “lawn tractor” can range anywhere from $1500 – $4500 and range from 15HP- 25HP with gasoline engines. Good reliable used lawn mowers can be purchase from a few hundred dollars up to $3000 depending on age and condition. Some of the higher HP model lawn tractors can also be used for occasional snow plowing and other heavier tasks but are best suited for mowing with or without a grass catcher and pulling a cart. Most all lawn tractors are belt driven with limited parts availability and are designed to last a short period of time.

Garden Tractors & Compact Tractors

Next lets look at property owners that have 3 – 15 acres and the need for plowing, gardening, mowing, cutting and loading. In my opinion we have two classes of tractor we can look at here. You can consider a “garden tractor” or a “compact tractor”. A garden tractor is a tractor that is really a lawn tractor with a heavier built to it and with the capability of some attachments like a tiller, a blade, snowblower and larger mower decks (usually 54in – 60in decks). Most garden tractors are also shaft driven and can last for many years if properly maintained and not pushed beyond their limits. They can be gasoline or diesel. They usually sell new for $6000 – $10000 with a mowing deck,and can be purchased used for $2500 – $6000 depending on condition.

My personal recommendation for this scenario would be a “compact tractor”. A compact tractor is basically a miniature tractor with full size tractor capabilities such as mowing, cutting, loading, digging, tilling, plowing and hauling. They have diesel engines ranging in size from 15HP – 30HP. Most of them have full hydraulics, 4WD, mid and rear PTO’s, high and low range, roll over protection and are built to work. They have a life expectancy of up to 30 plus years if properly maintained. Parts are readily available. These compact tractors can handle many implements like large belly mowers up to 72in., rear mowers, tillers, blades, loaders, plows, backhoes, sweepers and more. The reliability of these tractors makes for a great used tractor. A new compact tractor with a mower can range from $10000 – $20000, depending on the size and model. Great used compact tractors can be found for as low as $5000.

Farm Tractors

If farming is in your future and you have many acres to tend to, you are best advised to consult with a dealer or fellow farmer before making a purchase. There are many, many choices when it comes to large tractors and farming equipment and it is best to make sure you get the right equipment the first time as these tractors can be a very large investment. Once you have the specifics you need, then search for a new or used tractor that will meet your exact needs for HP, and capabilities.

Pricing

Before you get sticker shock, realize that tractor purchases are long term commitments and that with proper maintenance and use they can last for 30 years or more. When you consider the life span and work they do, the prices will seem reasonable.

Attachments can also seem expensive as well. A loader for example will cost $3000 – $5000. A simple blade can run $300 – $500.

Once you have a tractor and some attachments, you’ll wonder how you ever did without them. I remember when I purchased my compact Kubota four years ago. I took my wife with me and I bought a 60in mower and a loader with it. When my wife saw the price she about died! Since we’ve owned it, she has on many occasion told me that it has been such a great thing to have. We only have 5 acres but get so much use from the loader. I don’t know what we ever did without it!

Gray Market Tractors

Because good used tractors are so reliable, there is a high demand and a relatively low supply of them and good used tractors sell very quickly. A tempting way of saving money is buying an “off-brand” tractor or a gray market tractor. These are usually imported machines designed for use in other markets, being sold semi-legally here. While they can be much cheaper than standard tractors, there are a couple of significant drawbacks.

One is that the PTO systems are not always compatible with US standards. Many of them do not have a mid PTO which is needed if you want a belly mower. A second issue is parts availability. It can be difficult or impossible to find replacement parts here if it’s a model designed for use in other markets.

What ever you do, make sure you buy a tractor that will do what you need it to. The worst thing you can do is to push the equipment beyond it capabilities. It not only significantly shortens the life span but can be dangerous as well.

Before making your purchase, do your research. Check with other owners, dealers, web forums and manufactures sites for information. When your ready to make the purchase be sure to check here with Tractor Shopper for deals on your next new or used tractor!

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A bucket on a piece of equipment can either assist with the productivity of the machine or it can significantly hurt the efficiency of the machine.

With your bucket that is on the front end of the tractor you what to really think about how you are going to use your back hoe loader. If you are needing to lift and place material then you’ll want a more complex bucket which will open and close so you can clamp items.

As far as the back end of your back hoe machine, you also will want to consider how you will be using the tractor. Certain owners of backhoe’s only will dig a certain sized ditch. If this is the case, than you may only need one bucket. The three most popular sizes of buckets are 12 in., twenty four in., and thirty-six in.. Also remember to think outside of the box. You can need something more than a bucket on the backend of a machine. When you’re searching for construction hardware infrequently there is more than the machine you will need to look at and be conscious of. Accept it or not, the bucket makes a big difference in the performance of the piece of kit irrespective of what the brand.

The interesting thing about his piece of appliances are that there are basically two buckets on the machine at the same time. There is a bucket on the front end or the loader end and there is a bucket on the back end or the excavation end.

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The machinery industry has a major bearing on China’s manufacturing industry. In 2004, China’s machinery industry accounted for 17.0% and 10.6% respectively of national sales and exports. Rapid economic development in China has led to a corresponding increase in industrial machinery. Almost all leading international players have formed joint ventures in China including John-Deere, Daewoo, Hitachi, Parker, Sanyo, ABB, Emerson, Siemens and Volvo.

Chinese machine builders are also enhancing their international participation through larger exports as well as a higher degree of internationalization. At an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 12.0%, in 2010 consumption is estimated to reach $910.14 billion. In the near future, China will be an important player in the global industrial machinery marketplace.

Representative Machinery

1. Agriculture Machinery

Today China’s agriculture is a new era of historical development. In a long period of time from now on, expanding operating scope, industrialized management, sustainable development, and scientific and technical innovation in agriculture shall be the four tendencies and driving forces. The development and adjustment of economic construction in agriculture requires higher level and larger scope of mechanization. Now mechanization has already developed from the traditional growing wheat to rice, maize, from traditional tillage to protecting tillage, from machine for producing grain crops to oil crops and cotton economic crops, from growing to livestock farming, aquatic products industry, fruit growing, garden farmland and manufacturing agriculture products etc. So there is a bright future of market for farm machinery.

2. Construction Machinery

Construction machinery is the largest customer of hydraulic products, which makes up about more than 40% of the total market volume of hydraulic products. The percentage shall further increase in the future. China is in an extensive developing and constructing period, thus the demand of construction machinery in the coming several decades will up, and China will be the largest market in the world.

3. Metallurgical and Mining Equipment

The total demand of steel in China reached 352 million tons in 2005. Therefore steel and iron industry shall speed up the adjustment of product structure. In the next 10?15 years, put stress on manufacturing flat plate steel, especially sheet steel and products with high additional value. State should enlarge the investment for them and make the degree of self-sufficiency of steel reach 90%.

For this reason, China need to use advanced machines to replace the backward machine, to realize continuous and automatic production with equipments in large scale, and upgrade the industry. Meanwhile China will give great impetus to process of group-collection for iron and steel industry, carry out technical reform of manufacturing process for large enterprises, make every effort to raise the utilization rate of steel by 10%?20%, take further steps to save energy by 15%?20%. Consequently, many new continuous casting machine and cold/hot rolling mill etc are needed.

4. Machine Tools

Along with the progress of manufacturing technique, China’s demands for high precision, high-efficiency CNC machines, is getting more and more. By the year 2010, the yearly output of CNC machine tools will be approximately 50,000 units. Now, in China there are about 3 million machine tools in use, and it is expected that about 4 million units machine tools will be in use by the year 2010.

5. Plastic Machinery

The demand for plastic products will increase remarkably to cater for the development in the fields of agriculture, automobile, electronics, light, foodstuff, packaging and construction industries and the improved living standard of the people as well. At present, the total output value of plastic in China has come to the forefront of the world, but the annual plastic consumption per capita is only 14.5 kg, less than the 20 kg world average annual consumption per capita and far from the 50 kg to 100 kg annual consumption per capita in developed countries. It is expected by the year 2010 to be a litter bit higher than the world average annual consumption per capita. The growing consumption of plastic products provides the opportunity for developing plastic machinery. It is expected that the annual demand for plastic machinery will be about 150, 000 units by the year 2010.

6. Petrochemical Equipment

Energy problem shall be the restricted factor in a long period of time in developing national economy. Accelerating the development of energy industry is of great urgency. State need to accelerate the development of petroleum and natural gas, except the project to deliver natural gas from the west to the east and other petrochemical projects are under construction, in the period of 11th five year plan shall be built 5000 km high pressure crude oil pipeline. Besides, in this period the demand of oil refining, ethylene and three synthetic materials (synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre) shall increase at the rate of 6%?9%. So, there need collection and delivery equipment for oil and gas and large-scale and high-efficiency petrochemical equipment with the emphasis laid on the development of large-scale petroleum prospecting and drilling equipment for desert and ocean, large complete equipment with a yearly output of 600 000 ton ethylene, 450 000 ton synthetic ammonia, 800, 000 ton urea and chemical fibres etc.

8. Food-stuff, Packaging, Electronics, Light-industry and Textile Equipment

The emphasis is laid on the development of various high-efficiency, energy saving, multifunctional and automated complete sets of equipment and production lines, such as various liquid filling lines, production lines of fast foods and puffed foods, sterile medicine production lines and packaging lines, bag-making and bag-filling lines, suitcase making lines, high-speed tobacco processing machinery, air-jet looms, automatic winders and production lines of various household electrical appliances and electronic apparatus.

9. Harbor Terminal Facilities

In order to meet the demand of domestic construction and enlarged export and import trade, task for building coastal port and inland port is very heavy, a great number of ship loaders, car dumpers, stacking machines and container cargo handling equipment will be additionally provided or updated.

10. Ship-building and Ocean Engineering Equipment

By the year 2010, the total yearly production capacity of ship building industry will be about 10 million ton, account for 30% of the world annual output, with the emphasis laid on the development of large ocean-going tankers, LPG ships, container ships, engineering vessels, bulk ships, high-speed passenger liners and ocean-going fishing vessels. Ocean engineering equipment shall be put stress on building large engineering facilities for recovering ocean petroleum, such as large self-rising drilling ship, deep sea drilling machine, heavy-load lift, large crane and piping erection ship.

11. Power Generating Equipment

At present, electric supply has become the bottle neck, which restricts the development of economy. In the coming 20 years, the largest power-building market will be in China. Water, coal, nuclear and gas are the four pillar for power generating in China. It is estimated that the installed capacity by the year 2020 will be 960 000 megawatt, but the installed capacity per capita only 0.67 kW, less than half of that in developed countries. In future, every year need to add new installed capacity of more than 200 000?300 000 megawatt.

12. Environmental Protection Equipment

In order to keep the development of economy, society and environment well coordinated, and make the ecological damages and environmental pollution well controlled, environmental quality and comprehensive utilization of resources are raised further, state will add the investment for ecological preservation and environmental protection. China is putting emphasis on developing: urban sewage and solid wastes disposal and comprehensive utilization equipment, urban and industrial noise control equipment and atmospheric pollution control equipment.

Machinery Trade Shows

The 12th China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition (CXMEE)

The 12th China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition (CXMEE), authorized by China’s Ministry of Commerce, is jointly organized by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronics Products, the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association, the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government. It will take place in Xiamen, China on April 8-11, 2008.

7th China (Hangzhou) International Machine Tool and Mould Expo

The 2008 China (Hangzhou) International Industrial Fair (formerly “Zhejiang International Industrial Fair”) was originated in 2002, it is held at Hangzhou Peace International Exhibition and Conference Center every May. It has experienced six years of persistent, healthy and stable development. It was listed in the formal exhibition of “China Hangzhou West Lake Expo” in 2006, becoming a large exhibition and conference project specially supported by the municipal government of Hangzhou.

In today‘s unstable economy, the start up and seasoned business has an unique opportunity to acquire an attractive deal for off leases and repos for commercial trucks and construction equipment. Due to a contracting economy, many lenders have excess inventories on their books that they need to put them back on the street. These in-house inventories are non income producing, therefore this puts pressure on the lender to make a deal with the consumer. These deals can be found in the price, the financing or a combination of both. An off lease commercial vehicle and/or construction equipment has been returned to the lender as the lease has expired. The lessee has made a decision to return the item in lieu of exercising the buyout option. A repos has arisen due to a default of the lessee for non payment terms or a violation of the terms of the lease. Either way, the lender has taken these trucks and/or equipment back or now must recondition the items and either sell these items or re-lease them. The lender will either advertise their inventory through their internal sales force or outside professionals such as brokers to move their inventories as quick as possible. Sometimes as these inventories either sit or whatever reason isn‘t moving, the lender may put these items up for auction.

For this article, the type of items we are going to identify as potential deals for the customer is the following:

Dump trucks, flatbed trucks, grapple and landscape trucks, fuel and lube trucks, bucket and boom trucks, over the road and day cabs, water trucks, tow trucks, box vans and straight trucks, dry van and reefer trailers, end and bottom dump trailers, flatbed trailers, backhoes, bulldozers, crawler tractors, forestry equipment, excavators, forklifts, and other type loaders.

A list to Builders may include Preterit, Ken worth, Mack, International, Freightliner, Ford, Volvo, Western Star, John Deere, Case, Caterpillar, Kobe co, Great Dane, Miller, East, Warren, Dragon, Clement, etc

Some of the ways the startup and/or seasoned business can locate these deals are through trade publications, surfing internet search engines, contacting lease brokers for information and speaking to lenders directly. Some of the lenders in the market have advertised personal credit qualifications as low as 575, prior bankruptcy rules amended or ignored and start ups are welcome. Additionally, the front money to commence the lease can start as low as first payment to whatever you might able to negotiate. Some of the lenders have application only programs up to $250,000. There are no financial statements, income tax returns or bank statements required. In conclusion, this is a buyers market for commercial trucks, trailers, and construction equipment.

Check out all the deals in the market and make sure that you have a stable income base to assume whatever debt that you may occur. Make sure you understand the buyout clauses which may be $1.00, 10%, 20% fair market value or whatever the lease stipulates.

Often times, bulldozers are large and extremely powerful tracked vehicles. The tracks give them amazing ground mobility and hold through very rough terrain. Wide tracks on the other hand, help to distribute the weight of the dozer over large areas, therefore preventing it from sinking into sandy or muddy ground.  

Bulldozers have great ground hold and a torque divider that’s designed to convert the power of the engine into dragging ability, which allows it to use its own weight to push heavy objects and even remove things from the ground. Take the Caterpillar D9 for example, it can easily tow tanks that weight more than 70 tons. Due to these attributes, bulldozers are used to clear obstacles, shrubbery, and remains of structures and buildings. The blade

The blade on a bulldozer is the heavy piece of metal plate that is installed on the front. The blade pushes things around. Normally, the blade comes in 3 varieties:

1. A straight blade that is short and has no lateral curve, no side wings, and can be used only for fine grading.

2. A universal blade, or U blade, which is tall and very curved, and features large side wings to carry more material around.

3. A combination blade that is shorter, offers less curvature, and smaller side wings.

Modifications

Over time, bulldozers have been modified to evolve into new machines that are capable of things the original bulldozers weren’t. A good example is that loader tractors were created by removing the blade and substituting a large volume bucket and hydraulic arms which will raise and lower the bucket, therefore making it useful for scooping up the earth and loading it into trucks.

Other modifications to the original bulldozer include making it smaller to where it can operate in small working areas where movement is very limited, such as mining caves and tunnels. Very small bulldozers are known as calfdozers.

History

The first types of bulldozers were adapted from farm tractors that were used to plough fields. In order to dig canals, raise earth dams, and partake in earthmoving jobs, the tractors were equipped with a thick metal plate in the front. Later on, this thick metal plate earned the name blade.

The blade of the bulldozer peels layers of soil and pushes it forward as the tractor advances.  The blade is the heart and soul of the bulldozer, as it was the first accessory to make full use for excavation type jobs.

As the years went by, when engineers needed equipment to complete larger jobs, companies such as CAT, Komatsu, John Deere, Case, and JCB started to manufacture large tracked earthmoving equipment. They were very loud, very large, and very powerful and therefore earned the nickname “bulldozer”.

Over the years, the bulldozers got bigger, more powerful, and even more sophisticated. The important improvements include better engines, more reliable drive trains, better tracks, and even hydraulic arms that will enable more precise manipulation of the blade and automated controls. As an added option, bulldozers can come equipped with a rear ripping claw to break up pavement or loosen rocky soil.

The best known manufacturer of bulldozer is CAT, which has earned a vast reputation for making tough and durable, yet reliable machines. Even though the bulldozer started off a modified farm tractor, it rapidly became one of the most useful pieces of equipment with excavating and construction.

The bulldozer is a very capable machine that is
equipped with a blade.  The phrase bulldozer is often
used to mean any type of heavy machine, although
the term actually points toward a tractor that is fitted
with a dozer blade.

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Often times, these bulldozers are big and extremely
powerful tracked vehicles.  The tracks provide them
amazing ground mobility and hold them steady through very difficult
terrain.  Wide tracks on the other hand, are good in that they help to
distribute the weight of the dozer over a larger area,
therefore stopping it from sinking into sandy or
muddy ground. 

Bulldozers have plenty of great ground hold and a torque
divider that’s specifically designed to convert the power of the
engine into dragging capability, which enables it to
use its own immense weight to push heavy objects and even
remove things from the ground.  Take the Caterpillar
D9 for example, it can easily tow tanks that weigh
more than 70 tons.  Due to these attributes,
bulldozers are used to clear obstacles, shrubbery,
and remains of structures and buildings.

The blade
The blade on a bulldozer is the heavy piece of
metal plate that is installed on the front.  The
blade pushes things around.  Normally, the blade
comes in 3 varieties:
 1.  A straight blade that is short and has
no lateral curve, no side wings, and can be used
only for fine grading.
 2.  A universal blade, or U blade, which is
tall and very curved, and features large side wings
to carry more material around.
 3.  A combination blade that is shorter,
offers less curvature, and smaller side wings.

Modifications
Over time, bulldozers have been modified to evolve
into new machines that are capable of things the
original bulldozers weren’t.  A good example is
that loader tractors were created by removing the
blade and substituting a large volume bucket
and hydraulic arms which will raise and lower the
bucket, therefore making it useful for scooping
up the earth and loading it into trucks.

Other modifications to the original bulldozer
include making it smaller to where it can operate
in small working areas where movement is very
limited, such as mining caves and tunnels.  Very
small bulldozers are known as calfdozers.

History
The first types of bulldozers were adapted from
farm tractors that were used to plough fields. In
order to dig canals, raise earth dams, and partake
in earthmoving jobs, the tractors were equipped
with a thick metal plate in the front.  Later
on, this thick metal plate earned the name blade.

The blade of the bulldozer peels layers of soil
and pushes it forward as the tractor advances. 
The blade is the heart and soul of the bulldozer,
as it was the first accessory to make full use
for excavation type jobs.

As the years went by, when engineers needed
equipment to complete larger jobs, companies such
as CAT, Komatsu, John Deere, Case, and JCB started
to manufacture large tracked earthmoving equipment.
They were very loud, very large, and very powerful
and therefore earned the nickname “bulldozer”.

Over the years, the bulldozers got bigger, more
powerful, and even more sophisticated.  The
important improvements include better engines,
more reliable drive trains, better tracks, and
even hydraulic arms that will enable more precise
manipulation of the blade and automated controls.
As an added option, bulldozers can come equipped
with a rear ripping claw to break up pavement or
loosen rocky soil.

The best known manufacturer of bulldozer is CAT,
which has earned a vast reputation for making
tough and durable, yet reliable machines.  Even
though the bulldozer started off a modified farm
tractor, it rapidly became one of the most useful
pieces of equipment with excavating and construction.

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The kind of skid steer you need depends on the scope of your operation, but the best part about skid steers is that there are so many add-ons and work tools available, the skid steer is one of the most adaptable pieces of machinery in your inventory. If you’re in a business that requires the use of heavy equipment, you’re in a business that requires the use of a skid steer.

Perhaps you’re starting a business and need a skid steer or maybe you need to replace a skid steer that no longer works. You might even have a used skid steer that you no longer need and want to earn back some of the purchase price by moving it off of your lot.

If you’re looking to purchase a skid steer, you should consider buying a used skid steer instead of a brand new one. Not only will you save thousands of dollars, but if the used skid steer is in good enough condition, you may have a better-operating machine than a brand new model which has yet to be fully tested in the field.

You can find a used skid steer for sale online for just $6000 if you know where to look! Online used construction equipment classifieds sites offer a variety of used skid steers, from a 1978 New Holland 1778 to a 2005 John Deere 320 at low prices and even negotiable rates. See if you can get a better deal than the average list price with a seller who’s willing to bargain!

If you only need a skid steer for short time—perhaps for one project or while your other skid steer is being repaired—you can rent a used skid steer for just a few thousand—maybe even a few hundred—per month. Renting a used skid steer solves the problem of trying to get rid of the used skid steer you no longer use. If you know that you’ll only need it for a short time, save your money and rent it short-term!

Perhaps you won’t find the exact used skid steer you need for your operation, but if you find a good used heavy equipment Web site, you’ll be able to post a Want Ad detailing the kind of used skid steer for which you’re searching. A seller can then contact you with his or her best offer!

If you already have an excess used skid steer to sell, a used heavy construction equipment classifieds Web site is exactly the place you need to get that used skid steer off of your lot and thousands of dollars back into your pocket. While it’s true that many used heavy construction equipment classifieds Web sites can charge sellers upwards of 20% of the sale price—which, when dealing with used heavy equipment can easily equal $5000, $10,000, or even $20,000—not all used heavy equipment classifieds Web sites are like that!

There are websites site that offer 100% free basic membership to all buyers, sellers, renters, and leasers. Members are typically allowed to post FREE For Sale, For Rent, and Want Ad postings each month at no charge. The ads allow for detailed descriptions, multiple images, and full contact information as well as a free company store link to showcase multiple heavy equipment pieces for sale at once. When a transaction is made, it stays between the buyer and the seller or the renter and the leaser. No matter the amount of money passed between them, MachineryZone.com takes a 0% fee.

Since you’re sure to need a variety of skid steers for your farm or construction, landscaping, demolition, or mining business, you’re going to need to find a place that offers a variety of used skid steers at bargain prices. The best used heavy equipment classifieds Web sites don’t punish buyers or sellers by taking fees and they offer their members a wide variety of options when posting an ad. Sign up for a free membership at one of these sites and start browsing the used skid steer ads today!

For more resources about buy used heavy equipment or even about crane please review this page http://www.machineryzone.com

In today’s market, many lenders have either run out of money to lend, or must liquidate their off lease inventories to generate working capital or are no longer in business. This economic crisis has affected everyone including banks and lenders.

The available programs described here include you locating your own heavy construction equipment and bringing to a conventional lender for financing

The requirements for application only programs up to $75,000 are the following:

    A Credit requires the following:

5 years TIB (time in business) under current ownership 700+ credit score

   B Credit requires the following:

2+ years TIB (time in business) under current ownership 650-700 credit score

The rates on A and B paper will be slightly different.

 Additionally, a filled out lease application dated and signed by the owners and summary page of the last three months business bank statements will get the lending process started. A copy of an invoice, purchase order etc would be required from the qualified dealer. Additionally, other information might be required but this is taken on a case by case basis.

For financing up to $250,000, these are the following requirements:

5 years TIB (time in business) under current ownership Full Financial Package is required will ALL applications  675+ credit score Low 5 Average bank balance with no NSF’s or Overdrafts

Additionally, the details of this program is listed belo

                        if a Corporation of any kind)

2 current years corporate tax returns (COMPLETE WITH ALL SCHEDULES AND ATTACHMENTS) Last 2 years profit & loss statements Last 2 years balance sheets Year to date profit & loss statements Year to date balance sheets 2 current years personal tax returns for ALL owners (COMPLETE WITH ALL SCHEDULES AND ATTACHMENTS) Current signed and dated personal financial statements for ALL owners COMPLETE application with ALL owners information and signatures

 

                                  (if a Sole. Prop.)

2 current years personal tax returns (COMPLETE WITH ALL SCHEDULES AND ATTACHMENTS) Current signed and dated personal financial statements Last 2 years profit & loss statements Last 2 years balance sheets Year to date profit & loss statements Year to date balance sheets COMPLETE application with ALL owners information and signatures

Once again, a signed and dated lease application would be required to get the financing process started. A copy of an invoice, purchase order etc would be required from the qualified dealer. Additionally, other information be might be required but this is taken on a case by case basis.

This application only and full documentation program would apply to following types but not inclusive types of construction equipment:

Backhoes, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, skid loaders, tractor, concrete mixer, concrete pump, compactor etc

Examples of  heavy construction equipment could be manufactured by John Deere, Case, Caterpillar, Komatsu, Kobelco, Hitachi, Hyundai etc

Happy hunting for your heavy construction equipment acquisition and its related financing……