|
John May invented and
patented a treespade with curvilinear towers and
four spoon shaped blades, which was the foundation of
a very valuable patent. This
innovation makes it possible for a tree to be removed from
one site and then transplanted at
a new site positioned at any angle of display. This was
possible thanks to the circular
hole that these four spoon shaped blades achieve. The
sequence of the digging procedure of the four spoon
shaped blades are responsible for
anchoring the machine on the ground while the digging takes
place.
John May, owner of May
Manufacturing approached the late Tucker
Blankenship and his son Charles Blankenship in
November 1975. May Manufacturing
was sold to The Blankenships and BIG JOHN Tree Transplanter
Manufacturing Inc. was formed January 21,
1976. Many endeavors were to
come from that November 1975 meeting and the original
and existing President & CEO,
Charles Blankenship, had many
plans for his new corporation. The
first tree transplanter manufactured under the BIG JOHN
banner was the Model 78. The Model
78's nomenclature was derived from the diameter of its
rootball and was capable of digging nine-inch caliper
trees. The Model 78 led BIG JOHN
into the inspiration of manufacturing multiple models and
sizes of tree transplanters.
After consulting with many
different engineers and various people, BIG
JOHN made no progress on their new idea. Tucker
Blankenship then recommended to
his son, Charles, to discuss his
new plan with John May. John May
was later hired at BIG JOHN to design and build some
additional sizes and models of
prototypes of tree transplanters and supervise the
production and operation of the
company. John May's first project at the request of Charles
Blankenship was to design a smaller machine.
John May's enthusiasm led
him to the creation of a working prototype of
the Model 50 in less than four months. The Model 50
was capable of digging five-inch
caliper trees. The Model 50 is no longer manufactured at BIG
JOHN; however, its creation was
the stepping stone for Charles Blankenship's idea to
build the biggest machine of that time within legal
requirements. Ninety days later
John May presented a working prototype of the Model 88 to
Mr. Blankenship. The Model 88 was capable of digging
a twelve-inch caliper tree.
John May then suggested
BIG JOHN build a model between the Model 78
and 50. Mr. Blankenship approved his idea and about
ninety days later John May had
once again accomplished another milestone for the company,
which was then termed the Model
60. This machine was capable of digging a six-inch
caliper tree. John May then
recommended trailer mounted machines be
produced. This idea led to the production of the
trailer-mounted machines currently
manufactured at BIG JOHN today. Trailer mounted machines are
sold frequently to governmental
agencies, municipalities, and universities in order to
allow them to operate a tree transplanter without
confining a truck chassis.
In
1984 different model numbers were assigned to the early day
Models 50,60,78, and 88, A larger
gate opening known at BIG JOHN as "The Wide
Mouth" was designed. This new feature pioneered the
name change for the models. This
new attribute enabled an operator of a transplanter to
position the unit around larger
trees with full lower branches. This mechanism also improved
the visibility for an operator of a transplanter and
allowed for less pruning of branches
during the transplanting process. The new Models are known
currently as Models 45D,
55D, 65D,
8OD, and 90D. The Model 45D was created to
transplant four-inch caliper trees.
Throughout the years,
various customers and members of the BIG JOHN
family have recommended ideas to improve the BIG JOHN
Tree Transplanter. Some of these
ideas have been implemented into the production of present
day machines while others faded
away. However, BIG JOHN strives to make the
best machines on the market and customer satisfaction
is a chosen priority.
During the
8O's, small loader mounted transplanters were designed. These
transplanters are mounted to various types of skidsteer
loaders and BIG JOHN currently
manufactures a full line of larger loader-mounted models.
Also during this time, an idea was
presented to build a version of the Model 90 to
primarily transplant pecan trees. The Model 90 was
redesigned mainly focusing on
adding back the traditional gate-opening feature along with
numerous other changes in the
basic structure. Thus, the Model 90AG was born. The letters
"AG", the red color, and other features set this model apart
from the yellow contractors Model
90. This particular transplanter is presently a popular unit
used by pecan and several other
nut tree growers.
In the late 80's
successful international expansion reigned for BIG JOHN.
During this time, pod trailers and freestanding pods
were at the beginning of their
development. These machines are used to transport multiple
numbers of trees at the same time.
The free-standing pods are very useful for temporary storage
of rootballs and trees on the job site. Numerous
other developments continued
rapidly in the late 80's and throughout the 90's to improve
the transplanter as well.
Currently in the new
millennium, The BIG JOHN Family is working on a
long time
request from various customers known as the "Bigger Digger".
This machine will be designed to
transplant larger caliper trees and to extend the
transplanting season for their customers. Many other
pristine ideas are still to come
as BIG JOHN continues to sustain its position as the leader
in the manufacturing of tree
transplanting and transporting equipment. |
