Pierre Landscape

Pierre Landscape Leverages John Deere Compact Equipment to Maintain their Advantage in the Southern California Commercial Landscape Construction Industry

By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor

Above: Pierre Landscape’s operator, Mario Orozco, using a John Deere 26G compact excavator to excavate for irrigation pipe in tight conditions between fence and sidewalk at Liberty High School in Winchester.

Pierre Landscape has been in the landscape business since 1988. It started out as a residential irrigation only business operating in West LA, expanded quickly into landscape construction in greater Los Angeles, and now works throughout Southern California exclusively on high-end commercial projects. In 2020, Pierre Landscape opened a satellite office in San Marcos to handle the needs of its Los Angeles and Orange County clients that also work in San Diego.

Rigo Sanchez is Pierre Landscape’s executive project manager. Sanchez started his career with Pierre Landscape 26 years ago, working from the trenches to management. From an irrigation technician to foreman, supervisor and working in sales, estimating and design, Sanchez has gained experience in just about every job area over the years. “We are currently doing around $46 million annually with a field staff of approximately 160 employees. That is a relatively small staff compared to other companies doing equal volume,” says Sanchez. “You need an edge in this business, and part of our advantage is using the best and most appropriate equipment for each application. As a result, we achieve maximum production with fewer employees because we provide our professional staff with the best equipment available on the market.”

Above: Operator Mario Orozco using the compact excavator to dig 36” trench for new irrigation mainline.

Pierre Landscape currently has around 30 John Deere compact excavators and 30 John Deere skids steers supplemented by Toro Dingo walk-behind units, ride-on buggies, trenchers and other compact machines. “We use compact equipment almost exclusively on our projects where deadlines and space are almost always an issue,” says Sanchez. “Chuy Ponce is our truck and equipment fleet manager, and he works primarily with Coastline Equipment when purchasing compact excavators and skid steer loaders.”

According to Sanchez, Ponce does a great job managing the fleet of machines that the field personnel rely on every day. “I work with Mitchell Apodaca from Coastline Equipment for most of our compact excavator and skid steer purchases. Mitchell is there for us before and after the sale and does everything he can to keep us up and running,” says Ponce. “Our operators and field staff prefer using John Deere equipment. We have tried other compact brands in the past but always ended up back at John Deere and Coastline Equipment. We do rent and purchase other types of equipment from various other manufacturers and distributors, but John Deere is our ‘go-to” brand of choice.”

Above & Below: Pierre Landscape’s operator, Gilberto Lucas, using a John Deere 27D compact excavator to trench for lateral lines on slope and uneven terrain. Pierre uses compact excavators to trench on most slopes.

One of the many large jobs that Pierre Landscape has been on is for the Irvine Company on its Spectrum Terrace project. This is a 1.1 million square foot office campus project with nine fourstory buildings spread across 73 acres in Irvine. The project began in May 2018 and will be completed toward the end of this year. Burton Studio was the landscape architect, and Pierre Landscape was awarded a $5 million contract to install everything from the irrigation to large trees and other major landscaping components. “The Spectrum Terrace project has been a great, ongoing job for Pierre Landscape, and we always enjoy working for Irvine Company,” says Sanchez. “This job is a great example of where professional, knowledgeable crew members equipped with the right machines can achieve maximum productivity to meet contractual deadlines consistently.”

L-R: Mario Orozco, Journeyman, Sergio Arenales, Apprentice and Alberto Delgado, Foreman, Pierre Landscape.

Pierre Landscape was contracted to do irrigation and landscape construction for the SOFI Stadium Media Center. They are also finishing up a large landscaping job at Cerritos College and installing soccer fields at Irvine Valley College. The company has made a name for itself over the years, performing unique landscaping on multiple floors of high-rise and condominium structures in downtown Los Angeles. “Our high-rise landscaping jobs were made a bit more difficult for us during the pandemic. Everything was just slowed down a bit for obvious safety reasons, like only allowing three individuals on an elevator, instead of the normal number of up to 12,” says Sanchez. “Shortages in plant material have also been an issue recently, not due to COVID-19, but for other reasons like when much of the container stock in Texas was lost to frozen temperatures. Texas and other states have come into California and bought out entire nurseries, which means that our plant material is now made up of smaller and younger specimens. No matter what the challenge or obstacle, our management, crews, and support staff always find a way to get it done and keep our clients happy.”

Above: Pierre Landscape’s operator, William Cisneros, uses a John Deere 35G compact excavator to move equipment from the staging area to work area with all the attachments needed for the day. Various attachments are needed to dig holes for trees, auger holes for drain sumps, as well as breakers to break through an area of hardpan soil/rock.

Operator Jonathan Sanchez using a John Deere 317 skid steer to carry and fill power buggies with mulch. These skid steers are also used to carry and fill other materials such as gravel, DG and soil.

Pierre Landscape is also currently on a $3.5 million project at the new Liberty High School in Winchester. “We started on this job a year and a half ago and will have it finished in November. This is a brand-new high school being built where Pierre Landscape is performing the irrigation work and placing of decomposed granite, along with the installation of ponds, trees, shrubs, and other ornamental plants,” continues Sanchez. “We are also installing both synthetic and natural turf on the baseball and softball fields and in the common areas.” Sanchez reiterates just how crucial compact construction equipment is to the speed and success of almost every job they take on. “We have jobs like this one (Liberty High School) and others where we are planting hundreds or even thousands of shrubs, and there needs to be a system in place to get it all done productively. First, we mark the planting sites with paint and then drill holes with our auger attachments, connected to a John Deere compact excavator. It is like a full production line where the auguring is followed by laborers who plant the trees and shrubs. We always insist on working smarter and never wasting energy with unnecessary steps.”

John Deere 320D skid steer with grappler attachment being used to remove branches from the trees being removed. Pierre also uses the same attachment for carrying pipes around large jobsites.

Sanchez says that their compact excavators and skid steer loaders often work together as a team to move the job along quickly and safely. “We use our John Deere compact excavators to dig trenches and holes for trees and large shrubs. These excavators work in tandem with a John Deere skid steer that can backfill sand, remove rocks, or add soil amendments. We also use the combination to install sleeving and mainlines on irrigation projects,” concludes Sanchez. “The possibilities are endless with the right compact equipment and attachments. From digging and lowering plants into place to removing existing sidewalks and other hardscapes with grapples and hammers, we have the perfect solution for any project.”

Above: At Pierre Landscape, they strive to train employees on use of compact equipment anytime they have an open area that has safely been identified to have no underground utilities. Garret Young is shown operating the John Deere 27D compact excavator, as he was taking his first operator class in an open field area. Garret did well and adapted to the controls on the compact excavator and successfully operated the equipment. He was surprised and impressed with the performance of the John Deere compact equipment.

Pierre Landscape is headquartered in Irwindale and is signatory to the Pipefitters and Laborers’ union agreements. As one of California’s largest award-winning landscape firms, Pierre Landscape has grown rapidly in the commercial marketplace and is recognized as one of the Top 100 Landscape Contractors in the United States. For more information on Pierre Landscape, please visit their website at www.pierrelandscape.com or call (626) 587-2121. Cc