Page 201 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

After owning the TSK for a while, Leonardo ran into a few glitches that needed to be resolved. “We had some wear issues on the fan and some heating problems because of all the compliance stuff crammed in there for CARB,” says Leonardo. “And the boom was a bit light so we had some cracking. But Peterson took it in and plated it all, and built it up for us. They’ve been good about dealing with our issues. Back when Duane [Sr.] helped me buy that log loader when I first started out, I became a dedicated Peterson man. I’m still all in with Peterson Tractor.”
Duane Jr’s initial vision for the TSK program was to build Cat forestry machines specific to the Pa- cific Northwest, in the Pacific Northwest. The 527 TSK was to be the first, with other possibilities to follow, all as an OEM dealer for Caterpillar. Un- fortunately, when Cat shut down its factory in In- donesia, that particular dream stalled. But there are others on the horizon. “This was a really challeng- ing project that took a lot of determination, and we’re really proud of what we accomplished,” says Duane Jr. “It was a huge team effort. We learned a lot in the process. And we will continue to do whatever our customers need to help them suc- ceed. We just have to keep our eyes open for the next opportunity.”
Clockwise from top/left: Leonardo’s Cat 558 loading a truck; Tony Leonardo with his Peterson TSK
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