A Tailored Approach: How Proper Preparation Set Bayou Belle Landworks Up for Success

Jason Jambon is the owner/operator of Bayou Belle Landworks out of Covington, Louisiana. He serves Louisiana’s Northshore area, including St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parishes. He runs a BL4/SSL/SONIC on a Kubota SVL97-3, which he purchased from Evergreen Tractor of Covington, Louisiana earlier this year. We spoke to Jason about his business and the way his FAE attachment has helped him to achieve success.

Born on the Bayou

Before entering the land management industry, Jason spent most of his career in the marine sector. It was a natural place to start: most of his family members are boat captains. However, Jason’s talent in the field manifested in a slightly different way: rather than pilot the vessels, he excelled at logistics and management - work that required a keen eye for detail and a talent for organization. These skills, in addition to experience running heavy equipment in shipyards and around grain elevators, made Jason well suited to run a vegetation management business.

Jason’s move into the land management industry didn’t happen overnight. His interest in forestry mulching began while shopping for raw land and researching how he wanted it cleared. He said, “About four or five years ago, we started shopping for property, and we wanted to find raw land - maybe ten acres or so. In that process of looking for property, we started thinking about how we wanted it cleared. That got me looking more into the forestry mulching aspect of things.” 

He explained how this process inspired him to start his own land management business. “It was extremely satisfying to watch the machines operate, and the more I researched it, the more I realized that I wanted to do this. I decided a couple years ago that I was going to start doing my research and setting up this business. After working for about a year to lay the groundwork, we launched earlier this year.”

Research and Planning

During that preparation process, Jason did his due diligence. Just as he did when he was managing marine vessels, he thought very carefully about every detail as he planned to launch his business. From market research to equipment, every facet was considered. “Before I got started in my area, I wanted to make sure there was a demand for it. I did all of my internet research and found that people were looking for these kinds of services. After doing all of that, I realized that, with the population, the income, and the general vegetation of the area, it would demand that service.”

He continued, “I did a lot of research on equipment and settled on the Kubota unit that we went with. We’re very happy with that choice. We looked at a lot of heads from a lot of different manufacturers, and I knew I wanted a premium manufacturer. I’ve got to say, FAE had a phenomenal reputation: everything about it was high marks. All of the people in the industry who I spoke with and got reviews from had great things to say.”

He explained how he worked with his dealer, Evergreen Tractor, and his FAE territory manager, Tyler Raines, to find the perfect setup for his application.

“I knew I wanted to be very niche with my catalog of services, focusing on forestry mulching, brush clearing, and vegetation management, rather than grading, excavation, or site preparation. We honed in on the SVL97-3, and the support from Evergreen has been phenomenal. Everything I’ve asked for, they’ve been able to put together. They made custom changes for me based on my talks with Tyler. I took a lot of his advice, outfitting the Kubota with the auxiliary hydraulic oil cooler to help with the hot temperatures that we have here. Having that cooling unit has made a world of difference. I haven’t overheated once, and it has made my production fantastic. That thing is worth its weight in gold.” 

In addition to the benefits of his roof-mounted hydraulic oil cooler, Jason commented on the ways his BL4/SSL has helped him to stay productive. One particular feature he discussed was the SONIC system. He said, “Having that connectivity to the FAE app and being able to see the dashboard in real time, showing my RPM and my pressure, and being able to select the mode that I am in is great. What I like about that is that, when the vegetation changes from one area to another, I can switch the mode from high, to standard, to low from my seat in the cab. That’s really handy.” 

“Being able to change the mode to suit the vegetation really helps with production. If it’s just briars, brush, saplings, and things like that, you can leave it in high mode, and it’s going to produce a finer mulch. When you start running into thicker saplings and small to medium trees, it’ll bog down if you leave it in high mode. You can then switch it over to low mode. It will produce a coarser mulch, but it will be more aggressive with keeping up with the production. It doesn’t bog down like it would if you kept it in high mode. If you take your time, you can make sawdust in high mode, but that’s not the goal every time.”

Making the Difference

With the practices that he established during his time in the marine sector and his new equipment, Jason had the framework for a successful business.

He said, “I’ve adopted the systems that I developed during my twenty years in the marine industry into this business. So I have a couple of binders that have procedures to operate every aspect of the business, from marketing, to sales, to maintenance, to driving, to pre-hazard checks when you are doing your walk arounds on the property before you start a job. Everything is systematized.”

However, to Jason, it’s his customer service that really makes the difference. He explained that it’s his responsiveness, professionalism, and personalized approach that stand out most to customers. 

“What separates us is our communication and our willingness to make sure our customers are satisfied. Every job we go on, we take a personal approach. We go out there and make sure we’re doing exactly what the customer wants. We show them that we’re not about simply stripping everything off a property. We take a selective approach based on what the customer wants to preserve and what they want opened up. We want to make sure the work is aligned with how the customer wants to use and enjoy the property. We can leave buffers in place. So they can see it, walk it, and use it.”

To other people trying to get into the industry, Jason offered some advice. “I always tell them that you have to do your research. It took me a year of going over the specs of the machines that I looked at, following the advice of other businesses online. There are a lot of resources from other guys who started up, and that’s who I followed. Some of them use different equipment than I do and some of them use the same equipment that I do, but, either way, it is definitely a community that you can get involved with. I would say, once you decide what services you want to offer, tailor your equipment for those services specifically. Make sure you have good dealer support and create systems that will keep your business flowing throughout the year.” 

As the business grows, Jason expects to add production capacity so he can spend more time meeting property owners, evaluating projects, and keeping communication responsive while the equipment stays productive. He said, “I can’t stop my machine every twenty minutes to take a phone call and talk to the next customer, but I don’t want to neglect people when they come in looking for my service. If they’re raising their hands saying they want me to come see them, I want to be able to provide that. In order for me to be free to do that, I have to have that machine running so I can keep paying the bills.” 

Jason reiterated why he went with FAE. “After doing the thorough research that I did, it was clear that FAE is a premium product. If you are looking to have something that you can buy once and expect quality reliable production from, that’s what you would go with. You want to have support. Everybody I looked at who had an FAE mulcher couldn’t say enough about the support. That’s a big deal because you have some manufacturers out there who might have a good product, but their dealer support might be just about nil. I can’t say that about FAE. They’re a phone call away. They’ve never not been helpful if I needed anything or had any questions. I look forward to continuing that relationship with FAE, so I would recommend them to anybody.”

Jason had a final message for Louisiana’s Northshore landowners. “If your land is overgrown and you want to see it, walk it and use it, give us a call at Bayou Belle Landworks. Clear Today. Enjoy Tomorrow.”