Equipment in Action: Hurricane Recovery Efforts in North Carolina

On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene turned beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, into a post-apocalyptic landscape with fallen trees blocking streets and rushing water turning roads into rivers. Power lines were down everywhere, the city’s water infrastructure was destroyed, and bridges were torn apart. The region’s two rivers carried whole structures downstream and caused catastrophic damage to homes and businesses. To make matters even worse, the city was largely isolated due to the loss of power and cell service and landslides that forced sections of I-26 and I-40 to close.

Three months after the storm, we visited with Alex White, owner of in Weaverville, North Carolina. A mainstay of the community for more than 10 years, North End Stump is now helping rebuild lives by assisting with storm clean up.

“My dad started the company back in 2007-08,” Alex said. “He owned some dump trucks and started hauling loads for people. He eventually began taking brush back to our property, and we just started from there. I did commercial construction for a while, and about eight years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and join my dad’s business.”

Today, North End Stump tackles a wide range of jobs, from digging house sites to clearing brush to building roads and retaining walls. The business has a yard at its facility where Alex and his dad take in brush, then recycle it into mulch and compost. They’re dedicated Takeuchi owners, with a and a that help them with some of their toughest tasks.

The Whites felt compelled to help with area clean up because they were fortunate to have come through Hurricane Helene relatively unscathed. “My family and I were blessed,” he said. “When Hurricane Helene came through, we woke up that morning and the wind was just terrible. We had a bunch of trees down around our place. We had to cut our way out and the destruction was just crazy. That’s when we went out and started helping cut people out and clear debris from the roads.”

Since then, the Whites have continued clearing the seemingly innumerable downed trees, cleaning up mudslides and helping replace culverts that were washed away during the storm.  We caught up with them while they were on a project clearing fallen trees around a home located on the Elk Mountain Scenic Hwy at an elevation of nearly 3,700 feet. The homeowner was present during the storm, and despite living most of his life on the Gulf Coast and experiencing dozens of hurricanes, he said this storm was the scariest one he’d ever experienced. It took crews six days to reach his property, and his family was without power for several weeks.

“We’re pretty sure a tornado came through here because if you look at all the trees, they were blown over in one direction, and the only thing that can do that is just sheer wind force,” Alex said. “We’re coming through and just taking out all the trees that were bent over by the storm—somewhere between 85-150 of them—and trying to open the view back up for them.”

The North End Stump crew has been using their Takeuchi machines throughout the clean-up process, citing their spacious, comfortable cabs and excellent balance as extremely advantageous. They’re also using a brush grapple to make removing the debris much easier. Alex first became aware of Takeuchi equipment about four years ago when he ran into someone who raved about his Takeuchi machines.

“After hearing how much that guy loved Takeuchi, I talked to my dealer, , and they had some in stock,” Alex said. “My sales rep, Mark, got me in the seat of one, and I haven’t turned back since. We have a lot of steep grades to go up and down during this clean-up process, and you’re carrying heavy trees and having balanced machines like the TL10V2 and the TB2150 just makes it a lot easier. The power’s also there, and the performance speaks for itself. Plus, they’re low maintenance, and we appreciate that, too.”

Takeuchi machines are built tough and dependable because when homes, businesses and communities are in the balance, we know you need a partner you can depend on. and send photos of your Takeuchi equipment in action. Until then, thanks to North End Stump and all the great people who are trying to get life in Asheville back to normal. You are true heroes!

About Takeuchi

Takeuchi is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of an extensive line of compact excavators and compact track loaders. Founded in 1963, Takeuchi was the first company to introduce the compact excavator, setting the stage for one of the highest growth product segments ever introduced in the compact equipment market. The compact excavator has become a main line product for both rental and construction/utility companies. Takeuchi continued to lead the compact construction industry with the introduction of the first compact track loader to North America.

For more information, please contact:

Lynette Von Minden, Swanson Russell

Phone: 402-437-6457

Stephen Odum, National Marketing Manager, Takeuchi-US

Phone: 678-873-3070