Guest Visit: Carolina Saltwater Living — Catawba land leveler & grapples shop tour

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Thanks again to Cody and the team at Catawba Attachments for the tour. If you’re looking for a grapple or land leveler, start with the Catawba land leveler page and check related articles about grapples and Hardox materials in the blog links below.

Materials and design choices that matter

Catawba uses Grade 50 plate and Hardox wear components where the job calls for it. Those materials are more costly but improve longevity for jobs such as pond clearing, stump work, and heavy brush cleanup. For more on Hardox and why we use it in attachments, see our piece on Hardox wear plate used by Catawba Attachments.

By the time an attachment reaches final assembly, most of the work has already happened under the same roof. Cylinders and hoses go on there, then the finished unit is palletized for shipping. Dedicated welding jigs help the crew keep repeat builds lined up the same way, so one attachment comes off the floor fitting like the next.

Grapples: models, materials, and production

Our tractor grapples are the most popular items. Catawba makes everything from sub-compact models to full-size farm tractor grapples — from a 54-inch grapple for BX-style Kubotas to a 66-inch model for tractors up to 80 horsepower. Instead of spending $60,000+ on a skid steer, landowners can use a grapple with their tractor’s front-end loader and third-function valve. That’s an accessible alternative for many homesteads.

Inside the shop, a 3/8-inch plate of Grade 50 steel goes under the cutter to become a base plate, while pre-cut Hardox parts wait nearby on the rack. Catawba moved away from A36 in this part of the build to get more strength out of the steel. From there, the pieces move into welding jigs that hold everything in place before the attachment heads on to paint and final assembly. Most of that work stays in-house.

Shop tour: inside Catawba Attachments

There are many tractor implement manufacturers out there, and we’ll get into why I’m at Catawba Attachments today. Cody is taking us into the shop to see a state-of-the-art facility right here in small-town America.

Before we head in, Cody, please tell us what you manufacture for small landowners like me.

Why the Catawba land leveler stands out

I brought home a demo Catawba land leveler. After seeing the build quality, there’s really no comparison to cheaper units I looked at. The blades are reversible and replaceable, tall sidewalls (about 14 inches) give stability while grading, and it uses replaceable skid shoes and plow bolts rather than carriage bolts for longer life. For a detailed look at the leveler itself, see our post on the Catawba Attachments Land Leveler.

Closing notes: who this is for

A property full of brush and downed limbs gives a grapple plenty to do. A rough gravel drive points more toward a land leveler. Before buying the grapple for a Kubota, check the tractor itself for a third-function valve so you know the hydraulics are ready for it.

A big thank you to Cody and the team at Catawba Attachments! If you need a quality implement for your tractor, check them out at CatawbaAttachments.com or CAttachments.com.