Landscape Management, December 2015

lighter weight equipment has allowed them to increase their productivity Blundon says on average his two crews combined are maintaining an extra lawn per day Blundon has marketed the service through social media and email blasts The company even created a slogan Give Green a Chance which it painted on its trailers and includes with marketing materials The landscaping industry has traditionally been slow to make changes but its important for contractors to break away from that mold Blundon says There are better mouse traps out there You just need to be willing to make a change For us we see these changes as a key part of our future VALUES BASED BUSINESS Clean Air Lawn Care Miami Headquarters Miami Fla Client mix 100 residential Service mix 90 maintenance including fertilization 10 installation Employees Less than fve Mariana Ureta owner of Clean Air Lawn Care Miami has been using electric powered equipment from Stihl and Black Decker since she started the company a year ago Her Miami location is one of 46 franchise locations of Clean Air Lawn Care founded in Fort Collins Colo in 2006 All the companys equipment including their walk behind mowers blowers and string trimmers are battery powered Theyre charged with a solarpowered trailer that was developed in house She cant compare her electric solar powered equipment to gas powered alternatives because shes never used them but she says has no concerns about the equipments production abilities Plus the equipment is lightweight and quiet which both crews and clients appreciate When I decided to go back to work after spending several years at home with her children it was important for me to open a business that ft my personal values and that I feel good about Ureta says Ureta says her green angle including using solar powered equipment and organic fertilizer has been a point of differentiation for her business Our equipment uses lithium batteries which are very light effcient and quick to charge she says I can charge the batteries for my blower and trimer in about 10 minutes While its certainly been a great selling point with clients and the company heavily promotes its green services Ureta says the catalyst behind her green operations had more to do with personal values Battery powered equipment fts with my personal values of sustainability she says I am proud of providing a service that produces minimal emissions Getz is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia Core Outdoor Power CoreOutdoorPower com DeWalt DeWalt com Echo USA Echo USA com Ego Power Egopowerplus com GreenWorks GreenWorksTools com Husqvarna Husqvarna com Infaco Infaco USA com Kobalt KobaltTools com Makita MakitaTools com Mean Green Products MeanGreenProducts com Oregon Cordless OregonCordless com Ryobi RyobiTools com Stihl StihlUSA com Tanaka Power Equipment Tanaka USA com Worx Worx com DECEMBER 2015 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET BP5 PHOTO CLEAN AIR LAWN CARE MIAMI Clean Air Lawn Care Miami uses only battery powered equipment BATTERY POWERED EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS Looking to buy non gas powered equipment Start your research here