Landscape Management, June 2017

profit centers Mowing Landscape Maintenance KENTUCKY EXPO CENTER LOUISVILLE KY 800 558 8767 WWW GIE EXPO COM OCT 19 20 2017 EDUCATION Learn from experts and discover best practices from your peers G RUNAWAY JUNE UNCLE KRACKER THE CRASHERS ALASKA MADI REGISTER EARLY SAVE 15 BEFORE SEPT 7 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET June 2017 50 Continued from page 48 Tampa Fla With the tagline Put Your Lawn on Autopilot the companys goal now is to use robotic mowers to supplement the work of a traditional landscape crew Our focus has always been on that wide open wild west of the fragmented residential maintenance market as opposed to other companies that try to get out of that area as fast as they can and into other services like design build and irrigation says Crandall We see this as the biggest opportunity to create good experiences for the customer Last winter Robin tested robotic mowers on 12 yards including Crandalls and Lomonts Crandall has so far tested seven different robotic mowers from five different manufacturers in his own yard According to a story on DallasNews com he settled on custom units provided by Positech Robomow and Husqvarna Since March when the company formally introduced its robotic lawn care services to new and existing customers Robin has installed more than 50 units The model is install and lease Customers pay an upfront cost of 99 199 depending on yard size and whether they chose a monthto month or annual contract for the company to install the boundary wire within which the machine operates Recurring pricing ranges from 15 per week for just mowing to 37 per week for full service maintenance which includes biweekly edging weeding trimming and fertilization Customers are responding really well People get out and take pictures of these things in action Crandall says But like any new service we are having to learn things along the way and there have been challenges working out the kinks One big challenge was theft Of the 12 mowers installed at beta sites three were stolen within two weeks The company decided to install an aftermarket GPS tracker inside each unit After reinstalling the remaining mowers three of them were stolen again but were recovered thanks to the GPS capabilities Right now Husqvarna is the only manufacturer that includes a GPS tracker in one of its higher end robotic mowers Crandall says His team is working to provide manufacturers feedback that GPS is a necessary addition to every model All of Robins robotic mower service packages include insurance on the mowers and protection against theft Another concern has been the accidental cutting of the systems wires by aerators and other machinery The company also had to figure out how to deal with accessing fenced in backyards without requiring the homeowner to purchase two units or having to physically move the mower from the front yard to the backyard Crandall and his team invented a patented door technology that allows NETWORKING NETWORK Build powerful connections Plus enjoy three nights of free concerts NEW PRODUCTS Compare and test new products equipment and technology in 900 exhibits indoors out DO IT ALL AT YOUR INDUSTRYS MEGA EVENT