BOOSTING YOUR BUSINESS Robot By Jill Odom
Revolution: The Future of Labor and Landscape Maintenance
“LANDSCAPING IS A GAME OF MINUTES WHERE YOU’RE TRYING TO BE AS productive as possible,” says Jarrett Herold, co-founder and COO of Electric Sheep Robotics, Inc., based in San Francisco, California. This is why many landscape companies are seeking a competitive edge with robotic mowers.
“Labor management remains a top
priority for our company, and integrating robotic equipment enables us to rede- ploy our current workforce to other tasks while these machines handle routine activities,” says Corey Williams, president of Color Burst Landscapes, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
WHY ROBOTICS? Robots can take on monotonous tasks like mowing and also increase the efficiency of these jobs in certain cases. For instance, the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has a collection of vintage aircraft arrayed on over 130 acres of grass that needs to be
cut constantly. Keegan Chetwynd, director of the
Military Aviation Museum, estimates they save around 260 hours per iMow each year. “They save money, of course, but more
importantly they save time,” Chetwynd says. “That time savings and the ability to re-focus employees on education and delivering a better guest experience means that our museum can’t afford to NOT have iMows supporting the team.” Where there are early adopters, there
are also skeptics. Justin Mosely, maintenance busi- ness development for Plants Creative Landscapes, based in Decatur, Georgia,
encourages those still wary of robotic mowers to test them out first at their home or company headquarters. This will allow you to understand the benefits of continuous mowing and the current shortcomings of these machines. “You can get yourself into a pickle if
you go out and install 10 of these things and you don’t really know what you’re doing,” Mosley says. “You’re just going to end up with a lot of problems and headaches.” Tim Blinten, maintenance production manager for Mariani Landscape, based in Lake Bluff, Illinois, agrees you should start small and learn. Williams suggests arranging demos
with vendors like Sycthe as they can provide insights into how robotics can integrate with your portfolio of proper- ties. Herold adds that you don’t need to be the first in the industry to try things,
30 The Edge //July/August 2024
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