For anyone who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks, K&D Landscaping, a 40-year-old company in Santa Cruz, Calif., is out to prove them wrong.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, K&D Landscaping is transitioning all handheld equipment and the majority of mowers to battery power, says Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping, which provides 50% maintenance services and 50% construction services to a 30% residential, 70% commercial clientele.
“First and foremost, it's an edge against our competition when it comes to efficiencies and finding how we can give our crews the tools that they need to get the work done as quickly, efficiently and effectively as possible,” White says.
In the interest of staying ahead of the curve, the company also wanted to plan for California’s new rule about emissions.
“When the state of California passed the regulation that they want to move to electric and battery power over the next five years, that really opened our eyes," White says. "We know the writing is on the wall, and we wanted to stay ahead of it."
K&D also started to ask customers how big of an impact it would be if it went all electric on their properties.
“It was pretty clear that the majority of our clients really wanted an option for battery and an option for no gas on-site,” White says.
Beginning in early 2023, the company started trying out different brands, garnering feedback and measuring key performance indicators before deciding on Kress.
Up the efficiency
Since implementing the technology, K&D has noted improved efficiency in several areas. First, crews no longer have to fill up the gas and oil.
“Most of our gas-powered equipment has to be refilled three to four times a day, and those small gas cans have to be filled up once a day from the big gas tank,” White says. "That mixing of gasoline and oil on a regular basis slows down crews.”
Less maintenance has proven to be another positive side effect of implementing the equipment.
“Our equipment was constantly going in for maintenance, whether it was an oil change, an air filter, or it just wouldn’t start,” White says. “Now all we have to do is grab the equipment, put the battery in and go.”
White notes that between less maintenance and gas, this saves about 10 minutes per employee per day.
“If you have 100 employees, now you’re saving 1,000 minutes, and if you do that every day for over 250 working days, the math starts to add up and you may have just saved the worth of three fulltime employees,” White says. “If you’re a company with five employees, it’s harder to see that ROI, but it’s still there.”
Return on investment
When it comes to return on investment, White says he expects the equipment to have about a three-year ROI.
“Between gas, oil and maintenance over three years, that will recover the added expense of the batteries and the battery-powered equipment,” White says.
The other two ROI factors may be harder to measure, White says, but they’re just as important: employee retention and client retention.
“Employees have newer tools that have less vibration and less fumes and less noise,” White says. “For client retention, I believe as we get more of our clients over to electric, it's going to be harder for them to leave because of the value that we provide.”
White says he’s seen that play out already with customers. In fact, in the homeowner’s association in which the company tested out the equipment, the company’s crews are referred to as “the landscape ninjas” because homeowners can’t hear the work being done.
“It actually became an issue because we got complaints from people saying we didn’t do their yard,” White laughs. “We actually did, but they didn’t hear the blower, so we instituted a system of door hangers to let people know that we maintained their property at this time.”
Training time
While some employees liked the nostalgia and reliability of gas that they’ve become accustomed to over the last 30 years of working in the industry, the company believes that eventually everyone will come around.
“There still is pushback and there's some holdouts, but we believe that over time, the product is going to speak for itself, and as people get more and more familiar with it and use it more, they're going to see that the equipment does provide a little more of an efficient platform and an easier utilization,” White says.
So far, White says the company has not had any employee come back after a week and say that it won’t work for them.
White adds that companies should engage in safety training to ensure batteries aren’t becoming too hot, and other training to help employees make the most of the equipment.
For example, battery-powered blowers will work best when used differently than gas-powered blowers.
“Most people will just grab a blower and go full throttle, nonstop, but with battery, you actually feather the trigger and use different settings,” White says. “You don't need all that power all the time.”
Words of advice
For other companies looking to implement new technology—whether it’s battery power or software or something else—White says finding the right partner should be a No. 1 priority.
In doing so, White recommends keeping an open mind and trying out many products from many different providers.
“Pick your partners really wisely and test drive a lot of different ones," White says. "When you find the one that you really commit to, that you feel their values and products are in alignment with what you need, go all in with them."
