RC Mowers, makers of remote-operated robotic mowers, is showcasing the new customers who are using its industrial mowers for everything from minimizing safety risks to expanding the capabilities of their firms and hiring better employees.
The company’s remote-operated robotic mowers are best known for mowing steep slopes, hazardous terrain, around retention ponds and levees, and through thick brush.
Tim Kubista, VP of sales and marketing for RC Mowers, says: “Our customers tell our story better than we do.
“It has been a fabulous year for our business thanks to these companies, as well as the many others, who have seen the tremendous value of adding a remote-operated robotic mower from RC Mowers to their fleet.”
Landscape Workshop has 10 branches across southeast United States and purchased a RC Mowers TK-60XP in February of 2021. The company has several contracts with HOAs (homeowners associations) to mow steep slopes that are often overgrown to 2’ or 3’ high brush. They also work with retail shopping centers to maintain both their steep slopes and their retention ponds (for run-off from the parking lots).
Jeremy Comer, enhancements manager / account manager for landscape workshop in central Alabama, says: “In the past, when we had to tell our employees that they would be using string trimmers for two weeks, or that they would have to run mowers on hillsides for two weeks straight, they would dread it.
“It only takes one person with the RC Mowers remote to do the work of four people. Not only is it more fun for the operator, but they also avoid the snakes and getting twisted ankles or other injuries.” Jeremy added that the retention ponds can be breeding grounds for snakes such as “Water Moccasins,” whose bites can be fatal.
Ryan Aldridge, owner of Servant Specialty Mowing in Brandon, Mississippi, recently decided to pivot his mowing business to specialty mowing, including mowing on steep slopes and wet grass, and he bought a RC Mowers TK-52XP.
He quickly landed a job mowing around retention ponds at a local HOA and then at a major reservoir nearby. The reservoir had traditionally been mowed using bush hogs, but Ryan said that the bush hogs tended to slide on the wet grass when the slopes got too steep and often damaged the grass. Tractors often couldn’t get into some of the fenced areas around the dam.
Aldridge says: “Because the RC Mower TK-52XP has tracks, it is better for the slopes, which average 30 degrees, and it could easily get into the fenced areas.”
Aldridge worked his way into some jobs at the reservoir and they called him back on several occasions. “The RC Mowers TK-52XP has opened many doors because there are not many companies like mine that can mow steep slopes, wet areas, pipelines and more. I expect to generate more than $150,000 in revenue from the mower in 2022.”
Mighty Mouse Services, based in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, is in the business of vegetation management, stormwater control and related maintenance of drainage areas such as dry and wet retention ponds and bio cells.
Tim Cowder, CEO of Mighty Mouse Services, says one of his biggest challenges is finding good employees because “the days of people wanting to do manual labor are ending”.
By providing “fun stuff” like a remote-operated mower, Tim said that he could attract better employees.
Cowder also wanted to make sure his employees stayed safe. “If an employee is trying to mow a steep slope with a traditional mower and slips, he or she could lose an arm or a leg, or even worse, his life. We can replace a machine, but we can’t replace those things.”
Cowder adds: “On a steep slope about half an acre in size, my competitor will have 4-5 people using string trimmers and take eight hours to do the job. With the remote-operated robotic mower from RC Mowers we can do that same job with one person and get the job done in four hours, or half the time.”
RC Mowers offers three tracked mowers, and they work in sun, rain and snow, as well as in wet and muddy conditions. A rugged and water-resistant commercial-grade remote control is included with each robotic mower and most operators can learn how to use it in minutes. The mowers have several integrated safety features, are tested regularly and comply with, or exceed, ISO and ANSI standards.
