The Once-in-a-Lifetime Innovation Shaking Up Mowing with Tim Zimmerman Ep. 19

Summary

Podcast Summary: Charged Up with Tim Allard

Episode 19 – The Once-in-a-Lifetime Innovation Shaking Up Mowing with Todd Zimmerman

Air Date: January 16, 2026
Guest: Todd Zimmerman, Crest Commercial

---

Episode Overview

The main theme of this episode is the game-changing innovations in electrified and autonomous lawn mowing technology, focusing on Crest Commercial’s breakthrough products—especially the highly anticipated Voyager robotic mower and its family of advanced, self-mapping robotic mowers and new battery-powered hand tools. Host Tim Allard and guest Todd Zimmerman dig into how these innovations are poised to transform the economics, labor dynamics, and quality of professional landscaping.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Crest’s Latest Innovations

• Todd teases the sheer scope of new products Crest is debuting, especially the Voyager ("quietly putting mowers everywhere").
• Quote: “We’ve got an army of mowers hitting the market for sure.” – Todd Zimmerman (01:21)

---

2. Voyager: The Industry-Disrupting Autonomous Mower

• Voyager's Impact: Billed as a once-in-a-lifetime innovation that will make the least profitable part of landscaping (mowing) the most profitable by slashing labor dependency and optimizing efficiency.
• How Voyager automates mowing, boosting margins and addressing staffing challenges.
• Quote: “Voyager truly is going to change the mowing industry forever for landscapers. If they understand the concept, it’s going to change the way people make money.” – Todd Zimmerman (01:58)

Important Segment

• How It Works: Employs RTK, stereo cameras, and VSLAM technology for robust mapping and navigation. Relies on a neural network trained with over 20 million images.
• Availability: Launching in March 2026 after extensive firmware and data collection globally.
• Quote: “It’s a game changer because…now I’m hiring a technician, I’m not hiring a laborer that’s going out and…cutting grass.” – Tim Allard (15:09)

---

3. The Mega 600 and Expanded Mower Lineup

• Mega 600 (KR238):
  • A 22-acre, 24-inch robotic mower designed for sports/turf fields and golf courses.
  • Boasts RTK, dual 3D vision cameras, VSLAM for all-weather operation, and a neural network for decision-making.
  • Launching June 2026.
• Crest I Pilot Series:
  • New two- and four-wheel drive models (half-acre, one-acre, and 1.5-acre sizes) integrating the trio of navigation technologies.
  • Features easy, self-mapping "auto install" using a phone app, making set-up simple for both dealers and homeowners.
  • Innovations like “create a one-time boundary with a garden hose” for property limits.
  • Quote: “You can create pathways, you can create Nomo zones…just do it manually on your phone. So installation becomes really simple now.” – Todd Zimmerman (05:04)

---

4. Terrain and Grass-Type Adaptation

• Discussion on four-wheel drive advantages: tackling slopes up to 39 degrees, navigating tricky or damp areas, and adapting to all types of US lawns (unlike the more uniform European market).
• The new models’ improved wheel design and motors help avoid getting stuck, handle thick/tough grass (e.g., St. Augustine or Bermuda), and maintain cutting speed even under higher load.
• Quote: “With four-wheel drive, it has a higher percentage chance to get out of an area that it may have been trapped in before.” – Todd Zimmerman (08:19)

---

5. Labor, Quality, and the Changing Face of Landscaping

• Autonomous mowers like Voyager and the new series are shifting landscaping from a purely laborer-driven trade to a tech-forward field, letting crews shrink in size, focus on quality, and add value through technician-grade work.
• Quote: “The maintenance is still pretty simple on the Voyager… fraction. There’s no gas, there’s no maintenance. Right. I mean, you’re plugging it in. Or you’re changing the blade. That’s really what it comes down to.” – Todd Zimmerman (15:59)
• Emphasis on cost savings, improved margins, and the psychological value of work (“elevates that position”).

---

6. Competitive Edge and Economic Reality

• Discussion of how electrical and autonomous mowing lets operators escape the “race to the bottom” on price—enabling higher profits even at lower bids, while traditional ZTR crews risk working at break-even:
  • Quote: "You could bid it 20% lower and still be making 60% profit.” – Todd Zimmerman (17:18)
  • Investing in this tech now is likened to a once-in-a-lifetime window, akin to the original rise of the zero-turn mower.

---

7. Battery-Powered Hand Tools: Tech, Costs & Productivity

• Crest’s handheld tools (trimmers, blowers) outclass or equal gas-powered equivalents in all categories except the very top backpack blowers.
• Flagship battery packs charge in 8 minutes and last for 3,000 cycles (6 years), massively reducing running costs.
• A productivity app allows tracking of tool, crew, and job efficiency down to the granular level, helping business owners optimize quotes and performance.
• Quote: "We are the world’s most expensive toolkit, but the least expensive to operate because the battery technology has 3,000 life cycles.” – Todd Zimmerman (24:00)
• Trimmers are seen as the easiest ‘conversion piece;’ most users won’t go back to gas after trying Crest’s tools due to reliability and minimal maintenance.
• Quote: “After they test one of these things ... I don’t know anybody that in their right mind would not throw their gas trimmer in the trash.” – Tim Allard (27:01)

---

8. New Blower Lineup

• Crest is releasing two new blowers at different performance tiers (KC520 and a new high-output backpack model to rival top Stihl/Makita options).
• Innovations include automatic turbo cut-off to protect batteries and prolong life; designed for small and large crews.
• Specifications: KC520 targets the mid-range pro market, can run on 2 batteries or the Crest backpack battery.
• Launch: The new models are rolling out in June 2026.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Transformation:

  • “We’re putting all the technology in a self-driving car and putting it into a ZTR and allowing you, the landscaper, to make more money for making tall grass short.” – Todd Zimmerman (20:02)

• On Reluctance and Opportunity:

  • “There are landscapers out there that are going to be fear of change...If you have a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it’s right now in front of you.” – Todd Zimmerman (19:39)

• On Data-Driven Management:

  • “Ultimately, you’re going to have data with, using our app to quote those properties with more accuracy because you’ll know the amount of time that you’re there.” – Todd Zimmerman (26:25)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00 – Tim spots the new Crest lineup and introduces Todd
• 01:58 – How Voyager will change the industry; Mega 600 unveiled
• 03:01 – Navigation technologies: RTK, stereo cameras, VSLAM explained
• 04:33 – Crest I Pilot self-mapping and consumer install simplicity
• 06:11 – Simple DIY property mapping for homeowners
• 07:10 – Why US lawns need four-wheel drive and improved traction
• 09:57 – New drive motors, wheel designs, and tech to prevent getting stuck
• 15:09 – Elevating crews from “laborers” to “technicians”
• 17:18 – How profits change with automation
• 21:18 – Innovations in battery-powered hand tools and business data
• 24:00 – Battery tech, lifecycle cost advantages, and ROI
• 27:01 – Why trimmers are the easiest pro tool to switch
• 28:55 – New blowers: specs and market fit
• 30:55 – Wrap-up and host sign-off

---

Tone and Language

The episode is upbeat, practical, and laced with both technical details and real-world business talk. There’s friendly banter, genuine excitement about innovation, and an undercurrent of urgency: now is the time to embrace the new era of lawn care.

---

Final Takeaways

• Crest’s lineup, especially the Voyager and new four-wheel drive robotic mowers, signal a leap forward for professional landscapers—solving both historic labor issues and client quality expectations.
• The move to full electrification brings hidden benefits: better margins, higher-quality work, tech-empowered crews, and long-term cost savings.
• Landscape pros should rethink their business structures and pricing models in light of these technological shifts—the opportunity is dramatic but time-limited.
• Battery-powered hand tools are already outperforming gas at lower total cost, with productivity features and data capabilities no legacy system can match.

---

Whether you’re a green tech enthusiast, pro landscaper, or considering how to sharpen your own backyard game, this episode lays out a clear vision for the future of turf care—one powered by robotics, batteries, and smart data.

Transcript

[Tim Allard]

Welcome to Charged up, the podcast, where the cutting edge meets cutting grass. We're diving deep into the electrification and automation revolution, transforming lawn care from the ground up. Whether you're a weekend warrior, a green tech enthusiast, or a landscaping pro, we're here to keep you powered up with the latest in robotic mowers, battery breakthroughs, and the smart tech reshaping your backyard and beyond. Your host, Tim Allard, has over over 15 years in the industry and has been charged up about the electric revolution for years. So plug in, power up, and let's get charged up.

Hey, this is your host, Tim Allard. Thank you for listening to the Charged up podcast today. I'm sitting here with Todd Zimmerman from Crest Commercial.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Hey, Tim, how are you?

[Tim Allard]

I'm great, Todd. It's great to catch up with you. It's kind of like a reunion.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Absolutely. I love it.

[Tim Allard]

I've had a chance to take a peek, very quick peek, about all the new stuff that's out there this year. I kind of walked through. I was looking for the Voyager because everybody's talking about the Voyager, and then I see all these other toys and I'm like, what's that? Oh, my goodness. Look at all these things. You guys didn't hype any of that up. You just kind of quietly threw a bunch of whole new products out there,

[Todd Zimmerman]

quietly putting mowers everywhere. We can put mowers. Right. We've got an army of mowers hitting the market for sure.

[Tim Allard]

Can you make sure that I'm like, top of the list to receive some of those?

[Todd Zimmerman]

I'm doing my best.

[Tim Allard]

Like, just put it up there. You know, my last name does start with an it.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Does it makes it easy.

[Tim Allard]

I should be first. Yeah, it makes it easy because I am really excited to. To try them. I did get to talk to DJ a little bit about the Voyager, so we will touch on that. I want to hear about some of this other stuff. Okay. I. I can't remember. I think you had told me when I first bumped into you earlier, the larger format.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Oh, goodness. So from a new product standpoint, the biggest launch we have right now is Voyager. Right. You talked to DJ earlier and. And Voyager truly is going to change the mowing industry forever for landscapers. Right. If they understand the concept, it's going to change the mowing industry and the way people make money. Right. Taking the least profitable part of your business and making it the most profitable part of your business. So. All right, put Voyager aside. On top of that. We launched our launching at Equip today. We refer to it as the Mega 600. It's the KR238 is the model number. It is a 22 acre, 24 inch robotic mower. It is designed for sports and turf as well as golf.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Cutting height is 0.4 to 4 inches. Like I said, it's a 22 acre unit that brings together three different technologies. So we still have RTK.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right. Our national coverage network. You don't have to have an antenna on property for it to be used. It is now equipped with stereo camera or dual cameras for 3D vision. And then we built in VSLAM along with it. So no matter what the environment looks like, whether it's shady or bright sun, we have the ability to make sure that mower continues to operate with having VSLAM and RTK together. The other part that really kind of makes this whole machine work is over the past four years we've been collecting data from the globe. We have more than 20 million-plus images in our neural network to tell that robot, if you see this, do that. If you, if this jumps in then didn't move. Right. So but it, it helps to look at those sports and turf specialists, the superintendents, a way to utilize their labor differently. And having a robot do the mowing for you and the person that was on that mower do something that's more profitable for your business. Right. Because typically, like we just said, the least profitable side of your business is the guy on the mower. Absolutely right. So the Mega 600 is will be available in June next year. Then the little brother to that is. We already have our cress RTK mowers that are out there.

[Tim Allard]

Yes.

[Todd Zimmerman]

In 2026 we're going to launch what we're calling this Crest I Pilot. So we have a two wheel drive versions and four wheel drive versions in each one. It will be half acre, one acre and one and a half. And we're doing the same thing. We're bringing those three technologies together like we talked about. Rtk, stereo camera and vslam.

[Tim Allard]

Yep.

[Todd Zimmerman]

To allow the unit to auto map. So the installation becomes even easier. Whether you're a dealer or a homeowner.

[Tim Allard]

I love it.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Or a dealer selling to a homeowner. Because dealers out there, we know you don't have time to get out from behind the counter and do installs. So sell them across ipilot that they can take home. Put the charging station down, connect to the phone, open the app up and hit auto install and let it map itself out. You can create pathways, you can create Nomo zones. When you do it, you just do it manually on your phone. So installation becomes really simple now. And with the technology, the intent is to make it low touch for whether you're a landscaper using it or a homeowner using it.

[Tim Allard]

So question with that. So you say it's self mapping, but say, you know, I live in a neighborhood and you know the three quarters of the lawns mine and the other quarter belongs to my neighbor.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yep.

[Tim Allard]

How do you train the mower to know where your property boundary is?

[Todd Zimmerman]

So if you're a dealer, you can use the mapping cart and just create that virtual boundary. If you're a homeowner, just take a garden hose and drag it across there to create a one time boundary.

[Tim Allard]

Okay.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Because it'll recognize that and see it as a one time boundary.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And then roll it back up, get it out of the way. And now it's created that virtual boundary.

[Tim Allard]

Okay. That somebody had a good idea there.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah. Very simple.

[Tim Allard]

Some of the other. So I guess talk to me about the smaller version. That's the four wheel drive. I love that because we have played around with the other RTK mowers and obviously up north we've got a lot of dampness. Whether it's wet or in the spring it's wet and if it rains a lot, it's wet. And we get in some of those positions where the regular RTKs even like on the ball field, you get that outer lying, you know.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tim Allard]

It's not really gravel. But that.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yep.

[Tim Allard]

That non turf area.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

Which you know, it gets a little confused sometimes and it'll start to dig in and then all of a sudden it's like, hey, I can't find my charging station.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right, Right. Yeah. So look, the one thing that we realize in the US which is completely different from Europe, is not all lawns are created equal in the US Right. Everybody has a different layout. You can have, you know, dips and valleys. You could have a tree that was taken out and you've got a root sticking up or a cre, a cavity that it created. So four wheel drive is there to give the landscaper and the homeowner confidence that it's going to overcome those challenges where two wheel drive gets stuck today.

[Tim Allard]

Sure.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right. We have the ability to handle 39 degree or 84% slopes. That's vertical or horizontal. Right. No other, no other four wheel drive unit out there today can do vertical and horizontal. It's just specifically vertical.

[Tim Allard]

Yep.

[Todd Zimmerman]

The unique part of it is that the front and back of the unit on four wheel drive are independent of each other.

[Tim Allard]

I saw that.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So that allows four wheels to always be on the ground at one time or at minimum at least three which allow that unit to escape those things we just talked about and continue mowing. Right. And that's the biggest thing is again, not all lawns are created equal.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And the robot can will understand your yard. But with four wheel drive, it has a higher percentage chance to get of an area that it may have been trapped in before.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah. Now, do you foresee that style, that design? Super. Kind of like taking over where the RTK started, whether it's two or four wheel. Just because you, you know, especially you get up near us, it's not flat.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

There's a lot of terrain. I mean even, even flat's not flat when you get up north.

[Todd Zimmerman]

I mean some of it's going to be in my opinion, I think our, our crest, I pilot four wheel drive is probably going to outsell the two wheel drive because people have more confidence that four wheel drive isn't going to get stuck. Right. The two wheel drive, with the advancements we've made in the drive motors and the wheels that we're using, doesn't matter Whether you're on St. Augustine or Bermuda, it doesn't get stuck anymore. Right. That's what the biggest complaint was is that even a two wheel drive in that weed of a grass, now that's me, I'm not an expert. But it doesn't grow up, it grows sideways. Right. And it's really thick.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

But as we looked at it, we changed our wheel design so now it helps in those thicker turfs. M We've updated our motor to a higher output motor. Even the technology itself is. We've advanced so much that now the unit can, can detect when it's a thicker area of grass. So in that instance, most robots or most even mowers, the blade will slow down because it's in thicker turf. And on a robot, if it slows down, then it goes, I'm stuck. I'm going to go back the other way.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Because of the technology we now can go. We can sense that it's a higher load, make the blade spin faster so it can get through that and maintain your cut and not see it as an obstacle anymore. All right. So there's so many different technology advances that robotic mowers, even in crest that we've had over the past 24 months, 36 months. And the whole intent is to limit the number of stops, limit the Number of interactions and be able to handle any terrain that you can throw at it.

[Tim Allard]

Sure. I didn't get a good look. I'm definitely going to get back out there and look at it better. How? I mean, I know it has a more aggressive wheel pattern for the front

[Todd Zimmerman]

for the four wheel drives. Yeah,

[Tim Allard]

do. So do those steer just like the standard RTKs? Are they on like a swivel?

[Todd Zimmerman]

So it's not on a swivel, but it's a servo motor is what's in each of those.

[Tim Allard]

So each one will turn independently.

[Todd Zimmerman]

It's almost like a ztr. Okay. And the reason we did that is because we wanted to make sure that we had a tight turn radius. The other reason is because when it does that tight turn radius or any turn, we didn't want it to tear up the turf.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right. So we wanted those wheels to be independent to make sure that it turned appropriately without being too aggressive for the turf underneath to be a bare spot at the end of the day, which doesn't help anybody. You're not going to want a robotic mower to go out and tear your turf up.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

You want it to look like a landscaper just came with perfect stripes every time. And that's the advantage of having rtk. The advantage of our RTK is it's perfect stripes in your lawn at any pattern you want it to be.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah. And I've noticed depending on the grass, especially on the smaller RTKs, one of the. The things that I've noticed, and I don't think it's a big deal, but I think it does add to the possibility of getting stuck, is that the grass will sometimes wrap around those. Those brackets that hold the front wheels on.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

And I think it probably in some fashion makes its maneuverability a little bit more difficult, which in turn causes it to get stuck. I don't see that a lot, and it really depends. I find it more often when it's a situation where the grass is a little bit longer. I mean, as you know, we've been doing the ball field.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tim Allard]

That. That's great. It's consistent. Unless somebody closes the gate on us.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right, right.

[Tim Allard]

And then we can't. Then I got to go down and save it.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

But I think overall I've. I've been very pleased. So any of these advances are great.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

You know, I had confidence before. Of course. I'm sort of an anomaly, I guess, in this industry because we embraced the battery power a long time ago. Four years ago.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah. Yeah. You guys are One of the first ones.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah. And so, you know, we embraced it early and got to see a lot of its advantages and a lot of people are just barely coming around to the handheld side of it, but.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

But for us, it was like, okay, what's next? I mean, battery powered zero turns are great, but they're still zero turns. They're still heavy. You still need a guy sitting on them.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

So you still have the labor issues and so, you know, what's the next thing? And then when we started hearing about this autonomous stuff, I'm like, this is a game changer because for us and you and I haven't talked a whole lot, but for us, we're going to retool how we're doing things next year. We're getting away from a lot of the hoas. Of course, now the Voyager makes me think maybe we don't need to. We do need to price them. Right.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Correct.

[Tim Allard]

But it will make it easier to price them. Right. Because then it's not a matter of, you know, it's going to take us 14 man hours because. And three or four guys to be able to go out and do this property. That's going to take us over half a day.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

And so now, you know, we can start looking at those things differently. But even more so to my perspective of the fact that, you know, I planned on getting back out in the field next year and rebuilding and kind of loading our schedule with, you know, single family, high end residential people that understand this is a premium service. This is where we started.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

And somehow we got sidetracked with, you know, other things with, with the larger revenue, bigger properties.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

You know, the cash flow is great. And, and so now, you know, we've got some other stuff going on with other business ventures. And so it's like, you know what? I think we're just, we're going to step back to where we wanted to be.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

And so we're going to have to get small to get big. Big.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

But we're going to sort of hit the reset button and say, okay, you know, we want to find our ideal customer Y and that is our customer. Right. If you're not that, then you're not our customer.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

And so I think the Voyager is going to allow us to do that, which will be awesome because now that two man crew becomes a one man crew.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Absolutely.

[Tim Allard]

So I can go out there and if I want, I can go out through, you know, I've got a Voyager on my truck, I've got all my Hand tools, launch the Voyager. I go out and trim and blow, we load up, we go on to the next one.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Absolutely. And that's what it's there for. I mean that's the intent of having a fully autonomous robotic mar.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah. And I think the other piece of that, and I told DJ this, I said, I think it's going to change the game when it comes to the stigma of the industry. Because now with, with the robotics, with the battery powered stuff, the autonomous stuff now I'm hiring a technician. I'm not hiring a laborer that's going out and you know, cutting grass. I'm hiring a technician.

Right.

That's going to go out and they have to trim. Well, their focus is going to be more on quality. It's not just about blowing through and getting these lawns done, making money. It's about going out and providing a quality high end service. You're going to be able to, you know, obviously know how to maintain it. But the maintenance is still pretty simple on, on the Voyager.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

You know, compared battery powered in general, the maintenance is.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah. I mean, fraction. There's no gas, there's no maintenance. Right. I mean you're plugging it in.

[Tim Allard]

Yep.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Or you're changing the blade.

[Tim Allard]

Exactly.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right. That's really what it comes down to.

[Tim Allard]

Exactly. And so I think, you know, it's going to sort of elevate that part of the industry and will probably make it easier for me to find help.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

Because now, you know, you're hiring a guy. Yeah. He's going out and he's trimming and he's blowing, but he's also, he's working with this technology.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

So it's, it kind of, it elevates that position and hopefully with, it's a great perspective with, with the cost savings in essence with you know, not having all the added pieces being able to cut down on the labor force and make it a more profitable run venture when it comes to cutting grass now I can probably pay them more and, and I think they'll appreciate the position a little bit better. It's not, it's, I don't know, I think it's just going to change the style.

[Todd Zimmerman]

It is. Yeah. But, and, and that's what like your perspective is what we're, we're hoping that it happens a lot. Right. From you know, someone like yourself who has again been in cordless for four years. So you, you've seen what cordless benefits do for your business, not only from an operational standpoint but from a productivity and cost Savings. That's where Voyager is coming from today for landscapers. Right?

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Previous to this, it, you had two options. A cordless mower, but you still had the labor. Yeah, right. Or a unit that had had a kill switch. Nothing wrong with either one of those. But it wasn't fully autonomous. Right. It didn't allow you to go from two to one. Yeah, right. It didn't have the opportunity to take the least profitable and make it the most profitable because you still had somebody that was watching it or sitting on it or riding on it. Right, yeah. So we're really looking for, from a crest standpoint, those landscapers like yourself that get it right that, that want to go out and grow their business and not worry about racing to the bottom for bidding mowing jobs. Because the guy with the ZTR is going to be broke at some point. He's going to be at break even. He's going to bid the job at zero to get it. You could bid it 20% lower and still be making 60% profit. Yeah, right.

[Tim Allard]

No, absolutely.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So. And that's the unique part of the opportunity that's in the industry right now. Right. It's right in front of every landscaper today at Equip to think through how your business can change and how you can make more money by mowing more grass. No one's ever said that before.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah, it is. I mean, you look at any other industry or any other part of this industry and the margins are so much greater in every other piece of it.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

And you know, I, I don't know, there's just. And used to be everybody would say there's a low barrier, low barrier of entry.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

There's really not when it comes to battery power because it is more expensive.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.

[Tim Allard]

But I think there's just so many more pieces to it. Like when I was talking to dj, I mean, you take any zero turn, battery powered or otherwise.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

The guys are hard on it. They're running into stuff with it.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

You know.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

The Voyager, it's going to be like having an employee that doesn't mess things. Yeah, it will.

[Todd Zimmerman]

It won't call in sick. Yeah, right. It'll show up on time. Yeah. It'll mow in the rain if you want it to.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

So not going to run into stuff. It's not going to run in to the inside of your trailer. Right, right.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So I mean there's, there's a lot of benefits and I, and I look, I understand there are landscapers out There that are going to be fear of change.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right. There's landscapers out there that aren't afraid of change. They can, they understand the concept and like yourself, those are the ones that we want people to change the industry. Right. If you have a once in a lifetime opportunity and it's right now in front of you. Right. From a landscape industry, the last innovation anybody seen as Moen was a ztr.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And how long ago was that?

[Tim Allard]

Right, right.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And all we're doing now is taking is of all the technology in a self driving car and putting it into a ZTR and allowing you, the landscaper to make more money for making tall grass short.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

That's the simplicity of it.

[Tim Allard]

Absolutely. And it's, it's, it's great stuff. I'm glad to see that it's coming. I mean, I know there's been a lot of talk with different companies.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Oh yeah.

[Tim Allard]

Out there, the buzz forever. You know, the things are coming. Things are coming.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

But you guys are making it happen.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

That's what I like when you say, hey, next year this is coming out. Next year it comes out.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah. And if not, we'll be honest with you. Hey, like the beginning of this year, 100% honest. We hoped that Voyager is going to be ready in March of this year.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

All the hardware components was ready. It was the firmware that wasn't because we didn't have the data collection. So literally from the beginning of this year to now to the end of this year.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

We've had units across the globe with landscapers cutting.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

But it's collecting data.

[Tim Allard]

Right.

[Todd Zimmerman]

We're putting in the toughest situations. So we know when we launch it in March that it's going to be 99.9% where we want it to be. And the other 10% we're going to have to get more data to figure out what's going on.

[Tim Allard]

Sure.

[Todd Zimmerman]

But the nice part is it's a firmware update. Right, Right. You don't have to replace the machine, you just have to update the firmware.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah. So let's dive into the hand tools because obviously I think that is, that's an area that granted it doesn't, it's, it's not as you know, wow. Is, is the Voyager and some of the other stuff coming out.

[Todd Zimmerman]

But it is, if you look at it, it is.

[Tim Allard]

But I'm saying from, I mean, it is. I don't disagree with you but for, for most people, you know that I have been using gas, it's been A struggle to change. And I think now you guys are, you know, with your 10 day trial program, you're getting those tools in the hands of people to try them out. And, and even if they're not a hundred percent sold on every piece of that line, you sell them pretty quick on a few of them. I mean, I gotta tell you, when it comes to trimmers, there's, I mean there's no, there's no argument.

[Todd Zimmerman]

There can't be if you look at it from handheld. Right. So in 2023, Crest was here. We launched a battery technology that the industry hadn't seen.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And thankfully nobody still has seen it. Right. It's only from Crest. So in the biggest thing we talked about it, right. The why haven't landscapers converted to cordless faster? Now we'll take your company out because you guys saw the opportunity and jump, right?

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

But it simply came down to, and this was back to 2011. It doesn't have enough power. I'm scared it's not going to be as productive. Right. If it's not enough power, I'm not going to be as productive. I don't know how to charge all the batteries I think I'm going to need. And if I'm going to need all of those batteries, then my cost of investment is way up, Right?

[Tim Allard]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Todd Zimmerman]

With our battery technology, we have more power than gas product, except in one, which is a blower and we're equivalent.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So if you have more power, you have more productivity. Right. The battery technology allows us to charge the battery in eight minutes. And with our cybertank, which is the on the go charging, it's essentially like having a power bank for your phone. Yeah. Right. You charge the cyber tank overnight. It's your bank of energy for the day. You charge those batteries. So the simplicity of it is if you have a three man crew, at most you need five batteries because you're swapping those batteries out per day.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So when you look at that and go down from a. Okay, take it one step down. Well, the upfront investment, we will 100% tell you we are the world's most expensive toolkit, but the least expensive to operate. Why and how can that be? It's simple. The cost of our tools are about the same cost as buying a gas product.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah.

[Todd Zimmerman]

The energy is what is the most costly piece of it. The batteries are 3000 life cycles or 6 years. 3000 life cycles is 10 times the amount of life cycles of a standard lithium ion battery that's out there today. So the reason it's the least expensive to operate is because you're essentially buying your fuel for 10 years today at a deep discount. So we are the world's most expensive toolkit, but the least expensive to operate because the battery technology has 3,000 life cycles. Right. You're. You're essentially buying 10 years worth of fuel now at a discounted rate. What it actually equates to when you keep breaking the break it down one more level is, and we've talked to a bunch of different landscapers across the country in different parts. On average, when you switch over to Cordless Crest Commercial, you can save a thousand dollars per operator annually. Right. A thousand dollars annually per operator. Now you may go. Okay, well, thousand dollars doesn't seem like a lot. You have a three man crew, that's $3,000. Right. You have 10 crews, that's $30,000. Right. I mean, it adds up as you continue to look at it. But what if I could sit here and tell you that I can save you another $5,000 per crew? What would you want to do?

[Tim Allard]

Take it so.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Exactly right. You jump at the opportunity. So the 5,000 is in our app. We have a productivity piece in our app now that we just launched two minutes ago. Not two minutes, two months ago. Sorry. And essentially we can now track the productivity of a product on a property. The runtime, the amount of time it's been on that property, the crew that's been on that property, the amount of time they've been on there compared to another crew, and then also the transportation time or travel time from each property to property. So now a business owner like yourself can look at this productivity app and the reports and at a glance go, well, crew B isn't as productive as crew A. So I need to look at crew B. Maybe they need more training. Yeah, right. Maybe the blower there, they're still using on four. So they're there longer. Right? Yeah. Or maybe they were on there because it was more complicated, but now you know it. Right. Ultimately, you're going to have data with, using our app to quote those properties with more accuracy because you'll know the amount of time that you're there. You know, amount of time the string trimmers run. So you're going to know the labor costs.

[Tim Allard]

Sure.

[Todd Zimmerman]

By product, by yard size. So all we're trying to do is give the, the landscapers more data to run their business more profitably.

[Tim Allard]

Yeah, I think that is, it's very beneficial to have an app that you can track that on. It's going to take a lot of the guesswork out, which is going to be really good. The other piece of it that I look at is with the, just with the trimmers. That's the easiest conversion piece for you guys because I don't know anybody that in their right mind would know not throw their gas trimmer in the trash.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

After they test one of these things because.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Right.

[Tim Allard]

I mean how many times have, you know, the, the, the mufflers build up with carbon.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

You know, the spark plugs foul out.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yep.

[Tim Allard]

Somebody put straight gas in it and you smoke it all together.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Exactly.

[Tim Allard]

And really a lot of even unfortunately, I hate to say a lot of your commercial trimmers, they're throw away trimmers.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

I mean.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Yeah.

[Tim Allard]

They're not going to last as long.

[Todd Zimmerman]

It's not worth replacing them. Yeah. It's not worth repairing them. Sorry. Yeah. Right.

[Tim Allard]

But I would say, and you know, it'd be great to. I'm sure you guys have the knowledge and stats on this, but your, one of your trimmers, you know, battery aside, just looking tool to tool, you know, how much longer does that tool last than a gas equivalent?

[Todd Zimmerman]

Oh, I mean, so our commercial warranty is three years. Right. We test them to a gas standard. As far as the number of hours, the vibration, everything that it goes through. The part that's easy to say is everything you pointed out. You don't have to worry about the carburetor, the muffler, the string braking, the spark plug. You don't have to change the oil. You don't have to worry about somebody putting the wrong mix in. All you're worried about is a brushless motor that's really efficient and high power and then electronics to keep the trigger moving.

[Tim Allard]

And it's warrantied for three years.

[Todd Zimmerman]

And it's warrantied for three years. Right.

[Tim Allard]

If you're going to break it, you're going to break it in three years. Right.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So you're going to break in about the first three weeks. Well, yeah.

[Tim Allard]

And I mean and realistically, I mean, are there, are there going to be ones that need to be warrantied? Sure. There isn't everything. I mean, you got drive a new car off the lot and what's the likelihood that something's wrong with it? I mean it's slim, but it happens. And you know, nothing is, is a perfect science.

[Todd Zimmerman]

No, that's awesome.

[Tim Allard]

You know, you're going to have things like that. Talk to me about the new blowers. I know you got a little bit of time, so I don't Want to get too long? Talk to me real quick about the upgrades on the blowers.

[Todd Zimmerman]

So we have two new blowers launching at equip this year. We have one on the lower CFM side. So it's the KC3, I'm sorry, the KC520 that will be sold as a kit. It's going to come with two batteries and a charger. Now the two batteries are going to be 5amp hour batteries. The retail will be 699 to 749. Somewhere in there. Launch it in the June time frame. This one is targeted towards the smaller landscapers that want to use commercial equipment. Okay. Looking at they're more conscious about where they are. Not that all landscapers are not, but they know they need a cordless blower. The unique part about this is it can use two batteries or remove those two and you can use the Crest commercial backpack batteries with it as well. Yep. So on that one it's 32 Newtons. But the 32 Newtons is on turbo. Turbo will only run for one minute and then it will go to the next level. One of the biggest things landscapers always ask owners ask is don't let them always use Turbo. Well, now we have a way to do that. Okay. But when it's not on turbo, it's like 27 Newtons. It's 22 Newtons, 19 and 13, something like that. It's 200ish, 208, 210 miles an hour and roughly 700 to 8800 CFM. So that unit is meant to compete against the BR600 as far as performance wise.

[Tim Allard]

Sure.

[Todd Zimmerman]

We have the current one, the KC500, which is the BR700 comparison. And then the big brother coming out is going to be the 42 Newton, which is competing against that BR800 from a performance standpoint. Right. And we'll say it right. All of our other products are more powerful than gas, except our backpack blowers, which are going to be equal to what's out there in the industry. So we're really trying to look at it from the small landscaper for production to the larger landscaper to have blowers that will satisfy the different applications.

[Tim Allard]

Okay. I'm going to be respectful of your time. I could ask you many, many more questions because you guys have so many cool new toys that come out this year and I'm just eager to learn about them. But awesome. I appreciate you coming on.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Absolutely, Tim.

[Tim Allard]

I appreciate the time to sit with me and to catch up. I'm sure we'll catch up again real soon. We will, but thank you for being here. This is your host, Tim Allard, and we will catch you on the next episode of the Charged Up Podcast.

[Todd Zimmerman]

Perfect. Thank you.

[Tim Allard]

Thank you.

That's it for this episode of Charged up, where tech meets turf. If you enjoyed the ride through the world of electric and automated lawn care, don't forget to follow the podcast. Leave a well worded five star review and share with your fellow green thumbs and gearheads. To connect with Tim, check out the show description. Thanks again for listening. And until the next time, stay sharp, stay smart, and stay charged Up.

J.