Greenworks is the Brand of Choice

Carrollton, Texas has a range of outdoor spaces including parks, sports fields, trails, disc golf courses, and even dog parks. Kim Bybee is the Parks Manager overseeing maintenance for all these properties, so she’s quite familiar with the difference that a new tool can make. When her Park Superintendent Richard Clark suggested swapping to electric, they both did their research—and they had their field crews test the equipment as well.

“We literally brought our staff over and had them try the equipment out,” Kim says. “We went and put it in the field, and Greenworks just happened to be their favorite. They liked the ease of use, just how the equipment operated, and the quality of cut we were getting.”.

Greenworks Commercial had a few key advantages that made the difference for Carrollton. A major factor in moving over from gas was reducing how loud the tools were. Gas-powered lawn equipment is notoriously loud, with gas string trimmers idling above 80 decibels and peaking over 100 during use, well past a harmful threshold! By comparison, quiet electric engines are safe and non-disruptive, letting grounds crews work on properties during early morning hours without disturbing occupants..

We asked Kevin Arnold, Mowing and Sports Field Supervisor, about noise concerns. “We have to be careful what time of the day we get to some of our neighborhood parks. Because some of our parks are bordered right up next to a house, or several houses, or even an apartment complex.”.

But for commercial landscaping crews, waiting to start work until mid-morning or pausing wastes valuable time and keeps crews on jobsites longer than needed. That’s where the true advantage of quiet battery-powered tools comes in—starting as early as possible and working through the day gets jobs done faster, in one go..

Kevin continues, “So if the guys get there too early and they start cranking up their Stihls, or whatever, all their diesel and gas mowers, I mean—we're going to get complaints, and we have in the past. But with this [Greenworks] unit, the first day they were out, they were mowing our fire admin building—[the employees] didn't even realize that we were out there working until they were headed off to lunch.”.

Beyond the lower noise, Greenworks Commercial battery-powered tools are also easier for crews to use. Many operators start out hesitant about electric tools, but simply trying a Greenworks Commercial Optimus product often convinces them..

Dyllon Maes and Zack Sweeney are both professional landscapers with the Plug and Play Crew that looks after Carrollton parks. We asked them about their experiences with Greenworks Commercial Optimus Tools to get honest feedback about switching to battery power..

“You get so used to like the gas-powered machines and, you know, the feel of them,” Dyllon says. “I was really surprised when we actually started using these things that they keep up. And that's amazing.”.

As a professional landscaper working with Greenworks Commercial tools every day, Dyllon is also concerned with the reliability of the tools he’s using. For a crew in the field, a tool running out of gas, breaking down, or running out of battery charge can be a huge inconvenience and lead to cascading delays. That’s why he’s grateful for the EnergyCube, a key piece of the Optimus charging system..

“So the EnergyCube,” Dyllon says, “Man, this is the brains of the operation—if we don't have this, this whole operation isn't running. We've got our charging cables over there. And also, we have these charging boxes over here, for our batteries. You'll run through a lot of batteries throughout the day because we do pretty big parks.”.

EnergyCube keeps batteries and larger machines like ride-on mowers and zero-turn mowers charged throughout the day and fully recharges their fleet overnight, just part of the specially-designed electrical charging infrastructure offered by Greenworks Commercial. But Optimus tools are also smarter than gas engines, using energy efficiently to sustain their use through long jobs..

“The thing that's different with this is you can adjust the blade power as you mow,” Dyllon continues. “So if you've got shorter grass, you adjust it lower, so you can just go through it. The thicker grass, you knock it up to full speed, and it really does get the job done.”.

Plus, operators prefer the Greenworks Commercial Optimus lineup because of the safety features. Anyone working with powerful machines respects the danger they present, and knowing that Greenworks designs specifically for safety is a relief to many landscapers..

“The blade safety—that's always an important thing when you're on these machines,” Dyllon says about our riding mowers. “Having blades that'll turn off, like when it recognizes that you're not on it—it's something that'll save an arm or a leg.”.

Zack is also glad to be using Greenworks Commercial Optimus tools; they’re ergonomic and lightweight without compromising on power, making them more pleasant to use. He says about our string trimmers, “I like the torque. I like the balance. It's balanced pretty well. The batteries aren't too heavy—you'd think it'd be a lot heavier. It's a great machine.”.

Of course, the operator experience is important, but Kim is also satisfied with the price of Greenworks Commercial tools. “We already had equipment that was up for replacement,” she says, “And instead of buying gas-powered equipment, I just bought electric equipment. And I was actually able to buy two pieces of electric equipment for the cost of one gas mower. So, it was a savings for us. With that savings, we were able to invest in the EnergyCube.”.

Overall, the move to a Greenworks Optimus lineup has been a huge improvement for the Carrollton parks team. Not only is the equipment just as powerful and long-lasting as their prior gas tools; they’re also enjoying the improved ergonomics, reduced noise, lower costs, and improved safety features. It was clear to Dyllon immediately that, once he started using Greenworks tools, he was never going back..

“I know they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but—man you’ve just got to give it a try,” he says. “Like get in there, get on the machines, test them out, and you really will see that they do compete.”

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