How one landscaping company stands apart from the crowd

Decatur, Georgia – In some ways, Pam Dooley’s company isn’t anything new. In backyards throughout the greater Atlanta area, the employees of Plants Creative Landscapes perform the same tasks as other landscaping services. Pam’s team trims bushes, pulls weeds, prunes flowers and, for at least nine months out of the year, mows lawns.

However, there’s one big difference between Pam’s company and a majority of her ”green industry” competitors: Pam employs robots.

Yes, you read that correctly. Pam is one of a growing number of professional landscapers who rely on Husqvarna’s Automower® for at least some of their weekly lawn maintenance contracts.

”I like the cool factor of it,” Pam explains during a recent sit-down interview with Husqvarna. ”It’s a very conversational thing. We work in communities, and people talk. [Automower® robotic mowers] are fun!”

Pam has owned and operated Plants Creative Landscapes for fifteen years. For the past two years, Automower® robotic lawn mowers have formed an integral part of the Plants business model. The company leases the robots to customers for regular lawn maintenance in the spring, summer, and fall seasons, then they collect and service the units during the winter. Pam also sells and installs the robots, offering each purchasing customer the option of an Automower® service contract.

Pam believes Automower® offers some major, game-changing advantages to the owners of companies who choose to incorporate the technology into the way they do business.

”We really, really see it as a labor solution, so that’s something I am super passionate about,” Pam says. ”I know it’s attracted people into our company who don’t have landscape backgrounds… they see us really innovating in a different way.”

As much as Pam believes Automower® offers benefits for a landscape company’s ownership, she also identifies some clear benefits for team members on the front lines of landscape maintenance and renovation.

”When the [Automower® robotic mowers] are doing their thing, our crews show up and they can just literally start bed maintenance,” Pam explains. ”We do hand pruning, we do a lot of weed control. So they have to do really minimal touchup on the turf… they just show up and focus on ornamental maintenance.”

Pam is far from alone in seeing a place for Automower® in the landscaping industry of the future. Many communities as well as individual homeowners are eager to find cost-effective solutions to the problems caused by the widespread use of gasoline-powered lawn equipment— namely noise and air pollution. A growing number of professionals have identified robotic lawn mowers, along with battery-powered tools, as a cutting-edge and entirely sustainable solution to such challenging issues.

For her part, Pam can attest to the fact that a forward-thinking strategy has proven itself to be a major success for her company. She believes it’s worthwhile for any professional to give serious consideration to this new technology.

”I would really strongly encourage companies to at least try a couple of units to identify customers,” Pam says. ”Again, it’s the early adopters… every company has those! And just really engage [and] educate… just try to help them understand that it is not taking jobs— it is building jobs. It is building opportunities to really set yourself apart.”

Pam sees Husqvarna as continuing to lead the way among all lawn robotics brands.

”I believe in terms of technology advancement, it’s hands down the best product,” Pam says. ”It is just that perfect lawn.”

Ultimately, the real test of robotic lawn technology may be whether the customers who pay for their lawn maintenance are happy with the end results. According to Pam, Automower® passes that customer satisfaction test with flying colors.

”The biggest surprise for me – like the biggest benefit – is how healthy the lawn looks all the time,” Pam says. ”I just got a call this morning from a customer who said ’I just want to tell you I am so happy to leave my house every morning and see how healthy and beautiful my lawn looks. It’s 24/7!’”