Landscape Management Editorial Director Seth Jones stopped at the Kress booth to talk to Kress CEO and Founder Don Gao at the 2024 Equip Exposition. Gao talked about the new embrace of battery-powered equipment, it’s impact on Europe and America and more.
Transcription:
SJ: Seth Jones
DG: Don Gao
SJ: Hey everybody, it’s Seth Jones with Landscape Management magazine. I’m at Equip Expo 2024 being joined by Don Gao. He is the founder and CEO of Kress. Don, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. How’s this show going for you guys so far?
DG: It’s very good and very busy, as you can see.
SJ: Absolutely. So we were talking yesterday, we got a chance to sit down and chat for a while, and one of the things you said to me that caught my ear is, you feel like now is the time in the market where people, he says, not if, but when, people are going to be embracing battery power. Why do you feel that way?
DG: To electrify our industry has been, you know, been expected for a long time, in the past 10 years, but it didn’t happen because the battery technology does not support the transition from gas to the battery. Now because our battery technology is here, there is no single reason not to do it. From the power, from the cost, from the emission, from the health, to the workers, you have all the reason to do now. Not a single reason to not.
SJ: Why do you think Europe was faster to get into batteries than the U.S.?
DG: European in general, they are more, you know, concerned about the environmental things. So there is much more, you know, concern. But yesterday, what I said is faster because of robotic motors. Robotic motors is another mega trend. You know, they robotize our industries, really. You know, free the human being for those, triple the work. But in past years, past decades, robotic mode technology is different because they need a wide boundary, so that the mower can work. But, you know, Europe, because a simple lawn, they have a single, you know, piece of lawn, it’s easier to lay down the boundary wide. But U.S., you know, you have walk aways and your split of lawns by different pieces. So if you want to set up the boundary wide, you need to cut through the walkways, which is very difficult. That’s the reason why robotic mowers in Europe is much faster, advanced, much faster being adopted, and much more advanced than the North American market.
SJ: Everybody, This is Don Gao. He’s the CEO of Kress. I’m Seth Jones. Thanks for watching us here on Landscape Management TV.
