Brown Equipment Company (BEC), a dealership offering equipment and service solutions in several Midwest markets, invited local industry professionals to its North Canton Service Center in Ohio for an opportunity to network and explore multiple high-end machines and products.
One such machine was the Mulch Mule, a large landscaping trailer designed to save manpower and labor hours as it transports and distributes a variety of materials, including mulch, soil, leaves, stone and more.
“It reduces the need for additional labor, it reduces labor hours — so it’s a labor saver — it drastically boosts morale and retention, and it increases safety on a jobsite,” says Andrew Maillis, equipment consultant at BEC.
During the open house, Maillis gave the LM team a tour of all the available features of the Mulch Mule, including the 15 cubic yard carrying capacity, curbside discharge conveyor, rake and shovel clamps, wireless remote control, rolling quick-discharge live floor and optional Billy Goat vacuum attachment. And with work lights, cone holders and the ability to add custom company graphics, Maillis says operators can stay safe and professional while they double their productivity with only a third of the manpower.
Also at the open house was Jef Gregg, operations manager for Wadsworth, Ohio-based company C&S Lawn Service and Landscape. He says since his company got a Mulch Mule, his productivity has skyrocketed, and his crews can stay fresher.
“Our guys love it, especially the guys who were around before when we used to just shovel out of trucks. It makes their lives tenfold easier,” Gregg says. “The fact that they can roll up to a shoot, hit a button, they can fill up their wheelbarrow and they’re off and they don’t have to jump into the bed of a truck, shovel out and then jump back down and take off, it’s cutting the physical labor that they’re doing by like a third.”

In addition to mulching and distributing other materials, Gregg says the Billy Goat vacuum attachment has been another game-changer for his teams.
“Fall and leaf cleanups are such a difficult time of year because you’re still trying to get all of your other jobs done and you can never schedule when these leaves are coming down,” Gregg says. “Having a piece of equipment that’s sitting there with a vac system on it, and you know it’s good to go and you know how much it can hold, is amazing.”
In addition to viewing the Mulch Mule and all the other equipment offered by BEC, Gregg says the open house and industry events in general are great opportunities to learn from peers and connect with others.
“Coming to stuff like this I think is integral for the growth of your company,” Gregg says. “Networking, speaking to people, meeting people — even if they are technically competition — it is very good to come to stuff like this and meet your peers and to talk to people and to open up that network.”
And Gregg’s own Mulch Mule was being serviced at the North Canton facility at the time of the open house, meaning he got to interact with the facility staff, ask questions, get updates and even learn how to better utilize and operate his machine. He says he initially bought his Mulch Mule used, so learning new tips and tricks from BEC at the open house was very useful.
“We talked to the service and sales guys here today, and I’ve used this thing 100 times and I just got a bunch of information where I was like, ‘OK, I’m doing that wrong,’” Gregg laughed. “I learned all that stuff today, and it’s stuff I’m going to try out.”
That kind of service is important for BEC, says Jamie Read, marketing director for BEC. She says focusing on helping customers and ensuring they are properly equipped to best use their new equipment is a top priority.
“We take pride in providing training to our customers and focusing on it being a partnership, so that comes with sales and our after-sales support, which is our service team,” Read says. “The training itself is free as part of our commitment to customer success.”