Landscape Management Editorial Director Seth Jones stopped at the Echo booth at Equip Expo 2024 to talk to Echo President and CEO Harold Redman about what sets the company apart from other competitors, battery-powered advancements and more. Redman also tells us about his favorite piece of versatile equipment.
Transcription:
SJ: Seth Jones
HR: Harold Redman
SJ: Hey everybody. It’s Seth Jones, Editorial Director of Landscape Management magazine. I’m at 2024 Equip Expo, and I’m being joined by Harold Redman. He is the CEO of Echo. Harold, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today.
HR: Thanks, Seth. Thanks for coming in.
SJ: Yeah, for sure. Your booth is cranking right now. Everything’s good. So you’ve been with the company for about a year and a half. Now, tell me a little about yourself, where did you come from, and how did you end up at Echo?
HR: I’ve had over 35 years of experience in outdoor power equipment, so I’ve been attending this show for a long time with other companies before coming to the position here at Echo. I was with Briggs and Stratton for 18 years, and simplicity manufacturing for several years before that.
SJ: Okay, great. Well, tell me what sets Echo apart from its competitors?
HR: A couple things. Number one, I think the true quality of the product, because we’re focused on the commercial landscaper as our first target, the way we take care of the customers, especially those landscapers, when they need parts and service.
SJ: Okay, great.
HR: The people mean everything and it’s a really good culture. They make great products. We support the customers, and you can tell the people enjoy the business.
SJ: You have a vast product line, and there’s a lot of things that you guys offer, but is there anything that really stands out in your mind is something that like is in your garage that you really appreciate and you enjoy? Give me a piece of equipment that you love.
HR: I like the blowers. I have a battery blower. It’s the most versatile piece of equipment for cleanup around the home. And it’s usable all four seasons, whether it’s light snow, whether it’s leaves, whether it’s blowing out the garage. So it’s just versatile in addition to the normal cleanup of moving grass and leaves.
SJ: How do you feel about your customers and how they feel about battery power right now? Obviously, there’s a lot of advances that have been coming along the way, and we’ve been trying to cover it as good as we can. But how do you feel about like, where they’re at with it right now?
HR: I think it will still take a while to evolve, Seth. We certainly continue to sell a lot of gas products, but we have had some of our customers, even on the commercial side, start to purchase portfolios of battery products, whether it’s regulation in local municipalities or other types of rules that maybe eliminate sound. So our desire was to offer a similar portfolio of battery products that are the same as gas, except the power source. Customers are familiar with the saw chains. They’re familiar with the part of the unit that does all the work. And it’s a very simple strategy, but it’s very effective because they like our tools. So the battery tools shouldn’t feel and operate any different than the gas tools.
SJ: Okay, great. Well, Harold, thanks for taking the time, and congrats on all the people you got running around the booth here today.
HR: Thank you very much.
SJ: Everybody, this is Harold Redman, CEO of Echo. I’m Seth Jones, thanks for watching us here on Landscape Management TV.
