[Groundcover Solutions]

I am looking at purchasing a Express Blower truck (EB-30). I am looking for some advice. To my knowledge there is no one using one of these trucks in my area. There are quite a few medium to large landscaping companies that i feel i could target.
First off i would like to take a look at my market and see if it can support the purchase of this unit. I am not too sure about how to do this. I am thinking of making up a some sort of survey or something and sending it out to a few of the landscaping companies to see there interest. Also i am going to need to secure some financing for the unit due to the fact it costs over $200,000. I would just like some input from other landscaping companies that have used this type of service and companies that offer this service. Also if there are other applications that this unit can be used for. any help on this would be great thanks.

 

[bam]

if you plan on financing a 200, 000 unit you better have a good business plan and do alot of research. i see youre 19 and I'm not to sure if you know of the time and effort it takes to operate one of these machines. the unit is probably best known for mulching operations, however you can also apply pre emergents in the mulch, topsoil (topdressing) applying seed in that, or even stone. having spread mulch and soil with the eb unit I can tell you that with a good quality mulch you can blow a good amount of mulch in a day. With dry soil, your rate decreases by about 2/3 and if you have junk mulch or poor, wet soil, its easier to do it by hand. The operation is usually seasonal, in the spring everyone will need you, but in August not alot of work. again in sept. you can pick up topdressing jobs. and then you need to factor preventative maintenance and downtime when something breaks. in the few years we had the machines, we've gone thru several sets of hoses, have had eb reps out to make repairs and have sent mechanics to learn the ins and outs of the unit. if you do more than mulching, or get into stone apps, the maint. will increase and your augers will wear alot quicker.

and while the company may claim its a one man operation thats far from the truth. usually a driver/operator, and even a second operator work best, with times using a man to follow up and clean the mess that the machine makes. they do clog from time to time, and to free the hose you can't get all the mulch to blow neat into a bed. shifts may also help and having a mechanic on call and one to do preventative maint. on the off hours.

also i dont know what you consider a medium to large landscape company, but at least for larger ones, I would think they have a thought out plan to mulch...They either do it by hand, have their own Express blower or Finns.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

Thanks for all of your advice it is very helpful information. I do not plan on buying the unit for another year or so. I will not be financing the entire 200,000. I I know that there is risk involved that is why i plan on doing allot of research. Did you research before buying your unit and if so what did you do. thank you again for your help and any more information would be great. I know this entire thing to every one sounds pretty absurd seeing as to that i am only 19. yes i am young yes i do not have a ton of experience, but i am willing to learn and i feel that in my area that this could be an extremely profitable business to add on to the the small landscaping business that we have now. So any more advice on how to better look at my market and get some hard facts to show to my investors and the bank would be highly appreciated. The more that I am prepared the better and it is better to find out sooner that this will not be profitable then later.

 

[BRL]

Do a search here, as there have been a few good threads about this already that would surely help you . Good luck.

 

[DUSTYCEDAR]

where i am at many guys have finns and they will blow mulch for $40 a yard seems hardly worth the expense to own one. see what u can get a yard might be better to put that money in the bank. good luck

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

Yes it dose seem that you would not be making much when you look at it in single yards. But most jobs that we would take on would be quite large. Most small jobs can be done by hand. Yes we would do small jobs now and then but i would think that with the speed you can do a large amount of jobs. I feel it all depends on the market and that is what i am trying to find out. I just need help in how to research my market to find out the need.

 

[DUSTYCEDAR]

do u have a space to store and load bulk mulch if so how much will it cost per yard to buy. i use three different mulches takes up alot of space plus a loader that will reach over the side of the truck to load. those are big trucks do u have a cdl. can u get enough work done in the short mulch season to make it worth wile.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

I have a place to store both the truck and the mulch. I am in the process of getting my CDL (Was getting it for another reason already). As to the last question that is what i am trying to research. I need to find the need for a service like this in my market. I think there is but i am not sure how to go about finding out what the need is, that is what i need the help with. Thank you for your suggestions and comments keep them coming this is all good stuff.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

Ok i am doing some # crunching and i know all market areas are different, but if someone with one of these units could tell me there average yards per day. I am also figuring 20 weeks out of a year that the unit would be used is this high or low. Also it is looking that I would have to make around $70,000 per year to pay for the truck and an employee, do you think that this is feasibl. My market area is highly populated with medium to high wealth homes and business. I feel that it is possible to make this much. I am working on a letter to send to a few local landscaping companies to try and figure out my market a little bit more. Any more help from you guys would be great i can not thank you enough for all of your help.

 

[ProMo]

the mulch co near me started with one truck and now have about 5 of them I charge 65-70 per yard to install mulch i buy it in bags for about 28 per yd these guys blow it in for 29 dollars per yard i have had them do a couple of jobs so far and i made the same money making a phone call and letting them do the work

 

[DUSTYCEDAR]

u need to go to business in person and see if they have a need or just brush u off. place an add in the local paper for contractors or even homeowners that prep the bed's and u blow the mulch 4 them. ma by a bill board would u be buying a new truck or a used one warranty and such . by the way at 19 how are u going to come up with that kinda money? at 19 i was broke but happy.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

As far as the money I have a few friends that have loaned me money before. These people have quite a bit of money and like to invest in ventures like this one. The rest of the money will be gotten by way of the bank with a cosign from one of these people. I am looking at a new one but a used one is a possibility but the warranty is something that I would want. Like I have said before I know that I am young and you people tend to think that young people can not run a large business. I feel that I am able to do this I just need to get solid evidence that the my market can support a unit of this magnitude. and again thanks for all of your help, this site is great!!

 

[conepile]

The EB-30 will likely run a little higher $ than that, depending on options. You might look a little bit deeper to see where the nearest company has blower trucks. You might be surprised. I looked at buying one last year (an EB-30), and determined I personally could not develop a business plan that would support the numbers I wanted to generate. However, I have seen two new trucks in my area just this year, so perhaps they figured out how to support a $200k asset by balancing capacity and demand. The mulch season here is pretty short, and there wouldn't be any difficulty utilizing the capacity of the truck. However, it's the rest of the year that is the key. Erosion control has the potential to be huge portion of your operation, but you have to gain technical expertise and develop that business yourself. Some areas are alredy aware of the erosion control capabilities and benefits of an Express Blower, but that business had to be developed. It is not as simple as putting out your shingle and saying "I offer erosion control." Further business is terraseeding and topdressing, which are great things to offer, but how big is the current market in your area, and what will it take for you to get in and develop it? Topdressing is not common in my area, except for golf courses, and they tend to have their own small topdressing machines.

One of the new trucks that is in my area does work exclusively for a large production builder (they do all of the lawn and landscaping installs). What happens when all of the local neighborhoods are built? Either move with the builder, or bear increased costs due to travel (which you would probably have to eat).

Anyway, my point is that you must have a sound business plan or you will lose your shirt. The product is great, and Express Blower (formerly Rexius) is a company with a great deal of experience in running these trucks as a business operation. They know what works for them. Some of that can work for you, but every area is different. As far as borrowing money, don't assume it is as easy to get as you might think.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

I think that there is one in my immediate area. I have just found this out it belongs to a company called Torre & Bruglio this company is quite large, actually they are the 5th largest company in the nation. Me and few other people are currently in the number crunching period trying to see if we can warrant the expense. This area is growing by leaps and bounds and will not be fully developed for quite a few years to come. When the area is fully developed there should still be a large need for this kind of application. I still need to talk to a few of the local companies about the amount of mulch that they put down in a year and if they would have a need for this kind of service.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

Ok i have compiled a letter that i will be sending out to about 60 Landscaping companies in the area. There quite a few more companies but i can not send a letter to them all right now. In the letter I have put my contact information and a small survey with a postage paid envelope to return it. I will be going to a few companies personally that i think could would be my best bet. Just thought i would give you an updated.

 

[kootoomootoo]

I have seen it all.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

I have seen it all

what do you mean by that statement

 

[lawnboyil]

We were going to have an oufti come in and blow 40yrds in on a job for us. he said with 2 guys it could be done in 8hrs. but granted the guy had the semi truck and tralier one. nice F$%*ing ride

 

[conepile]

Based on the pro-forma provided by Rexius (I visited them in Oregon when looking into purchasing one), break-even on the EB-30 was roughly 6,500 yards of mulch per year, if mulch was the only business you did. This made some basic but critical assumptions on the cost of mulch and the price you could charge in your market, as well as insurance and maintenance.

Based on these figures (optimistic), I tried to model a 10,000 yard per year plan and could not figure out how to do it, considering the length of the mulch season during peak demand. That is why erosion control and terraseeding can be so important. Besides, mulch is the lowest margin product you can provide with the truck.

Please don't think I'm trying to be negative about this. It is a fantastic truck, and I feel it is superior to the Finn (I went to Cincinnati to see them as well). Just make sure you develop a sound, realistic plan. I know someone who owns an EB-40 that has regrets. People will not beat a path to your door. You have to develop the business, and then stay on top of it. If buying a truck and haning out your shingle was all it took, there would be plenty of trucks in your area now, or there would be right after you started and others saw how "easy" it was.

Planning is the key.

 

[Groundcover Solutions]

I agree completely with you about the planning. I want to make sure i can survive and make a profit in my area. Me and a friend put some numbers together and figured out that it would take an average of 60-90 yards per day to pay for the truck (over a five year loan) insurance and a full time employee. This is just on the mulch side. I have also contacted the owner of a company about two hours away from me. He told me that he works in my area and that there is plenty of work for both of us. He wants to meet to see how we can work together for both of our benefits. He is extremal nice and willing to help. Please keep it coming with things that i might not be thinking about i want to take every consideration into hand because this is such a big risk if not planed well.