Tool manufacturing giant enters landscaping market

MILWUAKEE – Milwaukee Tool unveiled three battery-powered products for the landscaping market yesterday at its New Product Symposium in Milwaukee.

The company held the event to unveil 200 new products across multiple different markets. The products, which will launch in spring of 2017, are part of the M18 FUEL system and are the company’s first venture into the landscaping market.

The three products are all fully compatible with the whole M18 system, meaning contractors who own multiple tools in the system are able to switch batteries between all products.

Shane Moll, president, power tools, says their vision is to have a completely cordless jobsite, and adding landscaping equipment to the lineup was something they were excited about.

“That’s been a unique investment for us,” he said. “Our commitment is always to the pro; our focus in on delivering a pro experience, no matter what we deliver.”

String trimmer. The new M18 FUEL String Trimmer is powered by the M18 Redlithium High Demand 9.0 Battery Pack. According to Andrew Lentz, a product manager with the company, it has a variable speed trigger, “to give operators more control. When you pull this trigger, it’s all on immediately.”

Lentz said the string trimmer isn’t the type of equipment to completely replace gas trimmers for landscape contractors, but he says it’s a good product to compliment the gas lineup.

Hedge trimmer. The M18 FUEL Hedge Trimmer is an “all out” replacement for gas, Lentz said. It feaures a 24" blade and is able to cut through thick branches in a single pass. It also delivers less weight and lower vibration and noise than gas.

Leaf blower. Milwaukee’s blower will meet the demands of contractors who need to remove lawn debris, but it will also meet the demand of hardscape contractors who need to clear a space of debris before pouring concrete. Lentz said that when they talked to contractors about blowers, the consistent comment they heard was that everyone wants more power and more runtime in equal amounts.

“We’re able to deliver the right combination of power and runtime,” he said.

Lawn & Landscape will post product specs when the information is released.