When Ben Gassib entered the construction business more than two decades ago, his motivation was one that a young person of any era could easily relate to.
“I was a big skier,” he laughs, “And back then, you could take winters off.”
Twenty-some years later, Gassib has long abandoned thoughts of open-ended winter skiing vacations. Not that he has any regrets.
“Today, I’m full throttle in my business,” he says.
That business is Gassib Landscape Design, based in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, a self-described professional construction company specializing in creating patios, outdoor kitchens, pavers, plantings, and other hardscape design projects for home and small-business owners in New Jersey’s northern Bergen County.
Founded in 2008 by Gassib, who worked solo, the company now has four “core” employees. During the busy summer season, an equal number of workers usually reinforce these regulars.
“My business has always grown, and it’s completely referral,” Gassib says, adding that he does no advertising except the occasional Facebook or Instagram post.
Gassib prefers this sort of internal, “organic” growth that focuses on clients with whom he has forged strong relationships rather than chasing new ones with only the occasional and usually smaller projects. “I’d rather work with people who know who we are and the quality we can produce.”
Pivoting to Battery Power
The hardscape industry, like many others, is undergoing a significant shift as part of a rapidly growing movement from gas-powered to battery-powered equipment. Driven by multiple factors, professionals are quickly recognizing the advantages of this transition, from the ease of use on job sites to the reduced maintenance required back at the shop.
In 2020, the storage shed that Gassib maintains in nearby Little Ferry, New Jersey, was broken into overnight, and all his smaller power tools were taken. It was a nasty surprise, but Gassib quickly saw this unfortunate moment as an opportunity to pivot his business to battery power.
“I was like — Okay, I’m cutting the cord,” he recalls. “I’m finally getting rid of all this corded and gas-powered stuff and going full throttle into battery-powered Milwaukee Tool to replenish what we lost.”
Not that Gassib was a newcomer to the brand, having long been an avid user of Milwaukee’s M18™ cordless drills, grinders, and chop saws, among other items.
“A Milwaukee tool is just a better tool overall,” he explains. “Once Milwaukee began introducing all these more powerful batteries, including MX FUEL™ batteries to run larger equipment and the super-fast charging ports, I had to switch. It just became so much easier to work with this new, battery-powered equipment.”
Besides running longer and charging faster than previous generations of cordless equipment, the new battery technologies benefit from two critical parallel trends. The first is the ongoing and widespread problem of high and frequently spiking gasoline costs.
“It’s crazy how much our company now spends on fuel in a year,” Gassib notes.
Just as important, a growing number of states and municipalities are restricting the use of gas-powered outdoor equipment while offering tax breaks and other incentives to encourage the move to electric alternatives. According to Gassib, speaking from personal experience, some of those locales are in New Jersey.
“A firm like mine has to adjust to stay one step ahead of the game,” he continues. “That’s why I’m investing more in the new battery-powered equipment Milwaukee is producing.”
Gassib’s Initial MX FUEL™ Choices
Gassib Landscape Design has invested in a number of Milwaukee Tool’s large, heavy-duty solutions within the MX FUEL™ system, powered by MX FUEL™ REDLITHIUM™ FORGE™ batteries, currently Milwaukee’s most powerful, fastest-charging, and longest-lasting batteries.
The first solution was the MX FUEL™ 14” Cut Off Saw w/ RAPIDSTOP™. When powered by the new MX FUEL™ REDLITHIUM™ FORGE™ XC8.0 Battery Pack, this saw can cut up to 14 feet fully plunged in concrete, or up to 39 cuts in 8” cinder block. Because it is battery-powered, the saw is safe to use indoors as well as outdoors, eliminating the headaches of engine maintenance and starts up at the push of a button. Its RAPIDSTOP™ Brake not only boosts user safety by stopping the blade in three seconds but preserves the saw’s blade by reducing unnecessary rotation or manual dragging to stop. The unique AUTOSTOP™ Kickback Control will automatically shut off the saw whenever it senses severe kickback.
Gassib’s second key acquisition was the MX FUEL™ 20” Plate Compactor to help make the critical task of site preparation through compaction faster and easier than gas-powered equipment. Engineered for compacting flatwork, foundations, and utility trenches, the cordless Plate Compactor compresses and removes entrapped air from soil, sand, gravel, and other aggregate materials to increase the site’s strength, stability, and load-bearing capacity. It is the only plate compactor in its class with the ability to move in both forward and reverse directions. When paired with the MX FUEL™ REDLITHIUM™ FORGE™ HD12.0 Battery, the Plate Compactor delivers 35 minutes of continuous run-time — or 5,000 square feet per charge.
Milwaukee Tool’s fastest charger, the MX FUEL™ Super Charger, further enhances productivity with this equipment. It recharges the MX FUEL™ REDLITHIUM™ FORGE™ HD 12.0 batteries to 100 percent in only 65 minutes and, even faster, the XC8.0 in only 45 minutes. Featuring the innovative COOL-CYCLE™ Active Cooling System built into both the Super Charger and MX FUEL™ REDLITHIUM™ FORGE™ XC8.0 and HD 12.0 batteries, users are provided high-speed cooling to allow sustained productivity while swapping batteries. Using two batteries per piece of equipment, a landscape contractor can dramatically minimize downtime on the job site.
Gassib reports that his crews have been impressed with the performance of these MX FUEL™ products.
Gassib acquired the 20” Plate Compactor after making a week-long, side-by-side, job-site comparison with his existing, gas-powered machine.
“That plate compactor is awesome,” Gassib explains. “Its side handles make loading and unloading much more efficient. The guys are not killing themselves by wrestling a 400-pound machine into the truck.”
Gassib also likes how easily the plate compactor can reverse its movement, providing a unique forward and reverse directional movement capability. Simply hit reverse and back away from the wall, corner, or narrow area without having to pull the plate backward and causing it to dig in.
“No more dragging the machine in reverse,” he says.
As his crew learned the capabilities of the new battery-powered equipment, Gassib recognized the payoff potential. Freedom from gas-powered equipment would ultimately generate “tremendous savings” in time and money, he explains.
“My guys can just change the battery and keep moving on the job,” he says. “Over time, the MX FUEL™ system will save us time beyond belief.”
Why Go Battery-Powered?
Gassib cites several significant improvements that these MX FUEL™ solutions have provided his company to date:
No more gas and maintenance frustrations: Moving from gas to battery power allows Gassib’s crews to avoid the tedious task of carefully mixing gas and oil when fueling their equipment.
“At least two or three times a year, the oil for each machine needs changing,” says Gassib, reciting his litany of maintenance routines. “Same with the air filters. Plus, the belts might pop off two or three times throughout the year, so you need to buy new ones. Then there are all those times you’re cleaning out the carburetor because you bought some dirty fuel.”
With battery power, the Gassib crew is spared all such upkeep hassles and the accompanying productivity-draining downtime. Lithium-ion battery power involves minimal maintenance while starting even the most heavy-duty piece of power equipment entails push-button ease.
Less noise, zero emissions: Beyond these performance and productivity gains, battery-powered equipment improves worker health and well-being. For one, removing gas from the tool equation eliminates emissions. That’s good not only for the environment, but also for the hardscape professional’s respiratory system.
“You wear a mask, but it’s still not enough,” he says. “With cordless, no one has to worry about the fumes, including our customers, because they don’t have to smell gas going into their homes,” a common frustration expressed by homeowners.
Battery-powered equipment is much quieter than their gas-driven counterparts. Consequently, productivity should be better because the quieter environments make it easier for equipment operators to communicate with one another. But worker health is also enhanced, Gassib says.
Maximized Productivity Through One Battery Platform
One of the biggest reasons for Gassib’s enthusiasm for MX FUEL™ is the critical advantage of battery compatibility across the entire system. All MX FUEL™ batteries are compatible with all MX FUEL™ equipment and chargers. Instead of managing multiple gas types for multiple pieces of equipment, hardscape contractors can streamline operations by using MX FUEL™ to power more than 20 solutions on the same battery platform.
“We have two different job-site trailers,” he continues, “and I am working to have both carry the same equipment. Using the same batteries with all those tools and equipment makes it a lot easier to manage what we need on the job each day.”
At the same time, Gassib is making room for these solutions on the trucks by removing the older, gas-powered equipment and the gas cans once needed to keep them operating.
Not long ago, Gassib was making a sizable purchase from a local vendor where he buys equipment and masonry products. A fellow customer skeptically commented on how much he was investing in battery-powered equipment.
“I told him, think about how much I will save over the next two years on gas and oil, on air filters and strings, and how much time I will save not cleaning carburetors or draining the fuel to winterize the equipment,” Gassib says.
“With all that savings in time and money, these purchases will pay for themselves,” he says.
This article was published in the July/August issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
