2 min read

Joe Langton & AOS

Picture of Jenna Patrick Jenna Patrick : Apr 10, 2024 12:42:33 PM

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Automated Outdoor Solutions CEO Unpacks Adding the Human Element to Automated Mowing

How does AOS benefit landscape business owners?
I am a landscape business owner myself. When Langton Group was considering purchasing our first automated mower, I remember our CFO, my brother John Langton, had questions. What does it cost to maintain this machine? To winterize this machine? To install this machine? With the rental and subscription model AOS uses today, I can tell a landscaper what it costs to pay AOS per acre and answer their questions typically within the first conversation.

Has your range of experience in the industry influenced your role?
Back in 2016, I said something I should have trademarked. Our industry has reached the grass ceiling. I have always been able to pay my snow removal professionals better than my lawn care professionals because clients are not willing to pay more for mowing services. The rapid growth of AOS came from my realization that automation is a scalable clone that allows companies to pay great team members more.

Does automation bring lawn care costs down significantly?
Let’s start with the glaring number. With a full subscription, AOS can set a business up to mow most grass for $25 an acre. If that number does not convince you of the savings, I would ask you to factor in overtime and environmental pressures. If automation could keep your people from having to work Saturdays and Sundays, would automation be worth it? Even in a break-even scenario, most of us would say yes.

Echo Robotic Mower. Picture from Automated Outdoor Solutions

What can a new AOS client expect from your services?
Our differentiator is that we are willing to put our money where our mouth is. AOS buys the robot, and our customers subscribe to use it. We are not just selling you something. We are here to make lifelong relationships, and we have credentials. I studied circuitry in school and was a union electrician for 11 years. My daughter, Julia, is a mini version of me. When I hang up my hat, she will be lightyears ahead of anyone else in the space because she has been in it since she was 16. You have found a pot of gold with us.

What drives you professionally?
The only way landscaping can move forward and evolve is if the professionals—people who have figured out better ways—share their knowledge with the ones just starting out. That is one driving force, but there is another. My passion is equipping business owners in this industry to pay themselves what they deserve.

Pictured above from left to right: Julia Langton, Joe Langton and John Langton