Why electrification matters now in tree care and landscaping
Vermeer was building electric machines before it was trendy.
Those first projects, centered on electric horizontal and tub grinders and electric trommel screens, weren’t about headlines or creating buzz. They were about helping customers cut fuel costs and keep operations quiet inside buildings.
“Back in the early 2010s, fuel prices were ramping up,” said Jeff Bradley, product manager for recycling and forestry at Vermeer. “And customers were looking for an alternative.”
That same philosophy — solving customer problems — still drives the latest battery-powered lineup from Vermeer. These machines are built for noise-sensitive neighborhoods and emissions-regulated zones. The initial rollout includes electric stump cutters, mini skid steers and brush chippers, released to select customers under a structured validation plan.
“We need to solve a problem for the customer other than being electric for the sake of electric,” said Bob Shuman, vice president of environmental solutions at Vermeer.
Today, several forces are converging to make the timing right:
- Regulatory momentum: Europe’s Stage V emission standards for non‑road mobile machinery set strict limits on particulate matter and emissions, shaping procurement and jobsite access across the EU. In the United States, EPA Tier 4 standards frame emissions compliance for many off‑highway machines.
- Noise ordinances and worker safety: Long‑term exposure at or above 85 dBA over an eight‑hour shift is hazardous. Source reduction helps protect crews and may expand working windows in noise‑sensitive areas. In cities like Toronto, noise bylaws limit when construction equipment — including diesel-powered machinery — can operate near residential areas. Electric machines may offer contractors extended working hours and access to sensitive sites without violating local laws. “Electric is very, very quiet compared to a diesel machine in most scenarios,” Bradley said.
- Fuel volatility: Diesel remains a major operating cost — and prices move weekly.
These pressures are reshaping contractor priorities. According to a 2023 National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) year-end survey, 31 percent of landscape companies are considering electric mowers, and 34 percent already use handheld battery-powered equipment for part of their operations.
“Electrification really is going to solve a lot of different problems for our customers — lowered maintenance costs, lowered cost of operation, but also sound is a big thing,” said Josh Vrieze, senior product manager for tree care, rental and landscape at Vermeer.
What Vermeer learned from its first electric machines
Electrification at Vermeer began more than a decade ago with tub and horizontal grinders. When diesel prices spiked, customers needed alternatives.
“Fuel is the biggest operating expense on a grinder. … Electric power can bring that cost down,” Bradley said. He noted that some grinder applications can consume around 50 gal (189 L) an hour, underscoring why energy costs dominate total cost of operation.
Electric trommels followed, offering quieter operation and lower maintenance.
“Trommels draw far less power than grinders and can often plug into site power or a generator with straightforward connections,” said Jay Van Roekel, product manager for recycling and forestry equipment at Vermeer. “For high‑use sites, the payback can be quick, though it depends on hours and local energy rates.”
Vermeer electric horizontal grinders
Vermeer electric tub grinder
Vermeer electric trommel screens
What Vermeer learned from early electric adopters
Here are three key lessons from early electric horizontal grinder and trommel screen projects:
- Infrastructure matters: Stationary grinder installations often require utility coordination, reinforced pads and a climate‑controlled control room. “On a big grinder, you might even need a dedicated transformer,” Van Roekel said. Early soft‑start panels were replaced by variable frequency drives that control motor speed and reduce the surge of electricity at startup “to cut inrush and avoid brownouts,” Bradley explained.
- Workflow fit is critical: “Electric shines when material comes to the machine,” Bradley said, pointing to composters, municipal yards and recycling sites. Operations that move a single machine across multiple material streams often continue to favor diesel for mobility.
- Customer education helps: High‑voltage systems can feel “intimidating at first,” Van Roekel noted, but training and clear checklists accelerate adoption.
Benefits of electric machines: What operators noticed
According to Bradley and Van Roekel, operators reported these benefits when using the Vermeer electric horizontal grinder and trommel screen:
- Quieter on site. “All you hear is crunching wood,” said Bradley, a plus for close‑proximity neighborhoods and indoor facilities.
- Steadier power under load. “Electric drives deliver the same torque all the time,” Bradley said, which often improves productivity compared to a similar diesel machine.
- Less engine maintenance and more uptime. “No oil changes and fewer engine‑related service stops” mean more time producing, according to Bradley.
- Earlier start windows. Some stationary sites that could not start until 8 a.m. on diesel could begin at 6 a.m. on electric “because of lower noise,” Bradley said.
- Simpler power for trommels. “Trommels draw far less power than grinders and can often plug into site power or a generator with straightforward connections,” Van Roekel said.
What’s next for Vermeer electrification?
The first wave of battery-electric Vermeer machines — the SC30 stump cutter, S450 mini skid steer and the BC1000 brush chipper — marks a deliberate step, not a finish line. These early units are going to select customers under a structured validation plan.
Why? Because the goal isn’t to flood the market. It’s to learn.
“Typically, you launch for high volume on Day 1,” Shuman said. Here, he noted, Vermeer is starting smaller to learn what truly solves a customer problem. That means Vermeer teams will be in the field, gathering feedback at various intervals. The focus: uptime, productivity, charging experience and whether the benefits — lower noise, reduced maintenance, torque control — translate into measurable value.
This approach reflects a broader industry reality: electrification is accelerating, but adoption varies by region and application. Regulatory pressure in Europe and California, combined with OSHA noise exposure guidelines and European Commission non-road mobile machinery standards, is pushing contractors to rethink power sources. At the same time, battery technology is improving, but infrastructure and cost remain hurdles.
“We want to make sure the investment customers make in these machines pays back in lower operating costs and reduced maintenance,” Vrieze said.
The design approach: Electric where it counts
Electrification isn’t about ripping out hydraulics and starting over. The Vermeer design philosophy was simple: electrify the functions that consume the most power, keep what already works well and make the transition seamless for operators.
“On the brush chipper, we really focused on the electric drive of the drum. On the mini track loader, we focused on the electric drive of the ground drive because that’s where most of the power goes to,” said David Gift, a senior engineering manager who works in tree care and landscape at Vermeer. “On other machines where we do not have large power consumption, we maintained a hydraulic system.”
That balance matters. It keeps the machines intuitive for crews and avoids unnecessary complexity. It also helps control costs.
Noise reduction was another design priority.
“What’s most noticeable is the sound — specifically on the SC30 and S450,” Gift said. “Those machines are very quiet.”
Lower noise isn’t just about comfort; it can expand working windows in neighborhoods with strict noise regulations.
Torque delivery was the third pillar. Electric motors provide consistent torque at low speed, which improves auto-feed performance on chippers and cutting efficiency on stump grinders.
“We believe we can get power to the drum in a more efficient manner,” Gift added.
The result: machines that feel familiar but unlock new advantages — without forcing customers to relearn everything they know.
When could the next Vermeer electric machines be widely available?
Not yet — and that’s by design.
Vermeer is rolling out a limited number of units in 2025 to early adopters in tree care, rental and landscape markets. These customers will help validate performance, charging logistics, and total cost of ownership before any decision on scaling.
“It could be a possibility that a year from now we have everything and we take these same exact products and we just move into production,” Shuman said. “It could be that one of the products really speaks to a problem we need to solve and we’re going to put more resources there.”
This phased approach reflects Vermeer commitment to get it right, not just get it out.
For now, expect small-batch availability through select dealers, with broader access tied to what the validation period reveals. If you’re interested in updates, watch for announcements on Vermeer.com and through your local Vermeer dealer.
“These products are thoughtfully built tools to meet real-world problems,” said Jojo Essuman, project manager for electrification at Vermeer. “They bring new solutions to the marketplace … and continue the quality our customers have come to expect from the Vermeer brand. We’re proud of what we’ve built — and excited to see how our customers use these machines to do the tough and important work they do every day.”
This article contains third-party observations, advice or experiences that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Vermeer Corporation, its affiliates or its dealers. Testimonials and/or endorsements by customers in specific circumstances may not be representative of normal circumstances experienced by all customers. Vermeer Corporation reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design and specifications; add improvements; or discontinue manufacturing at any time without notice or obligation.
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