Since 2013, Liapis Landscape & Design has been running their lawnmower fleet on propane. They converted 15 mowers and use an onsite 1,000-gallon dispensing station at their facility for easy fills. One reason for the switch was that propane is less expensive.
“The goal was to get more stable fuel pricing,” David Guy, Operations Manager, said.
Liapis was able to use EPA-certified propane conversion kits for their mowers. They worked with MetroLawn with the propane conversions.
“We grew about 40% in 2013 and our fuel costs stayed the same. That’s a huge savings.”
David Guy, Operations Manager for Liapis Landscape & Design
In addition to cost savings, Guy also sees savings on reduced maintenance and replacement costs. Many of the engines the company converted to propane already had 1,500 hours on them yet required very little maintenance during past mowing seasons.
“A few of the mowers had brand-new engines when we converted them, so I have some very good data on whether the engines last longer.” Guy said.
Liapis worked with AmeriGas to supply propane. “They came out and did a site evaluation and talked everything through with us and it started to make more and more sense,” Guy explains. “It was pretty seamless.”
The 1,000-gallon dispensing station was installed, which makes it easy to fill the canisters, and training was provided to ensure that employees know how to safety complete this process.
“They took care of everything as far as the training, keeping the tank certified, making sure the local fire departments know there’s a tank here, all of the things that need to be kept up on,” he says.
“It turns out that switching over those 15 mowers has reduced our company’s overall emissions by about 70%.”
David Guy, Operations Manager for Liapis Landscape & Design
After converting to propane, Liapis worked with Clean Fuels Ohio, a nonprofit that has helped the company get media exposure about its switch to propane, which helped from a marketing standpoint.
“It turns out that just switching over those 15 mowers has reduced our company’s overall emissions by about 70%.” Guy marveled.
More important than the marketing benefits has been reduced costs, he stated. “We grew about 40% in 2013 and our fuel costs stayed the same. That’s a huge savings.” said Guy.
Buying propane vehicles or converting your fleets to propane autogas is made easier with the rebate available from the Ohio Propane Gas Association. The OPGA is offering a $1,000 rebate for new vehicles or mowers, or propane conversions.
