Earlier this week on our podcast, The Grow Show, powered by STIHL, we released an episode covering equipment purchases and detailing how we're planning ahead and making decisions on new pieces of equipment as Grunder Landscaping Co. (GLC) grows. 

You can watch that episode on YouTube here, complete with photos of some of the trucks in our fleet.

And if you're working on your own equipment plans, here's my advice:

Start with What You Have

What trucks and equipment do you have that really should be replaced? We don't follow a years-old or mileage rule at GLC, but rather make determinations based on if the piece is still serving its purpose and what downtime we had from it in the previous year. We have some older trucks that are just workhorses - for whatever reason they rarely have issues - and we've kept them while replacing younger trucks with less mileage that were breaking down more frequently or needing more work. 

Look at Your Plans

Does your sales goal for 2026 include adding revenue? Will you absorb that work into your existing crews, or do you need to add an additional crew to make it happen? What type of work will that crew do?

If you're not sure, we go back to the benchmark numbers from our ACE Peer Group Program, which includes about 250 companies that we benchmark numbers for. Gut check your numbers versus our data and apply the numbers to the type of business, work, and truck set ups that you use. Larger trucks with more seats? Your number goes up! Two man teams? Maybe your number is a little lower: 

Average Revenue Per Truck: $252,000
Average Revenue Per Team Member: $163,000

Prioritize Your Needs

Capital is finite, and we can't always just do everything that we want to. The bank will only loan you so much money, and you only have so much cash on hand. Growth is expensive, but even staying the same size has costs. 

We have to make decisions like "What do we need more, a new loader or an extra mini-skid?" or "Can a mow crew use a truck and trailer for one more year and we can upgrade them to a box truck next season?"

Look at Your Financing Options

We mostly buy our equipment and trucks, but we're always exploring financing options. John Deere has a great leasing program available on skid steers and loaders that we were able to take advantage of to improve our snow removal fleet, and we've worked with a local credit union to secure loans when we need them. 

Our trucks and equipment are tools that enable us to get work done efficiently, and if you join us at Grunder Landscaping for one of our remaining GLC Field Trips you'll see how our setups help us work well. From tool boxes customized to reduce loading and unloading time, liftgates for heavy equipment and materials, and Eby aluminum beds that resist rust - every decision we make is intentional to set our crews up for success.

What big equipment purchases are you looking at for 2026? Reply to this email to tell us what you're considering - I'm always looking for ideas!

Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.