Erdelac Land Management

To provide businesses, community groups, and residents of Northwest Indiana with a revolutionary new landscaping and land management service, utilizing tools entirely powered by lithium batteries to create a quieter, cleaner, and safer environment.

Our Principals

· Environmentally responsible land management

· Premium quality, affordable work

· Honesty

· Integrity

· Professionalism

Inspiration

In 2014, upon needing to replace the second cheap w**d whip that only lasted a single season, I decided it was time for a change. I decided to give battery a try. I was, admittedly, highly skeptical but the product had a 90-day, no questions asked return policy and a 5 year warranty, so I gave it a try. Initially, it put my lack of power skepticism to rest, very quickly. Forty minutes later, I was blown away by the run time. From that point on, I was hooked. Operation was a whole different experience, not hearing that annoying two-stroke engine constantly is amazing! As a conservationist and a field-professional, I quickly saw that the benefits were multiple; zero direct emissions, less than half the noise decibels of gas, safer working space by allowing better communication, and elevated situational awareness for the operator.

Evolution

ELM evolved from a sole-proprietorship, which was started by Jim in May of 2017, BDA Jim’s EcoCare. Initially, the idea was to be the catalyst of change in an industry not so widely known to be a large source of air pollution and obviously, a highly-significant source of noise pollution, the lawn/landscape industry. There are very little emission restrictions on small gas engines. Therefore, small four-cycle and two-cycle gas engines are some of the worst polluters around! The studies are out there and the facts can be staggering.

Our vision has been realized by acquiring a complete line of battery powered tools. That’s right, from commercial-grade zero-turn mowers (with true all day run time capacity) to hand-held equipment like trimmers, edgers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, brushcutters, pole saws, pole pruners and electric power assist wheelbarrows, all of our tools are powered by industry-leading lithium battery technology.

ELM was started with the goal of establishing an eco-friendly lawn and landscape service, first and foremost. While thinking (likely a few years down the road) we would begin to diverge from the landscaping specific operations, and begin to pursue our true passion… caring for natural areas.

In reality, we found that the demand for professionals with our skillset of controlling exotic/invasive plant species in natural and created habitats was much higher than anticipated. Hence, these battery powered tools (acquired with the intention of landscaping use only) got put to the test in the land stewardship arena, simultaneously. As you can imagine, one who spends 15 years performing field-work, has used a large variety of tools and equipment to get the job done. Prior to 2014, the only land management tools I had previously used were all gas powered. After purchasing my first battery tooI, I have not acquired a single piece of gas-powered equipment, since.

These tools have not only surpassed expectations but we can, with all honesty, attest that they perform as well or better than the gas-powered tools we have used previously to perform field work in the management of natural areas.

Establishing our Unconventional Roots

The zero-turn mower that we purchased has been a proven, premium-quality performer in commercial arena for a few years, now. The line of lithium-battery powered hand tools (that we acquired slowly over the past several years) has not, to our knowledge, been used and proven effective, commercially. Anyone that has worked with Jim can testify that his work ethic equates to tools being operated, almost punishingly but with a high level of proficiency and performance awareness. Many of these tools and their batteries are several seasons old and just continue to handle abuse. Bottom line, we have performed the field trials and determined, without doubt, that battery power is truly a viable alternative to gasoline powered equipment, not just for the average homeowner but for the professional, as well.

We have used battery tools to perform an extremely wide variety of work from that typically associated with landscape maintenance to applied ecological management, which often times requires cutting down large invasive trees, shrubs, and vines. We have established our business on a battery powered foundation because we are committed to environmentally responsible land management.

Gasoline equipment’s contribution to noise-pollution is obvious. What is less widely known is the fact that small engines are amongst the worst polluters. Unlike passenger vehicles, there are very little federal and state emissions restrictions on small gasoline 4-cycle and 2-cycle engines, making them a highly significant contributor to air pollution….Point-source air pollution, where you live!

Sometimes You Need the Big Guns

Although, we recently acquired the TX-1000 machine powered by a kubota diesel, we have not abandoned our mission...

We have had a number of new visitors to the page lately, so we want to convey what ELM is all about. We remain committed to the use of clean, green and quiet battery powered tools to produce premium quality results, whenever possible. Battery powered equipment makes up 90% of what we do...

There are certain jobs where the use of battery power is simply not currently feasible. To answer the demands of certain projects, we expanded our cache of equipment. As diesel machines go, weighing in at just 2,700 lbs., and incorporating wide tracks, for better weight distribution. The TX-1000 can perform the type of work more traditionally reserved for its larger 10,000 lb.+ tracked big brothers, while significantly decreasing soil disturbance and sipping diesel fuel.