ECHO hosted their annual POWER-ON-ATHON event on September 19th at their headquarters in Lake Zurich, IL. They invited a number of industry and media partners as they announced new products for 2025. This event included a factory tour, product release, and tool test.

Factory Tour

During the factory tour, Ryan Ladley, VP of Operations at ECHO, spoke about a few major focuses for their manufacturing of high end tools. They were safety, vertical integration, continuous improvement, and listening to feedback from their employees and customers. Let me break that down a little further.

Safety:

As ECHO has updated their manufacturing facility, they have made various changes to the assembly line. One of the biggest focuses for them has been the safety and health of their employees. They spend a significant amount of money to ensure that the team has an ideal quality of life and enjoys their work. Some of the improvements to the work line seem simple, but have prevented overuse or work related injuries for employees.

Vertical Integration:

This was a topic that Ryan brought up numerous times throughout the tour. COVID was a challenge for every vendor/supplier. ECHO felt the impact of material and part delays just like every other company. Their response was to bring more processes in house and improve the efficiency of their operations. In essence, they wanted to control their own destiny. This required keen attention to detail. ECHO brought an automation team, molding team, and maintenance team in house. All of this investment allows them to move towards a more self-sufficient supply chain.

Continuous Improvement:

The focus on improving their manufacturing operation was displayed in their quest for quality. For example, ECHO has invested heavily in automation. This investment allowed for improvements in the overall quality of their offering, reduced their scrap rate, and used new, innovative manufacturing methods. They even go as far as regrinding their scrap so that they can reuse the plastic. Today, ECHO has effectively eliminated all manufacturing waste.

Listening to feedback:

ECHO has implemented a few notable ways to gather high quality feedback. Externally, ECHO has implemented their User Advisory Group (UAG). The UAG members are end users (landscapers, carpenters, etc) that they rely on for feedback on their products and suggestions for future development. Internally, they host annual Kaizen events. During these sessions, they invite employees from various levels in the company to collaborate and determine what they can do to improve.

The tour ended with a walk through their warehouse. It was incredible how much product they keep on demand in order to stay ahead of demand.

Product Release

After the tour, the main attraction…the ECHO POWER-ON-ATHON product announcement. For 2025, a total of 10 new products were launched. This includes:

• 4 blowers (DPB-2610, DPB-5900T, DPB-7700T, DPB-2500LE)
• A rapid field charger
• 2 string trimmers (DSRM-225, SRM-2120)
• A hedge trimmer (DSHC-2600)
• A handheld pruning saw (DHS-3006)
• A gas mower (LM-2119SP)

Tool Test/First Impressions

Next up, we were able to test out the new products. Here are our first impressions!

Blowers:

ECHO continues to deliver on high quality blowers for the homeowner and professional alike. The 2610, 5900T, and 7700T are all part of the X Series. The DPB-2500LE is a limited edition blower in which ECHO partnered with Susan G. Komen. All of these blowers put out an impressive amount of power. ECHO’s 56V batteries produce an impressive run time in all of these continuing on the likes of the 5800T.

Rapid Field Charger:

The 6-port Field Charger was designed for commercial landscapers. This comes with awesome features like their trailer/wall mount. With electric tools becoming more prevalent on job sites, this charger allows you to charge 6 batteries at once, ensuring you’re ready for the next job.

String Trimmers:

ECHO’s Speed-Feed trimmer heads make reloading trimmer line a breeze. The DSRM-225 combines this technology with a light, durable carbon fiber shaft and battery power. This makes it a great option for homeowners looking for a low maintenance trimmer. The SRM-2120 utilizes gas and the Rapid-Loader head. And with an incredible price point of $199.99, this trimmer is an unbeatable value.

Hedge Trimmer:

Another addition to the X Series line is the DSHC-2600, however this time with a battery. ECHO designed this to incorporate a 7-degree angle which allows the operator to use the trimmer with added comfort. The blades are also designed to improve cutting efficiency, and the battery allows for quiet operation of a typically noisy tool.

Handheld Pruning Saw:

The DHS-3006 has a 6” bar and cuts through branches with ease. This new tool is one of the lightest, most powerful pruning saws on the market and is a great addition to anyone’s chainsaw collection.

Gas Mower:

Considering battery powered mowers consume a lot of juice, a gas powered saw was a nice return to conventional mowers. The LM-2119SP easily adapts to walking speed meaning you no longer need to fight the controls to find your Goldilocks setting. And the dual-blade design means you get a professional cut.

Recap

All of these great releases continue to improve on ECHO’s established reputation for quality in outdoor power tools. The ECHO POWER-ON-ATHON event was a great success! We look forward to getting our hands on these tools and seeing the ECHO line continue to grow. Check out the ECHO Press Release from the event for more info!

ECHO POWER-ON-ATHON 2024 is a post from Tool Box Buzz

Kress 60V Line Trimmer Model KC100.9

Kress has launched an impressive list of commercial outdoor power equipment here in the US. The new KG100 Commercial 60V Cordless Line Trimmer nicely compliments the Kress 60V 21″ Self-Propelled Mower and Kress 60V Backpack Blower that we’ve recently reviewed. Like the other equipment from Kress that we’ve used this cordless string trimmer is built with the commercial landscaper in mind.

Features and Specifications

• Battery: 60V
• Brushless Motor
• Cutting Speed: 4200/5100/5900 rpm
• Cutting Diameter: 16.5″
• Line Diameter: 0.095″/0.105″ (2.4 / 2.7 mm) nylon line
• Water Protection: IPX4
• Tool Weight (Bare Tool): 9.9 lbs
• Available Batteries: KAC802 60V CyberPack 2Ah or KAC804 4Ah

The Kress line trimmer has been designed with professional landscapers and maintenance crews in mind. The commercial brushless motor delivers 1.2kW of power which is equivalent to a 30cc 2-stroke gas powered trimmer. The trimmer motor can be adjusted with 3 speed settings to maximize power and run-time depending on the application.

It includes a heavy-duty non-flexible steel driveshaft for long term durability. It also includes an aluminum gearhead. The Kress line trimmer has an IPX4 waterproof rating allowing users the ability to work in wet conditions such a rain. In addition, the Quick-load trimmer head includes a 30 foot spool capacity reducing the need to re-string it as often.

The controls are large and easy to use. There is a simple on/off button along with two buttons to increase/decrease the head speed. A large easy to grasp trigger makes for a comfortable operation.

Available Options

We reviewed the basic setup with none of the available options. However, you can purchase separately a harness to help support the weight of the tool (which I honestly think should come standard as this is a pretty heavy trimmer), and you can get battery backpack harness, which can allow you to use an 11 Ah battery for heavy duty use and longer run-time.

You can also purchase a 4″ cutter head and also a knife blade attachment, both sold separately.

Battery Options and Charging

The 60V Kress line trimmer can operate on both of their battery configurations of 4 Ah and 11 Ah. We tested the trimmer using the 4 Ah battery attached to the unit. In order to use an 11 Ah pack you’ll need to buy the battery backpack harness.

The heart of these new Kress Commercial OPE are their 8-Minute CybeSystem batteries. For the serious commercial landscaper they can purchase the CyberTank DC-DC charger. The CyberTank is essential a very large battery, 5040 Wh or 7200 Wh depending on model, that can quickly charge the the smaller 4.0Ah or 11.0Ah multiple times throughout the day. The DC-DC charging is extrememly efficient and fast as the energy requires no conversion and a large amount of power can be transfered from one battery to another quickly. The CyberTank gets charged typically overnight from an AC power source that takes 4-6 hours. This can easily be mounted on a trailer allowing the batteries to be quickly charged in the time it takes to drive to the next jobsite.

These batteries come with a 6 year (commercial use) warranty or 3,000 cycles warranty which is really quite impressive. 3,000 cycles. If you charge that battery once a day, 5 days a week, that’s nearly 23 years!! Obviously they are very sure of this battery platform and stand by it!

Performance

The Kress Commercial 60V Line Trimmer is a beast! It’s a commercial grade tool from top to bottom. Packed with power, great ergonomics and simple controls. It’s well built and comparable to any other professional trimmer I’ve used. I trimmed a very large yard multiple times on the same battery charge. When you consider that 8 minute full charge with this system it’s hard to even worry about run-time, managing a large group of batteries, or the other challenges previous cordless solutions presented.

Cost

Obviously commercial outdoor power equipment is typically expensive and an investment. This new line of Kress equipment is certainly an investment but the long term savings in fuel and maintenance can’t be overlooked. If you’re a professional landscaper there will be some overlap with chargers and batteries. I’m not including the CyberTank Portable Power Station as we’ll have another article focusing on that. Here are the listed prices on what we tested for this stand alone mower.

• Line Trimmer – KC100.9 – $349.99
• KAC840 Dual Port Charger – $779.99
• KAC804 4 Ah CyberPack Battery – $549.99

As a stand alone setup you’d be looking at roughly a $1,700 investment. With the current pricing of fuel this certainly isn’t a terrible proposition along with the warranty that comes with the trimmer and battery.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been reviewing power tools long enough to remember a few huge transitions in our industry. Kress has unlocked a major transition in OPE with this 60V lineup that is sure to revolutionize this industry. This is the real deal and something that will certainly disrupt this sector. Landscapers and professional lawn-care companies, especially ones working in areas that cannot use gasoline powered engines should take this new product seriously. When you combine really good quality with superior engineering you’ve got a winner. Kress has hit a home-run!

Kress Commercial 60V Line Trimmer Review is a post from Tool Box Buzz