Denver landscaper makes major shift to propane

The Colorado Propane Gas Association has helped one of the largest landscaping firms in the country make the transition to propane for its lawn-mowing fleet.

Denver-based CoCal Landscape has purchased 84 propane-fueled mowers, replacing about 90 percent of its gasoline fleet, according to the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). John Deere converted the 647A and 667A stand-on units to propane, helping CoCal save about $1 a gallon in fuel costs.

CoCal spent more than $500,000 to modernize its mower fleet, but $105,000 will be reimbursed through the Colorado Propane Gas Association’s mower incentive program, PERC notes. PERC offers $1,000 to qualified buyers of a new propane-fueled mower and $500 for a converted mower, with the buyer agreeing to share information about the equipment.

Jesus Medrano, co-founder and owner of CoCal, says he wanted to use a clean-burning fuel in his mowers. AmeriGas supplies the propane, refilling the company’s tanks at the seven locations from which it works.

CoCal employs about 300 people and ranked 112th on the Landscape Management 150, generating about $11.4 million in 2011.

For more information about how propane can fuel the nation’s fleets, visit www.autogasusa.org.