Attentive Inc, a Delaware-based business management software provider for landscaping and outdoor service industries, recently announced raising $5 million from Sequoia India’s Surge Fund and InfoEdge Ventures. 

Attentive has built its automated property measurement platform for the $200B+ outdoor service industry. Their software currently serves the landscaping, snow removal, paving and pest control businesses. They are an AI-based solution.

“With rising inflation and labor issues, landscapers are looking to automate archaic manual workflows and gain efficiencies. We are the only ones with the technology infrastructure to truly automate traditional workflows and save time on manual tasks like measuring every site feature to bid on a new property. The funds will be used to further build the platform and add more modules to automate the remaining landscaping workflows,” said Shiva Dhawan, co-founder & CEO of Attentive.

Attentive is all set to launch its automated estimation and proposal software for landscaping & snow professionals on Aug. 8. This will allow sales teams to completely automate their proposal workflows, helping them focus more on prospecting and building customer relationships. You can learn more here. 

Milwaukee is adding the new M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower to its lineup.

Leveraging Milwaukee’s POWERSTATE Brushless Motor, the M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower delivers the highest constant power. Unlike other units, the blower delivers an output of 17.7 Newtons and maintains that power level throughout the full discharge of the battery without drop-off. Additionally, the advanced electronic package allows the blower to reach full throttle in under one second, increasing the operator’s control and productivity. 

The M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower is designed with an ambidextrous variable speed lock-on lever, allowing users to easily lock the desired power level with either hand. This speed control, paired with the optimized tool balance which allows for the blower nozzle to naturally point toward the ground, provides reduced fatigue and the best clearing control.  

“Throughout the United States, we are quickly seeing an increase in regulations around the emissions and noise levels of outdoor power equipment. With an eye to the future, landscape maintenance companies have started to adopt battery-powered solutions to take advantage of the benefits versus gas,” said Tony Buxton, group product manager for Milwaukee Tool. “To stay in front of these emerging requirements, we developed the M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower to completely replace current handheld gas blowers, delivering on the power and performance professionals demand to get the job done. The dual battery blower allows businesses that operate in areas with gas engine restrictions and noise regulations to remain compliant and use the same M18 REDLITHIUM battery on other outdoor solutions, such as the mower and string trimmer.” 

The M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower has a noise rating of 64 dB(A) and eliminates emissions so users can stay compliant with any restrictions without sacrificing power. To meet performance expectations in certain high-demand applications while maintaining system compatibility, this blower requires the simultaneous use of two M18 REDLITHIUM batteries. Delivering a maximum air volume of 600 CFM and reaching air speeds of 145 MPH, users can tackle demanding applications, such as wet leaves, while maintaining maximum control.  

The new M18 FUEL Dual Battery Blower is fully compatible with the entire M18 line, now offering more than 250+ solutions. 

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, the middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, have completed an investment in Fairway Lawns.

MSCP is partnering with the current management team led by CEO Kyle DeMilt, who will continue to lead the business.

Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fairway is a residential lawn care company. The company, which operates 16 branches across the Southeast region, primarily provides recurring lawn care services such as weed control and fertilization, in addition to complementary services including pest control and tree/shrub maintenance.

“For nearly 40 years, Fairway has consistently delivered best in class residential lawn care services to our customers, and we are thrilled to partner with MSCP on the next phase in our history,” said Kyle DeMilt, CEO of Fairway. “We look to leverage MSCP’s approach to operational excellence, as well as their experience completing complementary acquisitions to accelerate the expansion of Fairway’s capabilities and geographic footprint in the coming years.”

“We are excited to partner with Kyle and the Fairway team as they continue to work to build the company into the leading residential lawncare platform in the Southeast," said Adam Shaw, managing director and head of business services at MSCP. "For MSCP, Fairway represents an opportunity to execute on our core strategy of investing in focus sub-sectors where we have deep institutional knowledge and experience to drive value creation. We look forward to working together to advance the company’s market leadership position through organic growth and acquisitions.”

Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal counsel to MSCP, and Solomon Partners served as MSCP’s financial advisor. Carlyle Global Credit acted as sole administrative agent, bookrunner and arranger on the financing. Harris Williams served as financial advisor to Fairway.

GPS Insight, a fleet and field service management software provider, announced the release of Field Service Management For Dummies, a free ebook written with Wiley publishing to help guide operations executives, business owners and service managers to the right field service management solution for their business without an overload of technical jargon.

Companies of all sizes with fleet and field operations struggle with high operating costs, safety risks and antiquated strategies that waste valuable time and money. While digital transformation may seem like a daunting project to add to the docket, it is a sure-fire way to futureproof your operations to yield exceptional cost, productivity and customer service benefits. Field Service Management For Dummies combines subject matter expertise from GPS Insight with Wiley’s editorial mission to make everything easier.

“The ‘For Dummies’ initiative gives us a great way to share field service management best practices simply and clearly, and I cannot wait to get this guide in front of field service leaders across the world,” said Shawna Stephenson, CMO at GPS Insight. “Companies who specialize in field service are facing unprecedented times, as the rapid need to digitize is met with information overload and analysis paralysis. After reading Field Service Management For Dummies, field service executives will understand how to choose the right tools to streamline the business, scale, and grow.”

Field Service Management For Dummies is now free for download.

The employee-owners of PBI-Gordon Corporation announced that Dan Dumler has joined the company as western regional sales manager. Dumler is responsible for leading the PBI-Gordon sales team in the western half of the United States – which includes Wisconsin and states west of the Mississippi River.

Based in Castle Rock, Colo., Dumler’s duties include coaching the western regional sales team, identifying news sales opportunities and strengthening the company’s product portfolio with key customers in the golf course maintenance and professional lawn care segments.

Prior to joining PBI-Gordon, Dumler was a regional sales manager at Simplot Turf & Horticulture. Before that, he held various sales positions for Bayer Environmental Science.

Dumler holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management from Oregon State University.

“Dan brings more than 27 years of turf industry and sales leadership experience to this role with PBI-Gordon,” said Tim Demerath, vice president of sales for PBI-Gordon Corporation. “We are excited to have Dan on board. Our customers and sales team will benefit greatly from his deep knowledge of this industry.”