We caught up with Harold Redman, president and CEO of Echo, during the Equip Exposition in Louisville, Ky. He shares some of his perspective on the rural lifestyle market, gas bans and inventory levels at dealerships. Redman joined Echo as president and CEO in April 2023 and began his career with General Power Equipment, a division of True Value Hardware. He then joined Simplicity Manufacturing for nine years before his tenure at Briggs & Stratton, where he served as President of the Home Power Products business for four years and President of the Turf & Consumer Products business from 2010 to 2022.

What are the biggest trends you and Echo are seeing in terms of your categories of equipment that are most likely to be bullish in 2026?

Redman: We are seeing continued investment by our dealers, both the commercial dealers and the consumer dealers in both gas and battery handheld equipment, and also in battery and gas lawnmowers. We expect dealers who have, right now, good levels of inventory or acceptable levels of inventory to write orders for that business in 2026. As the commercial business grows, we'll continue to sell more commercial equipment. Then, of course, on the consumer side, that should come with promotion to make sure we're driving consumers into the dealer stores.

What concerns you the most for 2026? What do you think your biggest challenges are going to be for the company?

Redman: We just managed through the tariff situation here as of recent, and we’re out writing orders with our dealers now. We’re sensing continued confidence with our dealers in terms of the adjustments we’ve made related to pricing or any tariff challenges that we might have. We feel good about where our direction’s going for '26. It really becomes the dealers’ management of their business and inventory and cashflow, which they’ve become very cautious on over the last couple years. We feel like the dealer segment is in a really good position to grow in '26.

We believe, at least in our segments, the inventories are at very normal levels. We’re seeing dealers place orders with us now on the business that they want for next year, but we’re also hearing that some of the other suppliers to the dealers, inventories are at very manageable levels as well, which is usually a challenge or a driver for order placement in getting ready for spring.

Are gas-powered equipment bans, are those an area of concern for you as you move forward?

Redman: They are an area of concern for us. As long as we can plan those accordingly with our battery portfolio, we'll be fine. For now, as it stands, there’s a stay on the California waiver, but it looks like we can’t sell and make products in '26 to sell in the California market. That challenges the dealer with how much gas do they have, how much can they buy for the balance of the year, and then when do they convert their products to battery vs. gas in that marketplace? We’re almost back to 2024 at this point, for where the current situation is, but it certainly could change.

We haven’t seen too much mix or buying habit change. A lot of the commercial landscapers, they still prefer the gas products for the investment of a good tool that has performance run times that are typically longer than the comparable battery. Having said that, we were with a commercial customer last week who’s taken his entire fleet to battery. It really is dependent on the customers and the type of equipment they want the commercial landscaper to use to take care of their grounds.

What's your outlook for 2026?

Redman: Our outlook is positive, and it’s positive for our business on both gas and battery products. Our dealers are in a good position to have a little bit of growth. It certainly is impacted by economic factors. I think the dealers remain cautious on their business plans, and they certainly won't, I believe, go out and overbuy on inventory, believing there’s significant growth. There's some cautious optimism out there for dealers now that more of the patterns are returned to normal, especially coming down off the COVID period, and inventories are in good position.

What's one bit of advice you would give your younger self entering the business?

Redman: Take time to understand the business model. If you’re working at a dealer, what customers are you trying to sell your products and your services to? Find a way to get out and find new customers. Don’t always wait for those customers to come to you. It’s the balance of good marketing on a local basis, finding the customers. They could be commercial landscapers. They could be local municipalities. They could be parks. There are all kinds of customers out there. My advice is figure out who you want to sell to and what’s best for your business. Set some clear targets and then go to work on a plan.