FIRSTGREEN Industries entered the U.S. market two years ago and offers several electric skid steers, including a cabinless remote-control model, that can achieve 24-hour continuous runtime, thanks to swappable battery technology.

Company Chief Operating Officer Marcus Suess comes on The Dirt to explain how FIRSTGREEN Industries' electric equipment can be a better match than diesel on some jobs. He’s also upfront about jobs where you’d be better off with diesel equipment.

During the interview, he discusses the return on investment of buying the higher-cost electric equipment when it comes to saving money on fuel and maintenance. He also points out that there are tax incentives available for contractors choosing battery power over diesel.
Another benefit of the machines is their ability to run by remote control. The company recently introduced the “world’s first cab-less remotely operated electric skid steer.” Along with that model, it offers three traditional electric skid steers and a mini track loader.
“Battery power has really come a long way,” Suess says.
To find out more about the latest in electric skid steers from this innovative company, check out the latest episode of The Dirt.
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In This Episode:
00:00 - Firstgreen Modular Electric Skid Steers
00:36 - Is Electric Construction Equipment Viable Technology?
01:35 - How Long is the Battery Runtime?
03:21 - How Do You Charge a Firstgreen Skid Steer?
03:56 - Modular Battery Design
04:52 - Charge Time
05:19 - Attachment Compatibility
06:25 - Is it Worth Buying Electric When Diesel Equipment Is Cheaper?
10:28 - What Kind of Tax Incentives are Available for Electric Equipment?
11:30 - Remote Control & Cabinless Skid Steer
13:26 - The Future of Electric Construction Equipment
13:51 - Final Thoughts

Video Transcript:
Bryan Furnace:
Today, we're here to talk about more electric equipment because by golly, the whole industry is talking about electric equipment. Today, we're here to talk to First Green, who has a viable skid steer, an electric skid steer that actually has pretty decent runtime, and doesn't require rewiring the whole shop in order to charge it. So here to talk more with us is Marcus from First Green. So I'm just going to hit you with what everyone in the industry instantly thinks when you hear about any sort of electric technology. Why should we be concerned about this? Is this even a viable technology for what we're doing on our dirt sites right now?
Marcus Suess:
Yeah, it's a really fair question. It's a good question. We believe highly in the power and performance of our equipment, but there are situations where we're not just not the right tool for the job and diesel machines are better, but there's a lot of jobs where we do a much better work than diesel. We're very rational about how we see the heavy equipment market and how we fit in. And I remind people that battery powers come a really long way. So ask yourself if you've used a corded drill to perform a job in the last 30 days. Most people haven't. So those things weren't viable in the past and they are now. So battery power has come a long, long way, but we make a machine that's absolutely viable in a lot of different ways.
Bryan Furnace:
So that being said, to kind of take one of the huge stumbling blocks for a lot of people out of it, what sort of runtime are you guys getting out of a battery because that's been a stumbling block for a lot of the technologies we've heard about.
Marcus Suess:
So runtime is a big issue and that's why we are a great option most of the time and some of the times we're going to tell you straightforward that this isn't the right machine for this job. So we run from six to nine hours plus with our equipment just depending on what battery you want. So we do both smart lead acid and lithium batteries. So there's a lot of variability between the two. And then for 24 hour operation, you can hot swap a battery in less than 10 minutes with a pallet jack.
Bryan Furnace:
So just so that we're comparing apples to apples, because we've had people on before that have talked about runtime and then you delve into it a little bit more and it turns out that's job site time, it's not actual runtime. Are you saying you have roughly six hours of actual runtime or the machine can run about two and a half hours, but it could sit on the job for six hours?
Marcus Suess:
Runtime means operation time, so that means that the machine is moving dirt, lifting loads, doing work for at least six hours if not more.
Bryan Furnace:
When you put that in perspective of a skid steer, I would argue the vast majority of job sites out there are not running their skid steer six to eight...