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Dave Wollman joined the Steel Green Army in January of 2023 with his purchase of an SG46 spreader/sprayer. But it wasn’t your standard SG46. Wollman went all out to customize a machine that would do everything he wanted.
Wollman is the owner/operator of Atlantic Lawn Service, based in Clinton, Connecticut. As a one-man crew servicing four million square feet of residential properties along the midcoast shoreline, Wollman needs equipment as efficient as him.
Before purchasing his SG46, Wollman had purchased maintenance parts from Steel Green for his previous machine. He had made some of his own customizations to that machine, but not to the extent that he really wanted. “Obviously, when it’s engineered, it comes out a lot better,” he said.
Wollman heard about Steel Green customization from his industry peer Jim Beveridge, who had experience ordering a custom machine. “I’ve talked to Jim quite a bit about the machine and liquid fertilizer applications, and he’s been very helpful and always willing to help out and give advice if he has the answer,” Wollman said.
It would take more than word of mouth to sell Wollman on a Steel Green, though. He needed to try one for himself. As it happened, Steel Green was exhibiting at a Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association show last August. The show was at a site with some hilly terrain, which was perfect for Wollman.
“Here in Connecticut, we have a lot of slopes and hills, so that was a concern with the machine if it would handle the hills,” he said. “I was able to test it there, and it actually helped me make up my decision. I knew they would be very good at customizing, but demoing it really pushed me over the edge to place my order.”
At that point, Wollman just had to finalize the customizations he wanted. “I talked to a Steel Green representative at a couple of local trade shows with my ideas, and they both said, ‘Yeah, we could do this.’ So when it came down to it, I wrote up a list of specs. I gave it to my sales rep, Scott Lund, of Valley Green. And then he got it off to Steel Green. They took a look at it. They actually called me and just had a couple clarification questions to make sure what I wrote is what they understood and vice versa.”
After some back and forth to ensure the machine would meet Wollman’s expectations, the Steel Green team got to work on production. “They are excellent to work with you,” Wollman said. “You give them a call, if you get voicemail, you’re getting a call back in less than an hour with your concern or question or whatever you have going on.”
When it was all said and done, Wollman got his SG46 with dual booms, dual pumps, a 35-gallon auxiliary tank, and a ninth nozzle for spraying curb lines. The ninth nozzle and seven-gallon auxiliary tank allow him to make precise crabgrass control applications without emptying another tank. With the dual boom, he has a seven-gallon auxiliary tank to make multiple applications in one pass. And the dual pumps provide more flow for the volume of water output he’s spraying. “The machine came out great,” Wollman said. “It does everything I want.”
Traditionally, Wollman has spread granular fertilizer and sprayed an organic soil amendment, but now he’s looking toward making both applications liquid. “It’s more cost-effective,” he said. “However, you do have to be able to carry a lot more water with your trailer, so that is a concern.”
With his suped-up SG46, Wollman is equipped to adapt his programs to the future of the industry, wherever it leads.
