MOWER TRENDS
“ People have different habits and different use patterns ,” said Lenny Mangnall , Exmark product manager . “ We have to build mowers that are the best piece of equipment for every type of property — from sit-on wing-deck mowers to walk-behinds to stand-ons that can maneuver in tight areas .” Ergonomic design for comfort across use patterns is an ongoing trend for Exmark .
Ferris agrees . “ From a comfort and user experience standpoint , true suspension is a game-changer for an operator who is on the mower for several hours each day ,” said Christin Wam , senior director of marketing for Ferris Mowers . “ By focusing on suspension , we can help Ferris users feel good at the end of a long workday so they can be ready for the next day .”
Kioti sees the increasing value operators place on comfort , and the company makes ergonomics a focus on its mowers . “ Our controls are within arm ’ s reach and there is ample adjustability between our seat and drive levers , allowing operators to set up a machine how they prefer ,” said Steven Benedict , Kioti product manager .
“ It ’ s all about user experience these days , especially with a labor shortage . We looked at that , and we put the operator and user experience top of mind ,” said Scheffler .
The trending labor shortage is on Toro ’ s mind as well . “ We ’ re making big movements on efficiency , especially for durability and serviceability . It ’ s hard for pro users to find people , so ease of service is vital ,” said Jared Nuessen , Toro senior marketing manager for the residential and contractor division .
Wright Stander
John Deere Q820M
Price
“ There are always price-is-no-object folks ,” said Scheffler . “ But with economic uncertainty , higher interest rates and the upcoming election , we see a trend to people watching their spending .”
That helped justify Bobcat ’ s ZT5000 , the mower it introduced late last year . “ This is a pure commercial mower at the lowest price point we ’ ve offered . We hear from dealers that people are doing more servicing than buying new . People are more cautious .”
Exmark refers to that caution as “ intention .” Said Mangnall , “ We ’ re seeing customers act much more intentionally with their purchases . If they always bought the same thing before or spent the same , we see people thinking twice today . Whether that means scaling back to a smaller machine or going bigger with more features to serve a labor shortage .”
Mangnall added that he wants to help users work more efficiently . Exmark ’ s Tractus airless tires are an expensive add-on , he admitted , but can help a contractor save time and
money down the road . “ People may Bobcat ZT5000 think tire repairs are an easy and in-
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