MOWER TRENDS
expensive thing , but over time they ’ re not . It ’ s downtime and repeat maintenance .” Even just low air pressure , he said , can impact performance and efficiency . Some John Deere mowers are available with Michelin ’ s airless Tweel as well .
Wright also sees a trend toward helping pro users see costs wholistically . “ The price paid at the dealership is just one of the many expenses users face when operating equipment ,” said Jake Sergin , Wright ’ s business development manager . “ Every time a user replaces a belt , gets a flat tire or drives to a dealership , money is leaving their pocket .”
He said that Wright designs both its Stander and Rider models “ from the ground up with the mower ’ s life cycle cost as our foundation . That means users spend less time and money fixing lawn mowers and more time cutting grass and building their business .”
Ferris recognizes the price-conscious trend and has added models recently at entry-level price points . “ These lowerpriced units — Ferris 300s and 500s — offer commercially inspired features , but are more accessible to a wider range of buyers ,” said Wam .
Walker ’ s Tim Cromley said similar , pointing to the company ’ s new Model R residential mower that dealers can price around $ 6,000 .
Technology
When we asked manufacturers about “ technology ” trends in mowers , we were thinking more about batteries and automation . But it ’ s broader than that for many of these companies .
Manufacturers including Toro , Walker and Exmark mentioned electronic fuel injection as a technology trend it sees users requesting .
“ Everybody is looking for horsepower now ,” said Nuessen . “ But if you have a good high-quality cutting deck , and an efficient engine with EFI , you might not need the most horsepower .”
Brands give names to technology features in hopes they ’ ll catch on as trends . That ’ s true across the board — from Exmark ’ s Adapt technology ( for setting deck pitch ) to Ferris ’ s new iCD + cutting system to Walker ’ s TOPS fluidcirculating system .
Other manufacturers go against trends — which could be a trend in itself . “ The buzz right now is electronics , whether battery or remote or autonomous ,” said Karl Bjorkman , V . P . of sales at Altoz . “ We ’ re not going that direction right now . We are focusing on differentiation of gas models . Our lineup is 50 % tracked units . We help people cut in areas other machines can ’ t , such as around water-retention ponds and levees , with accessory deck wings to even get out over the water .”
Altoz TRX 766
Walker C23i
In the same way , Walker touts its out-front design . “ It ’ s not common in the industry , but the deck position sitting in front of the operator gives a better field of view ,” said Cromley . He added that the improved trimming capabilities of the out-front design translate into improved job times over using a string trimmer .
But getting to our definition of “ technology ,” the industrywide trend toward battery power and automation is here .
“ We are really excited about the continued improvements with our Stander ZK Autonomous mower ,” said Segrin . “ This spring our partners at Greenzie launched the 3.0 software update to all machines , which brought some added productivity to our customers . The future is most definitely here now with commercial cutters at large national account type outfits , small landscape companies and municipal customers embracing the autonomous mower technology .”
Greenzie technology is on other commercial mowers as well . Bobcat made a “ strategic investment ” in Greenzie . The technology is avail-
28 OPE + April 2024 www . OPE-Plus . com