INTERVIEW
territory is different, and the number of dealers and retailers varies. Our sales team tailors efforts toward the unique needs of their market. And over time, we’ ve seen the mix evolve with some growth through traditional channels and a new emerging market. The bigger cities are growing outward, and populations are adding homes and residential areas on the outskirts. That growth in those residential areas continues to change the role and the territory that our sales reps are in. It’ s not really about their size, or their type, but it’ s being able to make sure that they have access to our products and that we’ re able to support their needs.
We want to make sure we protect the current customers we have, but also in those expanding markets, we feel like the service is needed for our parts. That’ s where we are going. Building lasting relationships and putting a name with a face. If a customer has problems or issues, we want to be there to answer their questions and concerns.
OPE +: On the personal side of your story, you were mayor for eight years, is that right? Roessler: I had the great honor of serving as mayor of Glennville, Ga. for eight years. I look back at that time with a lot of gratitude. Public service gave me a chance to work directly with people in our community, to listen to their concerns and to focus on practical solutions that can make a difference. With the current state of politics, I value even more the importance of working together, finding common ground, and keeping the focus on the people you are serving. It was a rewarding experience that taught me a great deal about leadership, accountability, and responsibility that comes with representing others.
Rotary has employees who serve on the city council. We also have employees who are in the volunteer fire department. As a familyowned company, we feel it’ s important to serve and give back to our community. So, yes, it was quite rewarding and I look back on my time as mayor with some positive thoughts.
OPE +: Do you advocate that people run for office these days? Roessler: I absolutely encourage people to consider serving their community. I recognize it’ s not an easy path because public service requires a lot of dedication and patience. For those who are motivated to make a tangible difference in helping others, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Anyone considering it should go in with open eyes that, first and foremost, it’ s about service. The personal recognition takes a back seat. The opportunity to positively impact your community, it’ s what makes it worthwhile. I had two major hurricanes come through here and two major fires in our downtown area. But you learn from those things and you want to make it better for the situation that comes again. We had no water because of the first hurricane. After that hurricane came through, we learned to listen and I said,“ We’ re going to put generators at each one of these water towers, and our people are going to have water when the next hurricane hits.” Going forward we’ ve benefited and we made changes to make our community better.
OPE +: Let’ s talk about manufacturing. You talked about mower blades and about trimmer line. How has manufacturing helped rotary this year, particularly with tariffs? Roessler: Rotary is a U. S.-based company and our manufacturing plant for mower blades is right next door. This has become a major advantage, especially with the tariffs continuing to impact imported products, and especially the cost of steel. By producing blades domestically with premium grade American steel, we maintain quality control and manage costs more effectively plus we can respond quickly to our customers’ needs. We manufacture about 13 million lawn mower blades a year. And that capability has attracted attention not only from OEMs, but from competitors. Many of them are now seeking reliable American made blades. That speaks volumes about the strength of our reputation and the consistent quality of our products.
We’ re about an hour due west of Savannah, Ga. They have a huge port there which is very convenient for shipping. Our manufacturing advantage keeps us competitive. It helps us grow. We are continuing to invest in our facilities and the process to support expansion, improve efficiencies, and also deliver the dependable, high-quality products that our customers expect.
OPE +: You’ re able to get a good quantity of American steel for your mower blades? Roessler: Absolutely. We buy steel from the same company that we have done business with for many years. We look at the market and the sustainability of it, then we lock in prices. Our blades seem to be doing really well in the market right now, and we haven’ t had any issues. We have a distribution center in Germany, so we do ship blades over there. And back in 2020, we actually manufactured our 250 millionth blade.
OPE +: What’ s your industry outlook for the rest of 2025 and for 2026? What’ s Rotary forecasting? Roessler: Looking ahead to 2026 for the outdoor power equipment industry, I think we are well-positioned for steady growth. That said, weather conditions remain a key factor in demand. Adequate rainfall and favorable growing conditions are essential for healthy lawns and gardens and this directly impacts the use of outdoor power equipment products. The industry will face its usual challenges and trends, such as technological innovation and a growing focus on sustainability to create significant opportunities for growth next year and beyond. We’ re positive about the future.
Note: We edited this interview for length and clarity. Listen to the OPE People podcast for the complete interview with Rotary’ s Chris Roessler.
26 OPE + October 2025 www. Ope-Plus. com