LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
for the services a landscape contractor can provide . This is an area where landscape contractors have been able to grow their customer base and keep themselves and their crews busy . With light at the end of the proverbial tunnel in terms of putting COVID-19 behind us , we ’ re confident that landscape contractors will be well positioned to continue to grow and provide services for customers they wouldn ’ t have acquired in a normal year .
– Jared Nuessen , marketing manager at Toro
The pandemic positively impacted our sales because the more time people are spending at home , the more they realize the need to care for their lawns . Thousands of individuals are investing in their landscapes , which requires contractors to have durable , state-ofthe-art mowers in their fleets . However , because of the increased demand for mowers , lead time for manufacturing and production have slightly increased .
– Brad Unruh , director of new product development at Hustler Turf
There ’ s a lot of pent-up demand for mowers and equipment in the marketplace at the moment . This is due to a number of reasons , not the least of which is the increased consumer demand for landscape maintenance services . Production capacity will most likely be a limiting factor to mower sales this year . Inbound component availability and global logistic delays are having an impact on production output in several industries . Lawn and garden OEM ’ s are dealing with these challenges .
– Lenny Mangnall , Exmark product manager
While Honda Power Equipment was generally optimistic about 2020 at the beginning of last year , the COVID-19 pandemic presented operational challenges for the business , particularly during March and April . Similarly , demand for outdoor
Photo provided by Kioti Tractor
Photo provided by Masport Ltd .
products among landscape professionals waned during late spring as many businesses were faced with an uncertain economy and stayat-home orders for non-essential businesses . However , as the economy began reopening and product production returned to more regular operations , Honda Power Equipment experienced strong gains for a number of its outdoor power products , including commercial mower models . Now that we ’ re into the second quarter of 2021 , Honda Power Equipment is hopeful that trends are leaning increasingly more toward “ return to normal ” and even greater sales . – Elisha Lipscomb , senior marketing strategist , lawn & garden for Honda Power Equipment
We are very fortunate that commercial landscaping has remained strong throughout the pandemic . With COVID-19 restrictions in place , the world was forced to move outdoors , and the landscape industry played a key role in maintaining those spaces . Landscapers are closely evaluating their needs before making business decisions , such as purchasing new pieces of equipment .
– Chase Tew , product line manager , John Deere Commercial Mowing
Business outlook overall is good , but the pandemic , weather and global transportation issues have brought about inventory challenges for many manufacturers . Many are not able to meet production demands , which puts more demand on dealers ’ inventories and , in turn , the customer . The end result is the commercial mowing segment may experience some product shortages in the coming months . Many commercial mower users will turn to repairing their machines instead of replacing them with new machines .
– Tom Vachal , Kubota Turf senior product manager
Like all manufacturers , Masport had its share of problems in 2020 keeping up with demand generated by generally good grass-growing conditions and a general uplift in demand for mowers around the world . Shortages of engines and delays in international shipping , together with massive cost increases in freight in general , made meeting business objectives challenging . The negative effects of COVID-19 continue to put a strain on our ability to supply product on time and to our cost targets . Consumer and commercial machines will remain in short supply for the rest of this season , but hopefully we will see a return to more normal supply in time for next season .
– Steve Hughes , managing director , Masport Ltd
34 SportsField Management | May 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com