At its heart, the professional landscape industry has always been about cutting grass. Research conducted for Lawn & Landscape magazine found that lawn maintenance represents the largest sales volume of business for more than half of the magazine’s readers. The industry is filled with countless stories of contractors who started out as teenagers with a borrowed lawn mower from their parents or a grandparent and started mowing the neighbors’ lawns in order to pay for a new bike, a first car or even school.
Lawn mowing will probably always remain at the heart of this industry, especially if the manufacturers of commercial mowing equipment have anything to say about the matter. And, fortunately for those contractors who have grown their businesses past the point of borrowing equipment from family or friends, manufacturers have made significant strides in the design and manufacturing of riding mowers, which has led to considerable growth in this product category over the last few years.
In fact, nearly 30 percent of Lawn & Landscape readers report they bought at least one riding mower last year. And since the average reader spent almost $13,500 on riding mowers, he or she clearly bought more than just one unit.
Today, there are very few maintenance contractors without at least one riding mower in their fleet, and the new product designs and developments of the last few years have likely ensured that there will be more riding mowers bought in the future.
| IT'S ALL ABOUT |
UP TIME
Spring is quickly approaching, and you need to get your equipment ready for spring cutting. – Fred Hemmer |
A LOT OF ZEROES ADD UP. Figuring out what is behind the increasing popularity of riding mowers isn’t difficult – zero-turn radius capabilities.
Since the introduction of hydrostatic drive transmission technology to the industry nearly a decade ago, nearly every manufacturer of commercial mowing equipment has incorporated zero-turn capabilities into their machines and more contractors have put these machines on their trailers.
"A few years ago, we weren’t even using too many of the 48-inch or 60-inch riding machines, but we’ve really started buying more riding mowers of late just like everyone else is," related Tim Lynott, commercial maintenance division manager, Chapel Valley, Woodbine, Md. "We still need to have walk-behind mowers in our fleet to handle the hills around here and some of the tight turf areas like parking lot islands, but the riding machines are much more productive."
"We really look for the zero-turn capabilities in a mower and the ability to deliver that clean cut that people want," explained Dave Ramsze, regional vice president, The Groundskeeper, Tucson, Ariz. "These machines are more productive than gear-drive units, and I think the riding mowers in general are more comfortable for people to operate eight or 10 hours a day."
Danny Wright, president, Wright Lawn Service, Houston, Texas, noted that his company is looking to use more riding mowers, and he said he’ll only buy the hydrostatic machines.
"The hydrostatic mowers have you going in another direction as soon as you move the handles," he observed.
Wright noted, however, that some properties are still best served with a couple of walk-behind mowers.
"The riding mowers are generally too large to use on the residential properties, and a lot of our residential customers don’t like to have us riding a mower all over their grass," Wright noted. "And the walk-behind mowers probably give us a better quality of cut, which is particularly important on the residential properties.
"So our riding mowers tend to be used more on the larger commercial properties where they’re most productive and the customer isn’t going to inspecting the quality of cut as closely," he added.
Zero-turn capabilities aren’t without their own potential downsides, however.
"One problem we have is getting the technicians who use the zero-turn mowers to make their turns at a reasonable speed," related Wright. "The mowers turn so quickly that the operators are having fun and they don’t realize that they might be tearing up the turf making these turns."
As a result of the popularity in zero-turn radius mowers, the phrases ‘gear drive’ and ‘hydro’ have become commonplace among commercial mower manufacturers and their customers during the last few years. The primary difference between the two transmission styles is that hydrostatic drives offer mower operators more instantaneous control of the mower’s drive wheels than gear-drive transmissions do.
In addition, whereas a gear-drive mower’s drive wheels operate in unison, a hydrostatic-drive mower’s drive wheels operate independent of each other. This enables mower operators to make true zero-degree radius turns by having one tire move in reverse while the other tire moves forward.
"The other advantage of the hydrostatic-drive mowers that we like is that the operator doesn’t have to constantly adjust the belts like with some belt-drive mowers," noted Lynott, adding that he involves the company’s mechanics in any mower demonstration tests he conducts to get their input on maintenance needs of different machines.
Ramsze echoed Lynott’s emphasis on equipment maintenance saying the cost number he’s concerned about when he buys a new mower is that mower’s lifetime cost. "I want to know how much a mower is going to cost us over the course of its life with all of the maintenance costs that are required," he explained. "A mower’s durability is one of its most important features."
| UNDER LOCK |
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& KEY
The lawn maintenance industry has a low cost of entry and offers the prospect of immediate customers. "Five years ago, I was maintaining small residential yards for $50," recalled John Gabrielson, owner, John’s Custom Care, Keller, Texas. "Because starting a lawn maintenance business today is so easy, I lost some of my residential jobs to new companies who were charging $30." The ease with which companies can enter the industry and the fact that lawn maintenance equipment is an expensive asset puts a real importance on protecting this equipment to minimize loss. "We have a mechanic at our company who handles the equipment and makes sure it’s loaded properly in the morning and secured indoors in the evening," noted Sam Burke, president, Landscape One, Hebron, Ky. "We take these precautions because we don’t want to risk burglary or damage." Due to a rise in mower theft recently, Ken Raney, advertising manager, Excel Industries, Hesston, Kan., said more contractors have been taking measures to secure their equipment at night and during the day in between jobs. "Theft continues to be a real problem, especially when it comes to a high-dollar item in a metropolitan area," related Chuck Lebkuecher, senior property claims representative, Florist’s Mutual Insurance, Edwardsville, Ill. "A particular favorite for thieves is a high-dollar unit like a backhoe or tractor that is left overnight at a job. Thieves drive in with their own trailer, load up the unit and away they go. And one contractor in Florida has had equipment stolen from trucks in the front yard while workers were in the back yard." "A lot of the contractors in Texas are buying cheaper equipment so if and when it gets stolen, they suffer less of a loss," Gabrielson related. "Some of the equipment theft going on is due to the neighborhood contractors operate in, but even in a good neighborhood contractors need to be aware of theft at all times. "The bigger a company gets, the harder protecting the equipment becomes," Gabrielson continued. "Because we’ve remained a relatively small company, my brother and I tend to take better care of our equipment. Sure, locking equipment up to work in a residential client’s backyard and unlocking it again to use it can be time consuming, but stealing a piece of equipment takes only minutes. And yard equipment is attractive to thieves because they can make a lot of money reselling or using it." More contractors are buying enclosed trailers as an easy way to protect their equipment from theft, Raney said. "A lot of contractors who have smaller companies or are just starting out don’t have a place to unload or store their equipment because they work out of their home or apartment," Gabrielson said. "An enclosed trailer can keep equipment locked up." "In Florida, thieves are incredibly brazen and will strike in broad daylight with the crews nearby," Lebkuecher added. "Leaving equipment at a job site overnight is like ringing the dinner bell for thieves, especially if they know the location and know the equipment will be there for several nights – this gives them a chance to organize the how and when of stealing it." Enclosed trailers can protect equipment not only from theft but also from the negative effects of the weather, added Bill Shea, vice president of sales and new product development at Ferris Industries, Munnsville, N.Y. "Tying equipment down on a trailer can prevent it from getting wrecked or damaged during transport from one job to another," said Shea, citing other ways a trailer protects equipment. "When shopping for equipment, contractors should also make sure machinery is powder coat painted for durability so it can better withstand the sun and snow." Burke doesn’t take any chances when it comes to securing his equipment from weather damage. He keeps his machinery inside or securely covered every night. "Mowers aren’t like cars where the engine is nice and secure under a hood," Burke explained. "Daily dew, rain and fog can negatively affect a mower and how much more maintenance will be needed to keep it in daily running condition." |
ALL HANDS ON DECK. For the last two years or so, one key focus with riding mowers has become the placement of the cutting deck on the machine. As contractors responded favorably to the first couple of models with mid-mount decks – with the deck located beneath the operator’s feet – other manufacturers raced to bring their own mid-mount unit to the market. Now, nearly all of the leading manufacturers have a product in this category.
Wright is a fan of mid-mount decks and said mower operators probably enjoy better visibility of the area around the cutting deck with this arrangement, but that’s not why he buys mid-mount machines.
"The mid-mount models let me put more equipment on the trailer every day," he related. "I want to put as much equipment on the trailer as possible each day in case something breaks down so I don’t have to go all the way back to the shop or to a dealer for a replacement part in the middle of the day."
Ramsze, however, remains a proponent of mowers with the decks in front of the operator for two reasons. "We like to have the flexibility to change the mower decks sometimes based on the size of the property we’ll be taking care of that day," he explained. "And sometimes we’ll use an attachment on a riding mower to do some aerating or something besides mowing, and I think that front-mount mowers handle that better."
The author is Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
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