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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/147382
FEATURE STORY 3. Availability of replacement parts. If and when replacement parts are needed, it is critical that the distribution system be able to ship with a minimum amount of lead time. — Dennis Von Ruden, president of General Equipment Company We're seeing a shift in the industry in regard to small walkbehind mowers. The professional landscape and lawn care industry has really embraced our new TurfMaster 30inch mower. We believe there was a gap that needed to be filled between the smaller 21inch mowers and midsize widearea mowers. The new 30-inch mower has helped to fill the gap. Contractors are always looking for ways to be more productive on every job, and this unit has done that. In addition, landscape contractors are beginning to incorporate more EFI mowers into their fleet. There are a lot of factors that go into that decision. One of the most important considerations is the fuel savings. EFI mowers are up to 25 percent more fuel efficient than non-EFI models. These units also reduce the engine's CO2 emissions; automatically adapt to load, weather, fuel and altitude changes; and have no-choke starting that help operators get down to work quickly. — Ryan Moorlag, associate marketing manager at Toro, and Chris Hannan, marketing manager at Toro • Ease of operation: User-friendly controls for convenient operation and more sensibility. • Fewer maintenance requirements: Our two newest machines — the RTX250 and SC30TX — have three or less grease points, and all filters are located in visible areas for quick maintenance. • Compact size and variety of attachments to match: Our mini skid-steer family offers more than 30 attachments. • EFI engine: Electronic Fuel Injection means reliable starting, no carburetor, fuel usage optimization and no choke. — Andy Van Soelen, rental solutions specialist,Vermeer Corporation Photo provided by Stihl Over the past few years, we noticed that landscape professionals are adding to their fleets for the first time in four years, and we're seeing higher trends in trading out equipment. We're finally seeing the recession in this market starting to loosen up. People had been running machines longer and had higher maintenance and repair bills. But now they are beginning to trade out those machines for new equipment. The landscape market follows the housing market closely. Now that we are seeing some construction being done, I think we're going to see the landscape market come back. It has been down since 2008. Back in 2006, landscape was one of our top markets. Now, landscape is not even one of our top three. We don't see it as a trend unless we have three years of data, but landscape is looking to be a strong market. With housing on the upswing, I'm optimistic. — Rob Gilles, marketing manager, Bobcat We have found commercial users are requesting products such as lawn mowers, pumps and tillers that offer the least amount of downtime and the best fuel economy possible. Having both attributes allows landscapers to get the most value from their machine investment while helping them effectively complete their work. These needs further support current and future core product development attributes 22 O U T D O O R P O W E R E Q U I P M E N T www.outdoorpowerequipment.com of fuel efficiency, durability and reliability. — Alex Torre, lawn and garden marketing manager, Honda Power Equipment Landscapers are looking for products that offer a combination of performance, durability, comfort and quality. Where possible, they like to stick with one brand to ensure that each product in their trailer is top quality — and so that they can take advantage of discounts that come with buying higher volumes. — Jeff Dewosky, vice president of dealer sales for Husqvarna In the landscape market, we are seeing a focus on simplicity in maintenance and operation. Many companies have several different operators, and the machine needs to be customizable to these different equipment users. We are also seeing a huge and growing need for specialty attachments. — Kelly Moore, product and training specialist for Mustang skid-steer loaders We have been challenged to produce more efficient products with lower emissions as a result of the ongoing "go green" trend. To meet these challenges, Tanaka's PureFire engine technology was developed to be more environmentally friendly while still providing powerful performance. This technology achieves lower emissions and