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To help lawn care and landscape profession- als gear up for the busy season, Outdoor Power Equipment's sister publication Landscape and Irrigation recently turned to some of the in- dustry's largest mower manufacturers for their insights on how they should prepare their crews and mower fleets for the task ahead. Please tell us about your latest commercial mowers, and what lawn care and landscape profes- sionals should know about your equipment for 2015. For our commercial line, we are introduc- ing the FasTrak SDX. It features a Kawasa- ki FX full commercial engine with remote air filter; suspension seat with smooth ride isolator for operator comfort; 23- inch drive tires; and a 4-year, 1,000-hour commercial warranty. — Brad Unruh, senior product manager, Excel Industries, manufacturer of Hustler Turf Equipment and BigDog Mowers Mean Green Mowers offers a complete line of commercial electric mowers and handheld power equipment. The lineup includes commercial electric 60-inch ZTR rider, 52-inch ZTR rider, 48-inch stand-on ZTR, 33-inch walk-behind, 20-inch com- mercial push mower, battery backpack string trimmers, and commercial electric backpack blowers. All mowers have com- mercial power and battery capacities ca- pable of all-day run times on one battery charge. Battery backpack string trimmers and battery backpack blowers equal the performance of good commercial gas- powered units, but without any emissions or fuel, and have very low noise. — Joe Conrad, president, Mean Green Mowers Grasshopper continues to innovate and enhance our line of zero-turn mowers and year-round grounds-maintenance systems to meet the needs of our customers. We debuted two new models at GIE+EXPO 2014 — Models 125V and 225V — that ex- pand our economical V Series line, which is a perfect introductory point for contrac- tors stepping up to zero-turn mowers from walk-behinds. — Mike Simmon, communications specialist, Grasshopper BOB-CAT is launching three new Quick- Cat Standup Models in 2015. All were designed with the core BOB-CAT no- nonsense features that commercial land- scapers have come to expect and look for in our mowers. They utilize our proven DuraDeck cutting system that is known for its quality of cut and durability and shares common components with our zero turns. Couple that to a tractor de- signed around ideal balance and handling for a ride experience that will have you sticking to slopes with amazing traction and maneuverability. The controls and operator platform enhance the ride and visibility while still offering easy access and serviceability to keep you mowing. All of this with Hydro-Gear and Kawasaki providing the right drivetrain combina- tion for all-day power and performance. For our zero-turn lineup, we have added new collection systems that integrate with the mowers for better capability and per- formance that can be put on or taken off of a machine in minutes. — Tony Weber, product specialist manager, Schiller Grounds Care, Inc. Honda offers a complete line of both com- mercial and residential lawn mowers with simple, easy-to-use features designed to provide years of reliable and superior per- formance. All Honda lawn mowers fea- ture legendary Honda engines, recognized as providing durable, quiet, easy-starting and fuel-efficient power. Honda offers the HRCPDA and the HRCHXA lawn mow- ers as two excellent options for landscape professionals, in addition to our other res- idential products, such as the HRX lawn 20 APRIL 2015 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com Feature Story | Industry Trends Photo By John Deere Mowing Trends Industry experts share their thoughts regarding the latest commercial mowers and related trends