FEATURE STORY
TRENDS O 22
utdoor Power Equipment (OPE) magazine's sister publication Landscape and Irrigation (L&I) recently asked a wide range of equipment
manufacturers and suppliers to share their insights about the equipment market, and how the trends they are seeing will impact the equipment decisions made by your commercial customers. The observations of the respondents are as follows: L&I: What trends are you seeing
with regard to equipment for the professional landscape and lawn care markets? Companies are looking to get more
production from smaller machines, especially with Tier 4 regulations making larger engines more expensive. Fuel efficiency is also on their minds, and that has people looking more at the overall production capability of a machine as opposed to just how much horsepower it has. — Jason Morey, small equipment sales manager, Bandit Industries
I believe that energy technology
continues to improve drastically each year in all related markets. So the natural progression for the professional OPE market will tend to follow the technology curve, which means you will see more and more professionals using less gas-powered product and more alternatively powered equipment. — Lincoln Jore, president of CORE Outdoor Power
The industry trend has been to address the need for productivity through product speed and reliability. We also focus on identifying smart, intuitive solutions to problems like difficult terrain and hills. — Allen L. Baird, product marketing
manager, Cub Cadet Landscape and lawn care professionals
and business owners continue to demand quality equipment that meets the extreme workloads that landscape and lawn care can put it under. More efficient designs with less cost of maintenance still drive the development of new products. With
EQUIPMENT 2012
new technologies and materials being developed every day, I think continued growth can be expected industrywide. — Kurt Kainz, marketing manager &
direct sales, Echo Bear Cat Creative engineering and advancements
in material science are ongoing. Manufacturers understand that professional landscapers are looking for lightweight, durable, high-performance products at a reasonable price. — Joe Fahey, vice president, product planning, Echo Incorporated
Overall, professional users are placing more and more value on comfort and durability in the products that they use. — Jeff Dewosky, vice
president of dealer sales for Husqvarna
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