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8 Landscape and Irrigation March 2014 www.landscapeirrigation.com JACOBSEN ACQUIRES DIXIE CHOPPER Jacobsen, a Charlotte, N.C.-based Textron Inc. company, announced that it has acquired the assets of Dixie Chopper, a Coatesville, Ind.-based manufacturer of zero-turn-radius mowers for the commercial and residential markets. "The addition of Dixie Chopper expands our reach into the consumer and commer- cial sectors, including municipalities, with a full range of zero-turn mowers known for their speed, quality and performance," said David Withers, president of Jacobsen. "It's re- ally a win-win for both companies, and we look forward to building customer relation- ships together with Dixie Chopper." Known as "the World's Fastest Lawn Mower," Dixie Chopper mowers are capable of mowing up to 6.6 acres per hour. The company manufactures 11 models of zero- turn mowers, from the residential Zee 2 with a 21-horsepower Kawasaki engine and a 42- inch deck to the industrial-category XCal- iber Twin with two 27-hp. Generac engines and a 74-inch deck. "We are excited to join the Jacobsen and Textron family of brands," said Dixie Chop- per Chairman Art Evans. "Our line of zero- turn-radius mowers fit perfectly into the Jacobsen portfolio of products, and we look forward to working together to serve more customers. The joining of Dixie Chopper and Jacobsen offers an opportunity for Dixie Chopper to reach a larger market and ex- pand brand awareness in the process." Jacobsen will continue to operate Dixie Chopper out of the company's Indiana fa- cilities, and its existing management team will join Jacobsen. With the addition of Dixie Chopper, Ja- cobsen offers a complete product line of turf maintenance equipment, including zero- turn mowers, small- and large-area reel mowers, trim mowers, wide-area rotary mowers, aerators, sprayers, utility vehicles and renovation equipment. HUSQVARNA GROUP APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF ASIA/PACIFIC Husqvarna Group announced that Pavel Hajman has been appointed executive vice president, head of business unit Asia/Pacific, and will become member of Husqvarna Group Management. Hajman has more than 20 years of inter- national business experience within several different areas, including sales, marketing, lo- gistics and manufacturing. Most recently, Hajman worked for Assa Abloy, a world leader in locks, doors, and door opening solutions, where he was heading operations in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. His previous experience in- cludes numerous managerial roles within Seco Tools. Hajman holds a Master of Science degree, Industrial Engineering and Manage- ment from Linköping Institute of Technol- ogy, Sweden. "Pavel Hajman has solid and broad man- agement experience, including having worked with both Central & Eastern Euro- pean and Asia/Pacific regions, as well as mergers and acquisitions," said Kai Wärn, president and CEO of Husqvarna Group. "I am confident he will be a strong addition to our team." The former head of Asia/Pacific, Nicolas Lanus, left on Dec. 31, 2013, for a position outside the Group. Brian Belanger, VP legal affairs Asia/Pacific, is acting on the position until Hajman starts, at the latest June 1, 2014. TORO'S NEW EQUIPMENT DISCOUNT PROGRAM RECOGNIZES AMERICAN HEROES To recognize those who serve in the United States military, as well as those who serve their communities across the country, The Toro Company announced a new equip- ment discount program, called the "Ameri- can Hero Program." Under the program, current or former members of the military, and current or former firefighters and police officers are eligible to save 18 percent off the manufacturer suggested retail price of Toro landscape contractor equipment. "There are a number of people who have served or are serving in the military, or in their local communities as firefighters and police officers, that use our equipment pro- fessionally or at their own homes," said Chris Hannan, marketing manager for Toro. "We wanted to develop a discount program to support these heroes." To take advantage of the American Hero program, military members, firefighters, and police officers (with proper identification) can visit any participating Toro dealer to re- ceive discounts on Toro landscape contractor equipment, including Z Master zero turn mowers, Grandstand stand-on mowers and walk-behind commercial mowers. NATION'S LARGEST LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY RECRUITING EVENT HEADS TO COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY Registration is now open for companies to attend the largest recruiting event in the landscape industry. PLANET Student Ca- reer Days — the national collegiate land- scape competition — will take place March 20–23, 2014, at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colo. Student Career Days brings together ap- proximately 850 horticulture and landscape students from more than 65 schools to test their skills in real-world, competitive events, and to interview with landscape, lawn care, irrigation, and other companies at the Career Fair, which will be held on Friday, March 21, 2014. Each year, approximately 60 companies participate in the Career Fair where they have exclusive access to the nation's top landscape industry students. Many of the industry's largest corporations attend Stu- dent Career Days and sponsor one or more of the 28 competitive events. Student Career Days Chair, Ed Furner, Landscape Industry Certified, is a former student attendee of the event and describes it this way, "This is the largest recruiting event of its kind in the landscape industry. It helps build careers and it exposes stu- dents to the vast opportunities and differ- ent types of companies that are in our industry." Many of the industry's most influential companies sponsor competitive events at Student Career Days because they believe they are making an investment in the future of the industry. Stihl is the event's Platinum sponsor. "We at Stihl believe that the future of the landscape industry is bright. Investing in it is critical and we are proud to sponsor the PLANET Student Career Days and its mission to inspire and prepare young peo- ple for their future," said Roger Phelps, Landscape Industry Certified, Stihl promo- tional communications manager. Industry News