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SPECIAL FEATURE www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation July/August 2015 21 units by the end of 2015. We predict that non-diesel particulate filters (DPF) units will be in demand, and rental companies, along with general construction contractors, will be buying to get ahead of the added cost of Tier 4 final solutions (particularly electronic engines) before all new units under 100 horsepower will have to be Tier 4 final at the end of the year. — Gregg Warfel, district sales manager, Terex Construction Americas So far, so good. Our new 40V cordless product offerings (in- cluding the BL300 blower) are being very well received, and we're seeing higher conversion and adoption rates than in previous years. The conversion to battery is happening faster than we think. — Josh Huffman, director of global product marketing for Oregon Outdoor Power Equipment Crysteel's light- and medium-duty dump bodies are selling well this year. Medium-duty truck bodies are also on the up- swing, a trend that is likely to continue, as Class 5-7 chassis de- mand continues to be strong. — Nikki Kyle, marketing manager at Crysteel Manufacturing Looks good; spring is slightly later than prior years. — Jeff Kendall, vice president, sales & marketing, Earthway Products, Inc. 2015 has been a very good year so far. Whereas 2014 was de- fined by the late start to the season across the country, 2015 has been a much more traditional year for contractors in most loca- tions. With ample rainfall in many parts of the U.S., and a decent overall economy, we're seeing an encouraging level of optimism throughout the industry. — Daryn Walters, director of marketing, Exmark Manufacturing So far, the contractor has been more conservative with his purchases this year compared to years past. But if the weather turns favorable, we expect to meet our goals and expectations. — Bill Engler, director of Gravely brand for the Ariens Company Among other factors, mower sales are dependent on rainfall, the general economy, new-home sales and fuel prices. The current state of the U.S. economy is very robust with record-low unemployment rates and new-home sales rebounding back to healthy levels. There- fore, 2015 is so far proving to be a good year for mower sales. — Rajesh Joshi, Kubota Turf product marketing director 2015 to date has been a great year. There still remains positive impetus in the economy from resolving pent-up demand from the recession. Housing starts, municipal expansions and infra- structure activities have contributed to a positive GDP year to date. As we look at the rest of 2015, we see two driving factors. First is the attractiveness of fuel prices. For any type of contractor, fuel can be a large cost, so these low fuel prices and Caterpillar's use of technology to lower fuel consumption provide contractors a tool to stay competitive on jobsites and bids. Second is interest rates. The cost of borrowing money is still attractive, and allows for continued expansion of private investments. The FOMC in their April 29 press release indicated the current federal funds rate is appropriate. This results in a continued supply of funds for development of residential and commercial properties. In sum- mary, though we don't see accelerated high growth through the rest of 2015, we still see positive strong growth. — John Janes, account manager for Caterpillar's Building Con- struction Products division Our outlook remains positive, as long as the weather remains consistent for the remainder of the year. And, if the economy can really get going, and consumer confidence picks up, in addition to favorable weather patterns, then it could be even better for contractors, equipment suppliers and equipment manufacturers. — Mike Simmon, communications specialist, The Grasshopper Company Excited about how our year has started; our program and product offering are being met with solid results. We think we have a solid lineup, good dealer network and broad offering; we are confident to finish the year strong. — Pete Love, national sales director America for Husqvarna Since most outdoor power product sales are tied closely to general U.S. economic indicators, it is somewhat difficult to predict what the balance of 2015 will hold for overall product sales. That being said, the industry predicts small but steady growth in the lawn and landscape products marketplace. Also, I'll mention that unusual weather patterns continue across the country; wet and stormy weather across Texas and the Midwest has been prevalent, and hurricane season also is upon us, so it wouldn't surprise me if we saw an uptick in pump and genera- tor sales, for example. — Alex Torre, Honda Power Equipment, manager, marketing and market research The beginning of 2015 has been positive for us, a trend we anticipate will continue. We expect to see an increased interest in alternative fuels like propane as fuel costs continue to rise in the summer months. Additionally, we anticipate added-value ben- efits like equipment and loan programs to drive more purchase decisions. — Nick Minas, product manager, John Deere Commercial Mowing We had a strong showing at The Rental Show in March and believe this is indicative of a positive forecast for the remainder of the year. The economy is continuing to improve since the down- turn in 2008, and more people are looking to expand upon their landscaping areas in a variety of markets from golf courses, to deck building and fencing. With Little Beaver, the landscaping projects will run smoothly because the equipment is powerful and reliable, creating maximum project productivity. — Mike Hale, Little Beaver sales and marketing manager Responses are presented in the order in which they were received. LI