Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/77000
Special Feature can be expected industrywide. — Kurt Kainz, marketing manager & di- rect sales, Echo Bear Cat Creative engineering and advancements in material science are ongoing. Manufac- turers understand that professional land- scapers are looking for lightweight, durable, high-performance products at a reasonable price. — Joe Fahey, vice president, product plan- ning, Echo Incorporated The trend away from getting the lowest price for equipment will continue, as op- erators look for longevity, comfort and multi-use productivity for better return on investment and healthier bottom lines. Sustainable lawn care practices will also L EQUIPMENT TRENDS 2012 andscape and Irrigation magazine re- cently asked a wide range of equip- ment manufacturers and suppliers to share their insights about the equipment market, and how the trends they are seeing will impact your equipment decisions. Their observations 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, espe- cially with Tier 4 regulations making larger engines more expensive. Fuel effi- ciency is also on their minds, and that has people looking more at the overall pro- duction capability of a machine as op- posed to just how much horsepower it has. — Jason Morey, Bandit Industries small equipment sales manager I believe that energy technology con- tinues to improve drastically each year in 10 Landscape and Irrigation July/August 2012 all related markets. So the natural progres- sion 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 prod- uct and more alternatively powered equip- ment. — Lincoln Jore, president of CORE Out- door 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 man- ager, 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 new technologies and materials being devel- oped every day, I think continued growth continue to trend for the remainder of the year and in years to come. Reducing fuel consumption to control costs and limit impact on the environment from emis- sions are of primary concern. — Stan Guyer, president, The Grasshopper Company * More LSC are purchasing larger-deck zero-turns. * Increased interest in larger engine sizes. * Sales: early demand and also a late spring surge. * Consolidating vendors and machines to one source. — Bill Engler, director sales LSC and in- dustrial, Ariens Company (Gravely) Today's turf and land- scape professionals value options and are looking for equipment that will not only meet their specific needs on the job, but also provide a financial solution – either cost savings through fuel consumption or through purchasing in- centives. — Christine Chapman, assistant product manager, Kubota www.landscapeirrigation.com Photo courtesy of Stihl Inc.