American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Spring mowing season is here and whether you’re just starting to build a fleet or in the process of replacing aging equipment, there are more commercial mower options now than ever before. We spoke with some resources in the power equipment industry to sort through models and power sources to find out what’s the ideal piece for your needs and—most importantly—your budget. “There is an extraordinarily diverse field of products at price point and power source today,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), the equipment manufacturers’ trade association. “And it continues to evolve.” According to Kiser, the focus is increasingly on safety and comfort for equipment operators. “Manufacturers have gotten way smarter about helping people use their machines for eight hours a day,” he said. “Most landscape professionals have a ‘lane’ that they stay in,” says Tom Vachal, senior turf product manager for Kubota. Whether that’s wide open spaces (think: golf courses and baseball fields), tighter municipal areas, or somewhere in between —a mix of smaller yards and commercial properties—there are mowers to help optimize comfort, productivity and durability, he said. Wide Open Spaces For landscapers who are maintaining larger properties, like golf courses, sports fields, or college campuses, the obvious choice is a wide deck zero turn that you can just get on and go. For the larger commercial areas, “you’re going to want to optimize your speed and efficiency,” says George Reister, global product manager for Husqvarna who has over 20 ...