There’s never been a better time to purchase mowers — that is if you like variety. Twenty eight mower suppliers exhibited at the 2016 GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Kentucky. Most manufacturers displayed multiple models.
Commercial-grade ZTRs (riders and stand-ons) dominated both the show floor and the outside demo area. In terms of the riders, these included both mid-mount and versatile front-mount models. But if you were looking for even a rugged little 21-inch trim mower, the GIE+EXPO wouldn’t have disappointed you.
If the sheer number and variety of mowers being displayed weren’t enough to excite you, perhaps the many different available engine and fuel options did. Again, there was a wealth of choices.
On display were large rugged commercial zeroturning radius mowers powered by Kawasaki, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton, Kubota and Yamaha engines. Each of these manufacturers offered power plants in a range of horsepower ratings. Yamaha, the latest manufacturer to enter the ZTR market, debuted its engines on select Gravely commercial zeros for the 2017 season. Engine choices for small walk-behind mowers at the event included Honda, Briggs & Stratton and Subaru.
Contractors attending the GIE+EXPO saw machines powered by gasoline, propane and diesel fuel, along with the promise of more battery-powered commercial cutters by Greenworks, joining industry pioneer Mean Green in that space. And manufacturers that displayed another crop of new models or models with exciting new features at the GIE+EXPO included: Altoz, Ariens and Gravely, Bad Boy Mowers, Cub Cadet, Dixie Chopper, Worldlawn, Exmark, Ferris, John Deere, Mean Green, Robomow, Schiller, The Toro Co. and Worldlawn Power Equipment.
