Trends for the coming season

Along with traditional lawnmowers for private users, upgraded and sometimes bigger models are acquiring ever greater significance on the show stands at Spoga + Gafa. This is because users with money to spend, such as the rapidly increasing “50-plus generation”, are more than willing to treat themselves to this luxury, and exacting professional users are looking for powerful machines. The models produced for 2006/2007 are no longer straightforward mowers but can be used for a great variety of other purposes as well.
Quiet-running motors and four-wheel drive
Quiet-running twin-cylinder motors and a hydrostatic transmission supplying drive power directly to all four wheels are increasingly featured as integral parts of the new models. Several firms now offer diesel drives even for lawn tractors, along with quiet, reduced-emission petrol engines. Articulated ride-on mowers are particularly suitable for areas that are partially planted with trees and bushes. These have a front-mounted cutting deck which is directly in the driver’s line of sight.
Zero turning radius around trees
The articulated mowers are only surpassed in manoeuvrability by “zero turn mowers” which, having experienced a boom in the American market, are now moving strongly into western Europe. They are ride-on mowers that make use of two levers for steering instead of a wheel. The steering movements are transmitted to the rear drive wheels by two hydraulic motors using the steering principle applied to tracked vehicles. The two front wheels are correspondingly small and designed to turn a full 360 degrees, which means that the mower is capable of turning on the spot, i.e. with a “zero turning radius”.
Purpose-designed cutting techniques
The sale of lawn tractors and ride-on mowers with just a standard cutting deck is becoming increasingly rare today; the trend is towards additional cutters. Increasingly buyers can choose between a variety of different cutters depending on what they intend to mow. Special cutting solutions are available for every situation and for every desired result. Every supplier offers cutters that are suitable for straightforward lawn maintenance. However, a growing segment also caters for the care of so-called extensive areas. In the country these may be former pastures and orchards on farms, around fish ponds or along roadsides. A cylinder, rotary or mulching mower might be used, depending to whether the preference is for a short trim or a rough cut. The new generation of…