NEW PRODUCTS: On The Front-Mount Front With Woods (With Video)

Woods has been in the mid-mount market for only two years and has realized tremendous growth in that short time, according to Tom Benjamin, product manager for its turf and landscape segment. "Last year, from September to August, the mid-mount market grew 47 percent, according to Outdoor Power Equipment Institute," he remarked, adding that the front-mount market only grew 2 to 3 percent during that time.

While the company still plans on developing and offering mid-mount products to landscape contractors, Benjamin said Woods' front-mount roots pushed the company to take a chance at developing a new front-mount mower in a relatively stagnant segment of the market. "We've been a player in the front-mount business since the early 1980s," he said. "Our sales force is comfortable selling front-mount mowers, so we have an established dealer network. Also, there are a lot less suppliers in that market so there's less competition. We have established a presence, and our strategy is to offer a state-of-the-art product and go head to head with the front-mount market competition."

The company started this new product initiative in January 1999, doing significant research and interviewing dealers and end-users to find out what features to focus on. In the end, the priorities were reliability, performance and differentiation, Benjamin said.

Differentiation in the front-mount market is particularly important for Woods because up until 1994 the company worked with Grasshopper to build its front-mount machines. "We partnered with them in the past," Benjamin explained. "So, now we wanted to make a machine that was different. We changed the entire look."

According to Kory Sarver, one of the machine's product designers, some of the mower's key features are based solely on end-user needs. For instance, deck access is easier on the new machine to appease those users, such as Florida-based contractors, who like to change their blades daily, Sarver said. And the machine now has an 11-gallon fuel capacity vs. a 4-gallon fuel capacity, so users can "mow all day without refilling," Sarver said.

Other key features of the Woods F-Series Mowers include:

• Available in four models with standard, heavy-duty hydrostatic drive trains, including hydro-gear pumps and Parker-Ross wheel motors;



• F21D is powered by a 21-hp, diesel Kubota engine, F23 is powered by a 23-hp, gas Briggs & Stratton engine, F25 is powered by a 25-hp, gas Kohler engine and F25L is powered by a 25-hp, gas Kubota engine;



• Tilt-access deck with spring assist is easy to lift and clean for quick blade changes and repairs;



• Hood design directs heat and noise away from operator;



• 10 mph mower speed;



• Cut-away design of fuel tanks allow a view of drive tires, preventing turf damage;



• True-float deck permits free-flowing, up-and-down, side-to-side and front-to-back movement; and



• 15-inch tailwheel tires provide better traction and ground clearance.

For more information about Woods visit www.woodsonline.com.