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The tech behind Grasshopper zero-turn mowers
Key takeaways in this article
- World's first, since 1969: Grasshopper built the world's first true zero-turn mower in 1969 and still manufactures it in Moundridge, Kansas.
- Industry firsts: Grasshopper pioneered hydrostatic transaxle drives, dual swing-out levers, powder-coat finishing, robotic welders, and a patented hydrostatic transmission.
- Components made on-site: Grasshopper fabricates nearly every part in-house, from its largest DuraMax mower decks down to the smallest washers and pins.
- Why in-house matters: Building its own components lets Grasshopper stay flexible and keep production at full capacity through drought or recession.
- Robotics drive production: Robotic and automated systems are now essential to designing, fabricating, assembling, and delivering Grasshopper zero-turn mowers worldwide.
Manufacturing zero-turn mowers has come a long way in the past 55 years. When the world's first true zero-turn mower rolled off the assembly line in 1969, robotics and computers were the stuff of science fiction.
Today, those technologies are essential to the design, fabrication, assembly and delivery of Grasshopper zero-turn mowers world-wide. What was once science fiction is now science fact.
Grasshopper has a rich history of embracing technology and integrating it into the manufacturing process its zero-turn mowers at the company's manufacturing headquarters in Moundridge, Kansas. A highly skilled and dedicated workforce of hard-working Kansans utilize a wide array of robotic and automated systems to build Grasshopper mowers from scratch.
In terms of technology and manufacturing, Grasshopper was the first zero-turn mower manufacturer to:
- install hydrostatic transaxle drive systems in their zero-turn mowers
- develop dual swing-out levers -- a much copied design in zero-turn mowers today
- utilize a powder-coat paint process
- integrate robotic welders
- co-develop and patent a high-performance fully hydraulic hydrostatic transmission system
"I had no idea the process was that sophisticated. I just imagined a hand welder and a paint can. I was truly amazed."
— Freddy Daughtrey
In addition, nearly all of the components that go into Grasshopper zero-turn mowers are made on-site. That includes largest fully fabricated DuraMax® decks and even the smallest washers and pins. Custom manufacturing its own components allows Grasshopper to be flexible and responsive to market shifts, keeping production at maximum capacity, even in times of drought or recession.
This flexibility and responsiveness is not only made possible by the use of technology, but also keeps Grasshopper on the leading edge of the zero-turn mower market and in a position of stable, measurable growth.
Freddy Daughtrey, a long-time user of Grasshopper zero-turn mowers and owner of Daughtrey Lawn Maintenance in Paris, Texas, made this comment after a recent tour of the factory.
"I had no idea the process was that sophisticated. I just imagined a hand welder and a paint can. I was truly amazed," said Daughtrey.
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