American Lawn Mower Company Lawn Mowers
The American Lawn Mower Company was founded in 1895 in Richmond, Indiana. It was a family business started by Robert Butler Kersey. Originally, the company shared facilities with the Richmond School Furniture Company owned by Kersey's father-in-law, William Foulke Spenser, Jr. The two companies moved together to Muncie, Indiana, in1901. The next step was taking over another mower producer. The American Lawn Mower Company bought the Great States Corporation in 1936. The purchase resulted in the production facilities relocating to Shelbyville, Indiana. The product was and still is reel push mowers both American Lawn Mower and Great State reel mowers. Furthermore, the company is also in a licensing agreement with the international lawn giant, Scotts, to produce a line of push reel mowers sporting the Scotts trademark. Overall, this makes the American Lawn Mower Company one of the oldest consistent producers of reel push lawn mowers in the United States. In fact, the State of Indiana honoured the company, in 1995, for "100 years of Building the Reel Tradition." The Indiana governor marked the occasion by declaring June 21, 1995, as "Reel Lawn Mower 100th Anniversary Day in the State of Indiana."
Today, the American Lawn Mower Company is still family-owned. It is also America's largest producer of reel lawn mowers. It operates out of Indiana with production facilities in Shelbyville and offices in Muncie. Sales reached the quarter of a million mark, in 1996. This was an increase of three times its sales in the 1950s, a time of power mower domination. In fact, the reel push mower is on the comeback trail with the American Lawn Mower Company leading the charge. The plant in Shelbyville manufactured between 700 and 900 mowers daily in 2005.
The mowers they sell today resemble their original product, but are designed for today's market and with modern technology. The modern push reel motors manufactured by the American Lawn Mower Company are light and a cinch to take care of when compared to their earlier prototypes. The manufacturer has cut the weight in half or more from the original 40 to 60 pounds. Gone are the splinter-producing wooden handles. Instead, there is lightweight steel painted in vibrant colours. Vanished, too, are the cast-iron wheels. Plastics and lighter metals now roll the machine along.
The excellence of the product remains. American Lawn Mower Company still produces some of the finest reel push mowers in the United States. They are perfect for mowing small lawns. They are environmentally friendly and great exercise. Moreover, if you want to think of your neighbours, buy a reel mower. As a reviewer described the product, they are as "quiet as a whisper."
- Located:
- Established:
- Range: