Exmark has been a local manufacturer of turf care equipment since 1982. It started as a manufacturing operation with seven employees in a garage south of Beatrice.
In the early years the company focused on manufacturing a line of midsized walk-behind mowers and turf rakes. In 1987, due to the rapidly growing turf-care equipment market and the competitive nature of the market, the product line was expanded to include commercial riding mowers.
Toro bought Exmark in 1997.
Patty Kaufman, director of finance, said the company continues to do what it has been doing for years.
“We just continue to do what we’ve done,” she said. “There are some new products this year. The Lazer series has been redone and revamped, so there is a lot of new products that has created excitement in the field.”
The Lazer Z zero-turn mower has been in production for 30 years. It was the introduction of the zero-turn riding mower that is credited for Exmark’s phenomenal growth.
The company designed and manufactured its first autonomous mower, which is now for sale.
“It’s a commercial mower designed on the walk-behind deck. The user will map out and program it for a property. You push the button, and it mows the lawn while the user is doing something else. It’s pretty incredible,” she said.
The company hopes to have 60 in the field this year.
“If you think about it, the No. 1 complaint in our industry is labor. So being able to do this work of an employee, the user actually saves money. It’s a trade-off,” Kaufman said.
Exmark has a long history of donations to the community, since becoming a Toro company that has changed, however there are several annual projects.
The Big Rock project is a community initiative where Exmark provides funding and volunteer labor to beautify and preserve outdoor landscapes in need of resources.
In the past the $25,000 grant funded parks and the Chautauqua Waterfall renovation and, last year, the Beatrice Education Foundation.
There is also a $3,000 to $5,000 project grant. In the past it has supported work at the 4-H Building and Charles Park.
“The important part of those grants is having employees involved in the project. It instills a sense of pride in what we are doing. It gives them ownership in the community,” Kaufman said.
Additionally, an employee-driven campaign donates around $50,000 or more to the Gage County United Way each year funding nonprofits in the community.
