Hustler Turf continues dramatic turnaround
5 Mar, 2008 LM Direct!HESSTON, KS — From the Wichita Eagle: In 2000, Excel Industries, the manufacturer of Huslter Turf mowers, hit the bottom of a painful downward spiral. It could have been all over.
Instead, it went up — way up.
Sales at the Hesston-based lawnmower maker rose from $28 million in 2000 to $150 million last year, a fivefold increase.
Now, with a plant expansion, strong growth overseas and a partnership with a Japanese golf course equipment company, the company is looking for more than 10 percent growth in 2008.
The company, owned by the Mullet family, makes Hustler Turf zero-turn radius riding and walk-behind lawn mowers, which cost $2,000 to $12,000. About half the units go to commercial buyers, such as lawn services and school districts, and half go to homeowners.
Really, said chief executive Paul Mullet, the company's business model is pretty simple.
"If it's raining, the grass is growing, and if it's growing, they're mowing," he said. "And the more they mow, the sooner they have to replace them."
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