Today, any knowledgeable turf professional knows that there are a number of options to choose from when purchasing a mower to cut large expanses of contoured turf with a rotary mower. Articulating rotary mowers are a common sight at almost any golf course. What many new to the profession may find hard to believe is that articulating rotary mowers didn’t even exist 25 years ago. The first articulating rotary was introduced by Lastec in 1990.
In 1990, Jeff Laskowski founded Lastec, which began manufacturing and marketing a simple mower designed to cut rolling turf without scalping or missing grass. This revolutionary PTO-driven mower developed by his friend and early partner, Dan Tekulve, utilized seven 21” rotary decks attached to a frame that was pulled behind a tractor. Each floating deck was driven with a belt transferring power from one deck to the next. This early mower could cut 10 feet wide as accurately as seven workers using small push mowers. This design was revolutionary at the time and granted multiple patents. One tractor and one mower replaced the efforts of seven without any compromise to cut quality.
Lastec Articulator
What started out on Jeff’s kitchen table has become one of the most respected manufacturers of articulating rotary mowers in the industry. Perhaps the most visible tribute to the concept has been that all wide-area grooming mowers on the market today attempt to imitate the cut quality of the articulating rotary deck Lastec introduced to the world over two decades ago. Lastec’s patents still give every Articulator measurable advantages in efficiency, simplicity, and cost when compared to any others. Lastec mowers are still the only wide-area articulators available in zero-turn configurations.
SOME IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN COMPANY HISTORY
-
1990 Lastec introduced the Model 721, a PTO-Driven articulating rotary mower with a ten foot wide cut and cut quality of seven 21” push mowers. - 1995 Lastec introduced the first self-contained wide area Articulator with the introduction of the Model 421 and Model 425, zero turn units with 82” and 96” cutting widths.
- 1998 Lastec merged with Wood-Mizer Products, and leveraged that partnership to grow annual sales to over $10 million.
- 2003 Lastec/Wood-Mizer took first step to becoming an employee owned company by the formation of an ESOP that purchased 51% of the company.
- 2007 Lastec/Wood-Mizer become 100% employee owned.
- 2008 Lastec introduced the Model 3300. A 100” wide, zero turn, self-contained articulating mower focused on mowing applications outside of the golf market.
- 2012 Lastec introduced the Model 4520. A 120” wide, zero turn, self-contained articulating mower focused on the golf market and other mowing applications that require a wide area mower.
- 2015 Lastec re-introduced the 61” and 73” commercial units at a competitive price with the same Lastec quality you have come to know and trust.
- 2016 Lastec celebrated their 25th year!
WHERE is Lastec NOW?
Lastec has had over two decades to refine the concept of articulating rotary mowers and today offers the most comprehensive line of articulating rotaries. While Lastec remains a comparatively small player in the whole turf industry, it is the dominant manufacturer of rotary mowers designed to cut the most challenging turf on the planet. That’s why one in four of the top 100 golf courses routinely look to Lastec Articulators to meet their cutting needs.
For more information call 800-515-6798 or visit Lastec on the web at www.lastec.com
