GUELPH, ONT --- August 20 — Linamar is shutting down production of its cordless, battery-powered lawn mowers. Future production of the product is uncertain.
The manufacture of the machines was launched roughly three years ago, and was supported early on by funding from the province. The mowers were touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline-powered machines.
Linamar’s chief executive officer, Linda Hasenfratz, said production has been shut down.
“We had a significant supplier issue this year which has effectively shut production down for the season,” she said in an email. “It was a supply issue as opposed to a technical issue; the lawnmower continues to be a premium product in the market.”
While Hasenfratz continues to believe in the efficacy of the green lawnmowers, the future of the product is under review.
“We are currently evaluating market conditions and potential in order to develop a strategy going forward for this business,” she said.
Back in 2008, the company received $1.8 million in provincial funding to take the rechargeable mowers to market, with funds coming from a $30 million pot of money dedicated to environmental and alternative energy development. Guelph MPP Liz Sandals said Linamar received a “much smaller” grant in 2006 to pilot the electric motor technology they were developing.
Home Hardware and Home Depot were among the major retailers that sold Linamar’s lawnmowers, which were marketed under the Solaris, Epic and Utopia brands, essentially the same machine with slightly different paintjobs.
The cutting power of the rechargeable Terra Phase electric motor, which has a one-hour charge, was said to be comparable to an internal combustion engine. They run on rechargeable batteries as opposed to gasoline, and come with an optional solar-powered recharger. They sold for between $500 and $600.
The mowers were assembled in Guelph, and were part of Linamar’s recent efforts to branch out and diversify its business. While the company continues to make parts for the alternative energy sector, and manufactures electric motors and utility trailers, the automotive power-train and driveline segment of its global business is where it makes the bulk of its profits.
Andrea Bowman, Linamar spokesperson, said the company is fully supporting the products should there be any problems with them.
“A person can either go back to where they purchased the lawnmower or they are welcome to contact our consumer products division and someone there will help them,” Bowman said. The toll-free number for Linamar’s consumer products is 1-866-857-1445.
Bowman said she was not able to provide additional details on the “supplier issue” mentioned by Hasenfratz. Company employees who built the mowers have been redeployed elsewhere in Linamar’s operations, Bowman added.
Sandals said Linamar received a small amount of funding first from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation to boost the performance of the mower’s electric motor. The company then received the $1.8 million to help commercialize the technology, simultaneously enlisting large distributors like Home Depot to market them.
Sandals said Linamar fulfilled all obligations tied to the funding.
“The development work on the motor occurred, and going to market in a serious, chain-store sort of way to see if the consumer is going to buy this, they certainly did that as well,” she said.
Sandals said consumer demand, or lack of it, often seals a product’s fate, but supporting new products and economic diversification is part of what government does.
“It doesn’t mean the product that was developed and refined won’t have commercial application in some other product,” she added. She commended Linamar for making efforts to diversify its business beyond the automotive sector.
“Clearly what we’ve learned from the recession is that whether it’s a company or the province, we need to have a broader range of possibilities,” she added. “That’s what we’ve been trying to do as a government, is to diversify the base. That’s why these grants were there in the first place – to help people explore diversifying the base.”
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