City of Beatrice Loses a Lawn Mower Pioneer

BEATRICE – May 1 -- A pioneer in the lawn mower industry who helped turn sketches drawn in his basement into two successful businesses passed away Monday evening.

Wilfred H. “Dick” Tegtmeier, 74, of Beatrice, was a familiar face around town and instrumental in co-founding Exmark Manufacturing with three others before branching out on his own to start Encore Manufacturing.

Tegtmeier graduated from Hollenberg High School in Hollenberg, Kan. in 1956 and was the only boy in the class of four. He did not attend college.

Tegtmeier’s career in the mower business began at Kees Manufacturing, where he worked with lawn mowers.

“He started with Kees Manufacturing back in the 1970s and they asked him to develop a line of lawnmowers, said Dick’s son, Doug Tegtmeier. “Around 1983, the opportunity came up where he had a chance to spin off and start Exmark with a couple other guys.

“He was a pivotal guy in the lawn and garden business. They always call Beatrice ‘the lawn mower capital of the world,’ and he was pretty much responsible for the whole thing.”

Exmark began with sketches in the founders’ homes before a prototype was made that was displayed at trade shows.

In 1983, Exmark became one of the first businesses to locate in Beatrice's Industrial Park.

Known for making bold business decisions, Dick left Exmark in 1988 when he formed a new mower company, Encore Manufacturing, which was also located in the Industrial Park -- a move many people questioned at the time.

“When we started Exmark, people said, ‘You’re crazy,’” Dick told the Daily Sun at a company anniversary celebration in 2002. “When we started Encore, they said, ‘You have to be a complete idiot.’”

At the time Dick made that comment, Encore’s business has grown 640 percent since its first year and the building had to be expanded in 1993.

“He pretty much risked everything he had to make Encore work,” Doug said. “It was very risky at the time, but it was also a good market. It was scary.”

Encore employed 42 people at its peak, but after 23 years, a harsh economy took its toll on the business and Dick sold Encore Manufacturing to the China-based World Lawn Power Equipment, on the condition the factory still operate in its Beatrice location.

Beatrice Mayor Dennis Schuster said without the two businesses Tegtmeier helped settle in the area, Beatrice’s Industrial Park would likely be a shell of its current self.

"There would probably be one or two occupied buildings, but Exmark’s homegrown-products were really an anchor," Schuster said. “Dick was one heck of an entrepreneur and someone who will be greatly missed.”

While the public will likely remember Dick Tegtmeier as a pioneer of the lawn mower industry, for his family, memories will extend beyond a savvy businessman to a caring family man.

“He was the best man at my wedding, we loved to golf and he enjoyed playing with his grandson,” Doug said. “He just loved his community, family and friends. He taught me how to be a good man.”

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 4, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Beatrice. A family and friends prayer service will be held at 10:15 a.m. Saturday in the fellowship room of the church.