Bob-Cat Recalls Zero Turn Mowers Due to Crash Hazart

Washington, DC -- November 21, 2014.

Recall Summary

Name of product:  Bob-Cat Zero Turn Riding Mower

Hazard:  The steering control arm component can break under normal use, causing driver to lose control and crash.

Remedy:  View Details 

Consumer Contact:  Call Bob-Cat toll free at (866) 469-1242 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, go to www.bobcatturf.com and click on the Customer Service tab at the top of the page, then click on the Product Recall Information in the drop down menu or write to Schiller Grounds Care, Inc., One Bob-Cat Lane, Johnson Creek, Wis. 53038.

Recall Details

Units:  About 4,900

Description:  The CRZ and XRZ model riding mowers have a chassis with an adjustable10-gauge green steel mower deck. The frame, fuel tank, engine compartment and side discharge chute are made of black metal and plastic components. It has four black wheels, two user-operated lever-arm controls and a gray adjustable high-back seat. The mowers range in size from 76 inches to 79 inches long and 45 inches high. The words “Bob Cat” appear in red lettering on the front of the mower and on top of the mower deck, and in a red and white designed logo on the sides of the mower. The words “TufDeck” and “Professional Cut” appear in white lettering on the front face of the mower deck. The recall mowers are:

CRZ 48-inch	model number 942699	serial numbers 94260000070-94260001236
CZR 52-inch	model number 942601	serial numbers 94260100070-94260101722
CZR 61-inch	model number 942602	serial numbers 94260200070-94260200545
XRZ 48-inch	model number 942610	serial numbers 94261000070-94261000390
XRZ 52-inch	model number 942611	serial numbers 94261100070-94261100709
XRZ 61-inch	model number 942612	serial numbers 94261200070-94261200342

The plate containing the serial and model number is located under the seat on the frame cross-member.

Incidents/Injuries:  Twenty-two incidents reported control arm failure, including failure during use and initial set-up. There have been no reports of injuries.

Remedy:  Mower should be returned to the dealer where purchased for free repair with a newly designed control arm component. Consumers who completed the warranty registration card were contacted directly by Schiller Grounds Care, Inc, with instructions for obtaining the repair.

Sold at:  Bob-Cat dealerships nationwide from January 2013 to April 2014 for $4,500 to $5,200.

Manufacturer:  Schiller Grounds Care, Inc., of Johnson Creek, Wisc.

Manufactured in:  United States

Schiller Grounds Care and Sound Manufacturing Enter Into Exclusive Manufacturing Agreement

SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – May 6 -- Schiller Grounds Care, parent company of Little Wonder, BOB-CAT, Classen, Mantis, Ryan and Steiner brand outdoor power equipment, has announced that the company has entered into a supply agreement with Sound Manufacturing, manufacturer of Monster brand truck loaders and collection dump systems. Under the agreement, Sound Manufacturing, a sheet metal fabrication company located in Old Saybrook, Conn., will manufacture these product lines exclusively for Little Wonder.

Little Wonder is a long standing brand within the green industry. Established in the early 1900’s as the leader in the commercial hedge trimmer market, today Little Wonder is an industry leading brand of landscaping and debris management equipment with a broad product line that includes hedge trimmers, bed shapers, brush cutters, edgers, wheeled blowers, leaf and debris vacuums and its own line of compact through mid-size truck loaders.

The agreement is a win/win for both companies. The strength of the Little Wonder brand’s domestic and international distribution network will increase production at the Sound Manufacturing facility. For the Little Wonder brand, the addition of large higher horsepower truck loaders expands the brand’s current line offerings and opens up a new product line in dump collection systems to the landscaping, janitorial and industrial markets.

Pat Cappucci, president and COO of Schiller Grounds Care, stated that as a result of this new relationship with Sound Manufacturing, “We will effectively combine the strength of Little Wonder as a leader in debris management products with Monster Power Equipment, who has acquired the expertise of key talent from the original Giant Vac company, a long-standing expert in truck loaders and large debris loaders.”

“Essentially, they get to focus on their expertise, while we focus on ours, which is bringing the industry the best products possible in debris management for landscape, asphalt and grounds care professionals. We are fully committed to the success of our customers, and are confident that the combination of Monster with Little Wonder will give them a line-up unmatched anywhere in the industry," said Cappucci.

Kelli Vallieres, President and CEO of Sound Manufacturing, agrees, “the Monster Power Equipment team is excited to be combining the strengths of our truck loader line-up together with the strong successful history of Little Wonder products. Through this strategic relationship, leaf and debris customers will be provided with quality products backed by industry leading customer service,” she stated.

www.lawnandlandscape.com     

Press Release from Schiller Grounds Care regarding April 24 Article "Schiller Grounds Care's Classen Manufacturing Norfolk Plant To Close"

CORRECTION

In the May 1, 2013, Vol. 180 issue of “OPE-In-The Know”, Item # 10 entitled “Schiller Grounds Care’s Classen Manufacturing Norfolk Plant to Close,” was a cut and paste article taken directly from the Web Site of the Norfolk Daily News located in Norfolk, NE.  www.norfolkdailynews.com

The president of Schiller Grounds Care, parent company of Classen, has informed me that the April 24, 2013, Norfolk Daily News article contained numerous inaccuracies; that the closing of the leased Classen plant is part of a manufacturing consolidation; and that the Classen brand will continue to be manufactured in two other Schiller Grounds Care plants.

We’re delighted to provide you with a press release directly from Schiller Grounds Care giving you the accurate facts about the manufacturing consolidation

Please read the brief press release from Schiller Grounds Care below.

                       

Announcement from Schiller Grounds Care

April 24, 2013

Schiller Grounds Care announced today, it is consolidating its manufacturing operations. Effective immediately, production at its Norfolk, Nebraska facility is being consolidated into two of Schiller’s existing operations, Johnson Creek, WI and Southampton, PA.  The Norfolk facility has been leased since the Classen brand was acquired in 2004.  Approximately 27 full time employees are impacted with several individuals being offered positions to relocate.  The decision to consolidate is in no way a reflection on the work of the Classen employees, nor the talent and pride with which they do it.  This consolidation will help ensure that the performance of Classen products remains best in class, and that Schiller’s costs are structured in a way that will keep it strong, efficient and competitive both in today’s economic environment and into the future.

For further inquiries regarding this announcement, please contact Nina DeRosa, at 215- 357-5110.

Schiller Grounds Care's Classen Manufacturing Plant to Close in Norfolk, NE

April 24 -- Classen Manufacturing, a Norfolk, NE company that began in Norfolk 40 years ago, is closing its doors.

The company at 1401 Logan St. in south Norfolk manufactured commercial turf and lawn care products sold worldwide.

Larry Classen, who was president of the Norfolk operations, said the final day of production was Tuesday.

Classen said the closure came suddenly and without warning from Schiller Grounds Care of Southhampton, Pa., which owns Classen Manufacturing. Schiller Grounds Care also has plants in Johnson Creek, Wis., and Southampton, Pa.

Classen said he isn’t exactly sure why the company decided to close the Norfolk plant, which was started in 1973 by his parents, Tom and Sylvia Classen.

“It’s not the way we wanted to celebrate 40 years,” he said Wednesday morning.

After its start as a repair facility, Classen Manufacturing went on to manufacture wrought iron products, realty sign posts, automatic can crushers and other miscellaneous items in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2004, the company was sold to Schiller-Pfeiffer, Inc. The company now goes by the name Schiller Grounds Care.

Larry Classen said the Norfolk plant had 28 employees, including other members of the Classen family. The only employee who still has a job is Matt Classen, Larry’s son, who is working in Southampton, Pa., he said.

Classen said he still owns the building in Norfolk and will be looking for a new manufacturer to locate in it.

Travis Schwartzer, who was one of the Classen employees, said workers were told about the closure Tuesday afternoon by Jim Beck.

“He said, ‘Stop your work. Put down your tools. Gather in the assembly area. I’ve got something to say,’ ” Schwartzer said.

Schwartzer said employees learned of the closure “a little past 3:30” p.m. Tuesday.

“I’m just shocked,” he said. “I can hardly believe it.”

In the past three weeks, employees had been working six days a week. Schwartzer said most of his work in recent weeks involved building blade shafts.

Some of the products the company made in recent weeks included aerators, power rakes and industrial lawn equipment, he said.

There’s a lot of good employees who are now out of work. Many of them are in their 40s and 50s and have families, he said.

Schwartzer said he isn’t sure what he will do. He just landed the job with Classen on March 11 and was happy with it because it meant he no longer had to work three part-time jobs.

“It just kills me,” he said. “It hurts. I didn’t think that just plain news could cause physical pain, but this does.”

Schwartzer said his fiance has a job that doesn’t pay much and he has an 18-month-old boy at home. He finally was able to get a job that provided health insurance and now isn’t sure what he will do.

Jerry Guenther       www.norfolkdailynews.com

Lawn-Mower Maker Files Counterclaim Against Exmark

September 16 - Briggs & Stratton has filed a counterclaim in U.S. District Court in Omaha against Beatrice lawn mower maker Exmark Manufacturing, which sued the Wisconsin company and Schiller Grounds Care Inc. in May alleging their mowers infringe on its patents.

In the filing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Omaha, Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group seeks a declaration from the court that it has not infringed Exmark's patent "either directly, indirectly, literally, or under the doctrine of equivalents." Briggs & Stratton also alleges the claims of its patent are invalid.

The ‘863 Patent, at issue, covers multiblade mowers equipped with baffles between blades that allow the mower to be converted from a mulching to a side-discharge mower.

Exmark, which has been in business in Gage County since 1982, manufactures professional turf care equipment including lawn mowers and lawn mower parts. It is a unit of the Toro Co.