Dixie Chopper

Last updated
Dixie Chopper
TypeManufacturing
Founded1980
FounderArt Evans
Headquarters,
United States
ProductsResidential and Commercial Lawnmowers
Parent Alamo Group
Website Dixie Chopper Homepage

Dixie Chopper is a brand of industrial zero-turning lawn mower formerly manufactured in Fillmore, Indiana, relocated to Gibson City, Illinois for a short period of time, but returned to Greencastle, Indiana. Many of the original assemblers from the Fillmore (Coatesville) facility returned to Dixie Chopper. Dixie Chopper was founded by Hoosier Art Evans in 1980. In February 2014 Dixie Chopper was purchased by Jacobsen/Textron. [1] However, on December 5, 2018, Textron notified dealers that they had ceased production of the Dixie Chopper. [2]

Contents

On August 5, 2019, Alamo group announced that they had acquired the assets of Dixie Chopper from Jacobsen/Textron. [3] On August 9, 2019, Alamo executive vice president, Dan Malone stated that they were working to transition equipment from Dixie Chopper's former manufacturing facility in Fillmore, Ind., to Alamo's Gibson City, Ill., location where Rhino Ag equipment is manufactured. [4] On August 29, 2018, Dan Samet, president of Rhino Ag, stated that, “... we’re in the process of ordering parts and retooling the facility to start making Dixie Chopper mowers. Our goal is to have Dixie Choppers available for our dealers in time for the 2020 mowing season". [5] On December 5, 2019, Dixie Chopper posted a video to their YouTube channel announcing, "Dixie Chopper has a new home in Gibson City, IL at the RhinoAg manufacturing facility. 104 days after the company was acquired, the first Dixie Chopper mower has rolled off the assembly line." However, their Facebook post on the same day includes the caveat, "This is a pilot run where we address any quality and assembly concerns before full production begins". [6]

Dixie Chopper claims to build the world's fastest lawn mowers. The most famous example was the Jet Mower, custom built by Art Evans in 1991 using a 150 HP Solar T62 APU from a Chinook Helicopter. [7] This mower was featured in a 1993 episode of Home Improvement . Dixie Chopper's promotional video includes a brief clip from the episode. [8]

Dixie Chopper Motorcycle

The company was also featured on an episode of American Chopper where the Dixie Chopper Bike was built by Orange County Choppers and unveiled at Daytona Bike Week in 2004. The Bike featured a modified 1000cc Generac lawn mower engine rated at 32 horsepower (24 kW), which after some modifications produced a surprising amount of power despite not being a normal bike engine. The Jet Mower and Dixie Chopper Bike are mentioned in the Company History 1993 and 2005. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawn mower</span> Grass cutting device

A lawn mower is a machine utilizing one or more revolving blades to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but generally is adjustable by the operator, typically by a single master lever, or by a lever or nut and bolt on each of the machine's wheels. The blades may be powered by manual force, with wheels mechanically connected to the cutting blades so that when the mower is pushed forward, the blades spin or the machine may have a battery-powered or plug-in electric motor. The most common self-contained power source for lawn mowers is a small internal combustion engine. Smaller mowers often lack any form of propulsion, requiring human power to move over a surface; "walk-behind" mowers are self-propelled, requiring a human only to walk behind and guide them. Larger lawn mowers are usually either self-propelled "walk-behind" types or more often, are "ride-on" mowers, equipped so the operator can ride on the mower and control it. A robotic lawn mower is designed to operate either entirely on its own or less commonly by an operator by remote control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Choppers</span> American motorcycle manufacturer based in Orange County, New York

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel. The series moved to Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC in 2007. Following cancellation of the Discovery series, the company was also featured on Orange County Choppers on the CMT network in 2013. Orange County Choppers returned to Discovery Channel in March 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textron</span> American industrial conglomerate

Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation, and Lycoming Engines. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company. In 2020, Textron employed over 33,000 people in 25 different countries. The company ranked 265th on the 2021 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

Cub Cadet is an American company that produces outdoor power equipment and services, including utility vehicles, handheld and chore products as well as snow throwers.

<i>American Chopper</i> American reality television program

American Chopper is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr., and his son Paul Teutul Jr., who manufacture custom chopper-style motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York. The contrasting work and creative styles of the father-and-son team and their resulting verbal arguments were the series' hallmark until 2008 when an explosive argument led to Paul Jr.'s termination and departure to start a competing chopper company, Paul Jr. Designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Teutul Jr.</span> American motorcycle designer and builder

Paul Michael Teutul is one of the stars of the American reality television series American Chopper. He started working for his father. Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he was head of the rail shop at Orange County Ironworks. He is the owner of Paul Jr. Designs, which manufactures custom motorcycles and sells branded clothing. Teutul, along with his father and younger brother Michael, became celebrities when they became the focus of a reality television series American Chopper on Discovery Channel in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray (bicycle company)</span> Defunct American manufacturing company of Bicycles and Lawn Equipment

Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Pon Holdings. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. The company went bankrupt in 2005 selling most of its assets to Briggs & Stratton and Pacific Cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Toro Company</span> American manufacturing company

The Toro Company is an American company based in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota that designs, manufactures, and markets lawn mowers, snow blowers, and irrigation system supplies for commercial and residential, agricultural, and public sector uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avco</span> Aerospace company

Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTD Products</span> American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment

MTD Products is an American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for the mass market. Headquartered in Valley City, Ohio, the company began in 1932 and was a majority family-owned, private company, until Dec 1, 2021 with 100% now owned by Stanley Black & Decker. It originated as a tool and die maker. MTD's main competitors are Stihl, Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, John Deere and Husqvarna.

Lawn-Boy is a brand of lawn mower, originally manufactured by the Evinrude Company in 1934 and owned since 1989 by Toro. It was the first one-handed reel power mower introduced to the American public. Evinrude purchased Johnson Motor Wheel Company from a New York stock brokerage firm a year later, and in 1936 they merged with the Outboard Marine and Manufacturing Company (OMC), continuing production of Lawn-Boy mowers until 1939, when it was temporarily put on hold to manufacture outboard motors for World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claas</span> Global agricultural machinery manufacturer

CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in harvesting technology. It is the European market leader in combine harvesters and considered as world market leader in self-propelled forage harvesters. The product range also includes tractors, balers, mowers, rakes, tedders, silage trailers, wheel loaders, telehandlers and other harvesting equipment as well as farming information technology. CLAAS employs around 11,500 employees worldwide and reported a turnover of roughly 3.9 billion euros in the 2019 financial year. About 78.5% of sales are generated outside of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush hog</span>

A bush hog or "brush hog" is a type of rotary mower. Typically these mowers attach to the back of a farm tractor using the three-point hitch and are driven via the power take-off (PTO). It has blades that are not rigidly attached to the drive like a lawnmower blade, but are on hinges so if the blade hits a rock or stump, it bounces backward and inward, and then centrifugal force makes it go outwards again.

The Husqvarna Group is a Swedish manufacturer of outdoor power products including robotic lawn-mowers chainsaws, trimmers, brushcutters, cultivators, and garden tractors. Founded as a firearms manufacturer in 1689, it is one of the oldest continuously running companies in the world. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the group also produces consumer watering products, cutting equipment and diamond tools for the construction and stone industries.

Orange County Choppers bikes are motorcycles featured on the television series American Chopper built by Orange County Choppers (OCC) for a specific corporate or celebrity customer. Theme bikes are motorcycles in which the theme of the motorcycle takes priority over everything else, influencing the frame dimensions, paint scheme, and overall 'feel' of the motorcycle. The function of motorcycle usually takes a backseat to the presentation of the theme, and these motorcycles attract attention solely on the premise of the theme itself. Customer bikes are built for and generally to the specifications of a particular customer. Although the customers typically give OCC creative freedom to do what they will, some clients have a specific idea in mind and expect OCC to reproduce their mental picture literally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victa</span>

Victa is an Australian manufacturer of outdoor garden equipment, including petrol and electric lawn mowers, edgers, trimmers, and chainsaws. They manufacture these in petrol & lithium-ion powered variants. However, Victa remains most well known for the Victa Lawn Mower.

Snapper, Inc. was an American company, formerly based in McDonough, Georgia, that manufactured residential and professional lawn-care and snow-removal equipment. Snapper was known for its high-quality red "rear-engine" riding lawnmowers that are capable of standing on-end for storage or repairs, and for its invention of the first self-propelled rotary lawn mower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelite Corporation</span> American power equipment manufacturing company

Homelite Corporation is an American power equipment manufacturer, i.e., that became notable as being one of the largest post-World War II manufacturers of portable electrical generators and professional and consumer level chainsaws, as well as holding the distinction of producing the world's first one-man operated chainsaw.

Jacobsen Manufacturing has produced lawn mowers and light-duty tractors in the United States from the early 1920s until around 2020. They were located in Racine, Wisconsin from 1921 to 2001, when they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2017, Jacobsen moved from Charlotte to Augusta, Georgia. In 2020, it was announced they would relocate from Augusta, Georgia to their sister factory of Ransomes-Jacobsen in Ipswich, England, UK. They are currently owned by Textron since acquisition in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Tool</span> American saw chain manufacturing company

Oregon Tool, Inc. is an American company that manufactures saw chain and other equipment for the forestry, agriculture, and construction industries. Based in Portland, Oregon, Oregon Tool globally manufactures their products in ten different plants across five countries. Oregon Tool produces and markets saw chain, chain saw bars and sprockets, battery operated lawn and garden equipment, lawn mower blades, string trimmer line, concrete cutting saws and chain, and agricultural cutting equipment for OEMs, dealers, and end-user markets. Oregon Tool employs approximately 3,300 people across the world in 17 global locations.

References

  1. "Jacobsen Textron Acquires Dixie Chopper". www.dixiechopper.com. 2020-04-04.
  2. "Textron Specialized Vehicles Ceases Production of Dixie Chopper, Jacobsen Zero-Turn Mowers". www.rurallifestyledealer.com.
  3. GmbH, finanzen net. "Alamo Group Announces Acquisition Of Dixie Chopper Business". markets.businessinsider.com.
  4. "Alamo Group & Dixie Chopper: Up & Running for 2020 Mowing Season". www.rurallifestyledealer.com.
  5. "RhinoAg Gears Up for Dixie Chopper Production". www.farm-equipment.com.
  6. "Dixie Chopper". www.facebook.com.
  7. "World's Fastest Lawn Mowers To Meet at 20th Anniversary STA-BIL National Lawn Mower Racing Championships This Labor Day Weekend". www.prweb.com.
  8. "Dixie Chopper - Jet". vimeo.com.
  9. "Company History".