![]() David Withers, who served as Jacobsen’s president at the time, told Rural Lifestyle Dealer this in October of 2015, “The acquisition of Dixie Chopper allowed us access to the technology to move into zero turns and we combined that with what Jacobsen has been known for. The company echoed that optimism, introducing a zero-turn for its Jacobsen line in 2015. I’m sure many dealers had high hopes for the line after Textron’s acquisition. We’re following up with Textron to learn more, knowing that probably most of the details that can be shared have already been shared in the memo. I think the best possible thing for the product is for another company to pick it up,” Martineau says. If I had to replace, I don’t know what I would replace it with. ![]() I plan on continuing to use my mower until it doesn’t run anymore. “There isn’t another product that cuts like the Dixie. He bought his mower from Holley Tractor of Aiken, S.C., and says the line dominates the area. He owns the 130-acre Wolf Creek polo ranch and hay operation in Wagener, S.C., and uses the Dixie Chopper Excaliber with a 74-inch deck. One loyal customer, Dennis Martineau, reached out to me, hoping the brand would be picked up by another company. Still, he hopes to bring in Dixie Chopper units to fill in the inventory he has on hand. Their sales have been down recently, not related to the mower, but because they serve mostly production farmers, whose incomes have been done down in recent years. We’re staying positive and will keep selling the units we have,” he says.Īnother dealer says that Dixie Chopper is the only mower brand they carry. “We’ve been a Dixie Chopper dealer for 10 years. One dealer is still hopeful they will produce the mowers at another one of Textron’s facilities - or the company will sell the brand. Dealers were among those caught by surprise as news about production ceasing made its way through the network. Early speculation on the employee layoffs at the Coatesville, Ind., manufacturing facility was that Textron would build the mowers elsewhere. The Jet Mower and Dixie Chopper Bike are mentioned in the Company History 19.The zero-turn mower line that started in Art Evans’ barn near Greencastle, Ind., in 1980, grew to a network of 300 dealers, claimed the title of world’s fastest lawn mower, and was purchased by Jacobsen/Textron in 2014, came to an end in early December due to “market pressure and a change in the economic circumstances of the business,” according to a memo to dealers. 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 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. Dixie Chopper's promotional video includes a brief clip from the episode. This mower was featured in a 1993 episode of Home Improvement. 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. ĭixie Chopper claims to build the world's fastest lawn mowers. 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". 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. Our goal is to have Dixie Choppers available for our dealers in time for the 2020 mowing season". we’re in the process of ordering parts and retooling the facility to start making Dixie Chopper mowers. On August 29, 2018, Dan Samet, president of Rhino Ag, stated that, “. 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. On August 5, 2019, Alamo group announced that they had acquired the assets of Dixie Chopper from Jacobsen/Textron. However, on December 5, 2018, Textron notified dealers that they had ceased production of the Dixie Chopper. In February 2014 Dixie Chopper was purchased by Jacobsen/Textron. Dixie Chopper was founded by Hoosier Art Evans in 1980. Many of the original assemblers from the Fillmore (Coatesville) facility returned to Dixie Chopper. 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.
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