A look at the 2013 season

MTD, the American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, finds itself confronted by downward sales figures in Europe. At least that is how Peter Janssen, chairman of the European subsidiary MTD Products AG, sees the situation. As he stated at an international press briefing in the MTD works in Nemesvámos, Hungary, market volumes have diminished by some ten per cent in 2012. For this he blames not only the weather but the euro and debt crises above all, with the consequent fall in consumer spending. On the commercial side the reticence of the banks has also led to inventories being cut back. And he is critical of yet another trend: despite a total market vol­­ume of 800 000 petrol lawn mowers (in 2011), European manufacturers are losing market share because retailers are increasingly going direct to China with their orders. MTD is reacting to this situation with a whole number of new products under all three of the brand names that the group carries for marketing in Europe: MTD for distribution through all channels, but principally the large-format type with special empha­­sis on eastern Europe; Wolf-Gar­­ten as the high-profile brand clai­ming to offer the broadest range in the industry; and the Cub Ca­det premium brand. For the MTD brand the group has introduced a new modular concept for the latest generation of the lawn mower range. The mowers are delivered fully assembled, with only the handle still left to be attached by the purchaser. Beside this, another smaller mini-rider has been added to the line of lawn tractors. The Wolf-Garten brand has presented interesting new items in the areas of seeds and fertilizers, and hand tools as well. For instance, from the spring of 2013 the new “Blue Nature” lawn fertilizer will be available. This is described by the producer as having an intelligent outer layer which ensures that the grass roots are supplied over a period of between eight and ten weeks. Moreover, it protects soil and ground water from any loss of nitrogen through leaching, which happens with 30 per cent of conventional fertilizers. Particularly striking in the hand tool category are the new “Power Cut” pruning shears with their innovative cutting system and power leverage in the head, which intensifies the cutting po­wer 38 times in the top three-star model. Branches up to 50 mm thick are no longer any trouble, according to the supplier. The newly designed aluminium handles are both scratch- and shockproof. The topic of energy conservation is…