Scag Power Equipment, a division of Metalcraft of Mayville Inc., was founded in 1983. Originally, the Scag product was manufactured under contract with Metalcraft of Mayville in Mayville, Wisconsin. In 1986, Metalcraft purchased Scag Power Equipment, marking the beginning of a tremendous period of growth for the company.

From just one model, a gear-drive rider, to over 50 models today, Scag Power Equipment has become the largest independent manufacturer of commercial mowing equipment in the country. Scag Power Equipment’s innovation and attention to quality is known and respected throughout the power equipment industry. Mowers and accessories are designed to be user friendly, with an emphasis on quality, performance, ease of maintenance, profitability and long life.

Being independently owned means their design decisions are not compromised by a large corporate office that also sells sprinklers, vacuum cleaners or “widgets”. They are not forced to manufacture products that are just “good enough”. The entire Scag Team can focus all of its resources on designing, manufacturing and assembling the finest commercial grade lawn mower money can buy.

Scag mowers are assembled by highly trained individuals using the latest technologies such as pulse air torque guns. Mowers are run at the end of the assembly lines to ensure that the following items are up to specification: engine RPM is set, all safety switches are checked for proper operation, fluids are filled, systems are checked for leaks, and neutral and tracking adjustments are set using special dynamometers that apply load to the drive system. These steps add to the value of every Scag mower and ensure the product is the best it can be when it leaves their factory.

If you would like to write Scag a letter, you may send it to:
Attn: Customer Service
Scag Power Equipment
PO Box 152
Mayville, WI 53050

A walk behind mower is similar to the push mower you have at home. The commercial walk behind mower is propelled by Hydraulic pumps and motors, not belts. These mores are bigger and most defiantly heavier made.
The walk behind can start at a 36” deck an go up to 63” decks. Most of these mowers have gas power plants and are air cooled. The drive systems are usually hydraulic pumps and motors. If you don’t like to walk then you can ride a device called a sulky or velke, which is great.
The walk behind mower is great for confined spaces or small yards. These mowers are great on slopes and hill sides due to the very low center of gravity and a wide stance. These mowers are capable
of staying on grades that you can not stand on yourselves. Walk behinds still take up a fair amount of room on your trailer because of the handle bars but are very easy to unload. They also are very durable and the price on these mowers are the best for the money I think.

Front Mount mowers come in two different types, a 2-wheel and a 4-wheel drive units. The 2-wheel drive version consists of 2 hydraulic pumps and 2 hydraulic drive motors, one for each pulling wheel. The 4-wheel drive has the same system as the 2-wheel except it has 4 hydraulic motors, one on each of the four wheels. There are a few different types of steering systems, like the joy stick, pivoting handle bars or even a steering wheel. I must say we had a Hustler 4-wheel drive mower that had a motor bike handle bar system for steering. The fuel tanks on these mowers will hold anywhere from 7 to 15 gallons of fuel and most run on diesel fuel. To me these mowers are easier to work on because there is more room. The draw back is that they take a lot of room up on your trailer and are harder to load and unload in tight places. Most of these front deck mowers I’ve rode on did not ride very well, in fact the 1435 4×4 John Deere will literally beat you to death in areas such as playgrounds and open fields We have 3 grasshoppers that are the exception because they have a thick padded seat plus grasshopper has put the operator in a perfect position. These mowers can reach the $18,000 mark, so they are more expensive that the other mowers making them more acceptable to the larger commercial markets more so than the smaller operations.

A Mid-Mount commercial mower is a mower that puts the riders feet resting about center of the cutting deck and hips just right in front of the rear pulling wheels. The steering is usually two long pivoting handle bars or a type of joy stick. The drive system is usually consists of two hydraulic pumps and two hydraulic motors attached to the pulling wheels. These mowers can either be powered by gas or diesel engines. Most mid mounts have two fuel tanks positioned on the right and left side of the operator. The newer mid mounts are coming with 2-wheel and 4-wheel suspension system to give it a much better ride. These mowers really perform well making it easy on the operator. These mowers can cut a lot of grass and are second only to stand-ons in taking up the least space.

Stand-On Mowers is exactly what it says, you stand on the mower. The engine situated on top of the mowing deck and you stand on a platform directly behind the engine. These mowers are supposed to be more comfortable than walk behinds and even said to be more comfortable than riders, I really don’t know about that yet. I do know they are very stable on hill sides and slopes due to there low center of gravity. Since you can move around on these mowers you can maneuver under limbs and other obstructions more easily than other mowers. The stand-on mowers are great for tight places since they are shorter than other mowers.

These mowers are very unique so I think think they deserve a short history lesson:

IT ALL STARTED WITH SULKIES

Bill Wright and Jim Velke introduced their first sulky in 1989, and named it “Velke” after Jim. Both men had been mechanics and innovators. Wright started out in the lawn maintenance business in Gaithersburg, Md., in 1981. Two years later, he designed and built a grass catcher for walk-behind mowers, which he called the Grass Gobbler. Velke joined his firm a couple years later and, today, the two men hold some 24 patents together.

The first Velke was a one-wheel model that the company still offers under their patented design. Wright introduced a two-wheel sulky in 1996. for commercial operators.
The Grass Gobbler is still manufactured for 20 different makes of commercial mowers, and an extension for leaf pickup, called the Leaf Gobbler, is available as well.

Wright sold his lawn maintenance operation in 1993 to concentrate on developing the Wright Stander mower, a further evolution in the quest to make mowing less fatiguing
A good market for sulkies still exists. Deere’s Dan Schmidt says the walk-behind market still takes some 40,000 units every year. Many of those are candidates for sulkies. Some are switching to stand-on mowers. “Stand-on mowers won’t be right for every property or every commercial firm,” says Schmidt. “There will still be plenty of market needs for walk-behind mowers. But, for the operator wanting to upgrade his efficiency and productivity, stand-on mowers offer some great opportunities.”

Stand-On Mowers have a definite future in the commercial mower market and will be around for along time. These mowers take up the least amount of space on your trailer than any other type of mower, They are also very easy to load and unload even in close quarters. There price range on these mower seems to be about the same as the mid mount mowers. I really believe you will start seeing a lot more of this type of mower.