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{{what, What is a "one-handed reel power mower"?, date=December 2021 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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In 1946, Joel G. (Jack) Doyle built the first rotary lawnmower for the Rotary Power Mower Company of Lamar, Missouri. Doyle accumulated orders for these mowers from
Sears Roebuck, Gimbels, Spiegel, and other businesses. OMC then bought RPM in 1952, and changed the brand of the rotary lawn mower to the Lawn-Boy name.
In the 1950s, RPM facilities were converted to production line manufacturing to meet the high number of orders from bigger retailers such as Sears Roebuck and Spiegel.. Also, newer, quieter engines were introduced to reduce sound.
In 1963, the Lawn-Boy HQ and factory was moved from Lamar, Mo. to the
Gale Products Gale Products was a manufacturer of several products based in Galesburg, Illinois. The company started in 1937 assembling refrigerators from parts sent in from Waukegan, Illinois
The factory expanded making many other household products.
In 1941, Ga ...
Facility's (another part of OMC) site in Galesburg, IL.
The next couple of decades included a long period of research and development as the company continued to expand, including overseas. Riding mowers,
tillers, and
snow blowers were introduced, as well as a new
2-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
in 1970 that produced more power, with less weight and fewer parts. During this time the
D-400 engine
The D-400 series engine or the Iron Horse engine was a light-duty two-stroke engine used for powering lawnmowers produced from the 1950s to the late 1970s. D-400 engines were single-cylinder engines designed and manufactured by the Outboard Marin ...
became popular.
In 1983, two factories were opened in Mississippi and Tennessee. Marketing and Engineering was moved to the Memphis, Tennessee facility.
In 1988, Lawn-Boy acquired
Gilson Brothers Co.
Gilson Brothers Co. was a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment and recreational equipment. It operated independently between its inception in 1911 until acquisition by Lawn-Boy in 1988. The company was probably most well known ...
, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment and recreational equipment.
In 1989, with a dire need for cash, OMC sold Lawn-Boy to the
Toro Company, and eventually consolidated to the Toro headquarters in
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...
. Since the acquisition by Toro, Lawn-Boy has introduced several new series of lawn mowers, including a new lineup of walk-behind mowers and an entirely new category of Zero Radius Turning mowers. Due to engine emissions regulations, Lawn-Boy had been forced to stop using their longtime 2-stroke engine that was favored for its light weight and simple operation.
See also
*
Sensation Lawn Mowers
External links
Lawn-Boy
Companies based in Bloomington, Minnesota
Lawn mower manufacturers