Are These Mowers Made In USA? 22 Brands & Where To Be Made

Lawnmower

The lawnmower market in the United States and across the world is fast expanding. Of course, the reason is no CIA-classified secret. Homeowners want charming and beautiful lawns, and lawnmowers – thanks to their benevolent collection of technological features – provide just that. For context, the lawnmower market in the United States is estimated to shoot to about $13 billion by 2024. But how many of these popular mowers are made in the USA?

Industry-leading mowers like the Black and Decker, Toro, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Ariens, Troy-Bilt, Ferris, Gravely, Dixie Chopper are made in the United States. But other household names like Craftsman and EGO are made in China. Honda lawnmowers are made in Japan, while Columbia mowers are made in Canada.

Well, now that you have tasted the icing, let us serve you the main cake by digging deep into 22 of the biggest lawnmower brands in the United States, examining in more detail where they are made, and a bit of how they came about regarding when they were founded. 

Where are Toro mowers made?

Toro mowers are made in the United States. These mowers are assembled in plants distributed across El Paso in Texas, Windom and Shakopee in Minnesota, Plymouth in Wisconsin, El Cajon in California, and Sanford in Florida.

Toro has been around for a long time, founded far back in 1914. Toro, as a name, reflects this manufacturer’s long-standing partnership with The Bull Tractor Company.

During its early days, Toro tended to focus on golf machines. It was not until 1924 that Toro produced its first mower, the renowned Park Special. By 1948, Toro would delve into the rotary lawnmower market by acquiring the Whirlwind Company of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. 

Still, on the strategy of consolidating its position in the landscaping space via acquisitions, in 1997, Toro bought Exmark Manufacturing in Beatrice in Nebraska. Today, Toro mowers are a force to reckon with.

Where are Craftsman mowers made?

Craftsman mowers are undoubtedly a household name in the lawn maintenance niche. Interestingly, Craftsman mowers are majorly manufactured in China, with the other significant bulk in Taiwan.

Craftsman was originally founded in 1927 but would wait until 1934 before it launched its first lawnmower. By 1953, Craftsman was reinforcing its position as an industry leader with the release of its riding mowers, which went for $350 back then. In 1955, sales of Craftsman rotary mowers had hit 1½ million units.

By 2017, the Craftsman brand was acquired by Stanley Black & Decker from Stanley Black & Decker, with the deal running into a sumptuous $900 million. Under the terms of the deal, Craftsman mowers were to keep selling under the Craftsman label.

Where are Troy-Bilt mowers made?

Troy-Bilt mowers are majorly manufactured in the United States. Production is spread across plants located in Martin in Tennessee, Willard in Ohio, and Tupelo in Mississippi.

Specifically, the famed TB30 Neighborhood Rider lawnmower is built in the Willard facility. The Martin facility produces the Troy-Bilt’s zero-turn mowers, while the Tupelo plant handles the production of TB walk-behind mowers.

As to its founding, Troy-Bilt mowers go as far back as 1930, when an industrious C.W. Kelsey founded the company. The company started as Rototiller, Inc., focusing on producing rotary tillers. Consequently, Rototiller transitioned into the Troy-Bilt brand following a trademark-inspired hullabaloo in 1967. 

By July 2001, the gigantic MTD has acquired the Troy-Bilt brand – along with the Bolen brand – for an estimated $44.1 million consequent to bankruptcy files from Garden Way, Inc.

Where are Honda mowers made?

It is almost instinctive to know that Honda mowers are not made in the United States. As you would readily tell from the name, Honda is a Japanese product. 

With the bulk of its manufacturing sites located in Japan (and in some cases, parts are sourced from Thailand and North America), the Honda brand supplies more than 500,000 lawnmowers distributed across the US, China, Australia, Italy, and France.

Although the industrial behemoth Honda itself was founded in September 1948 in Shizuoka in Japan, it was until 1978 that Honda rolled out its first lawnmower.

This was the HR21 walk-behind mower, featuring innovative features like the BSS Roto-Stop, unusual quick starting, and was rewarded with huge adoption in the US. 

By 1983, Honda further illuminated its innovative genius in the lawnmower space by becoming the first lawnmower producer to deploy a 4-stroke overhead valve engine on a walk-behind mower.

Where are Ariens mowers made?

While the manufacturing of Ariens mowers is essentially done in the United States, these mowers use engines, except Briggs and Stratton engines – designed in China. 

Ariens zero turn mowers are majorly produced in its Brillion facility in Wisconsin, but this manufacturer also leverages other plants distributed across the UK and Norway.

While Ariens was founded in 1933 by Henry Ariens, its voyage into the lawnmower space started in 1958. By 1963, Ariens stepped on the gas, unveiling a sprawling 23,000 square foot manufacturing plant situated in Brillion. 

In 1982, Ariens made an operational detour, streamlining its production to residential mowers. Ariens would then amplify its operation, venturing into the commercial mower market by buying the Gravely Company.

Where are Black And Decker lawnmowers made?

Black and Decker lawnmowers are made in the United States, with operations starting from Baltimore in Maryland. This illustrious company was the brainchild of Alonzo G. Decker and S. Duncan Black. Hence you can see the name Black and Decker was coined from the union of the founders’ names.

With a revenue of $12.74 billion and 60,767 employees (as of 2017), it is inspiring – if not laughable – that Black and Decker initially began operation as a lowly machine shop situated in a rented warehouse in Baltimore.

It wasn’t until the latter part of the ‘50s that Black and Decker started making lawn edgers. The company would unleash its first electric lawn mower in 1966. 

By 1989, Black and Decker reinforced its supremacy in the lawn and garden care space by acquiring the Emhart Corporation. The move (enhanced with the 1992 relaunch of the DeWalt Line) turned a really brilliant one as Black and Decker’s share of the American power tool market leaped ecstatically from 8% as of 1991 to over 40% in 1995.

Where are Columbia mowers made?

Columbia mowers are essentially made in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. This brand, however, is owned by an American conglomerate, MTD, the same company behind Troy-Bilt mowers.  

While Columbia used to exist independently, it entered a merger with MTD in 1969. Not much is really about Columbia mowers in the United States, but they are a renowned staple in the Canadian lawn maintenance space, especially Columbia’s self-propelled models. 

Where are Cub Cadet mowers made?

For the last 60 years, Cub Cadet lawn mowers have maintained a tradition of building their mowers from American-based facilities leveraging seasoned American labor. 

Cub Cadet mowers are produced from any of its three state-of-the-art facilities in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Ohio. The manufacturer’s global operation is headquartered in Valley City, Ohio.

Cub Cadet was founded in 1960, although it started as IH Cub Cadet, a division of the International Harvester (IH) Company, an illustrious American manufacturer focusing on automobiles, commercial trucks, and agricultural machines.

The Original was the first Cub Cadet model ever produced, with its production running from 1961-1963. It was equipped with a 7hp Kohler engine with an 8hp replacement in store. 

By 1981, fiscal challenges forced IH into selling Cub Cadet to MTD. Upon the acquisition, MTD incised the IH off the IH Cub Cadet brand name, leaving it with Cub Cadet as a wholly-owned subsidiary specialized in lawn equipment production. 

In 1993, Cub Cadet launched the first zero-turn mower furnished with a steering wheel control.

Where are Dixie Chopper mowers made?

Dixie Chopper mowers are produced in Gibson City, Illinois in the United States. Previously, these mowers were built in plants located in Fillmore in Indiana. 

This manufacturer’s story starts back in 1980 when the enterprising Hoosier Art Evans founded it. Rolling out the custom-designed Jet Mower (cleverly featuring a 150 HP Solar T62 APU extracted from a Chinook Helicopter), Art Evans and his team made a strong case for having the fastest mowers in the industry back then. 

In 2014, Jacobsen/Textron acquired Dixie Chopper but would later sell it to the Alamo Group in August 2019. A vigorous restructuring and retooling of the Fillmore facility are being executed to ensure Dixie Chopper mowers can keep up with their reputation of excellence in the twenty-first century.  

Where are EGO mowers made?

The Chervon Group, a multinational manufacturing company headquartered in China Nanjing, owns the EGO brand.

We can say EGO made a late entry into the lawnmower industry, with the company only starting operation in 1993. Having said that, the bulk of the mower manufacturing is done in China, it is essential to state that EGO has operational locations diffused across Illinois and Michigan. More specifically, such locations are more inclined toward testing, research, and development functionalities.

The EGO POWER+, which was unveiled in 2012, allowed EGO to make a grand entry into the outdoor power equipment industry. 

Where are Exmark mowers made and Who makes them?

Exmark mowers are made in the United States from the manufacturer’s Gage County Industrial Park facility situated in Beatrice, Nebraska. 

The Exmark Manufacturing Company was founded in 1982, staking a strong claim for a share of the landscaping industry as an autonomous professional turf care tools manufacturer. 

Interestingly, Exmark began as a 7-man team in the humble garage south of Beatrice, moving to its present Gage County Industrial Park site just a year later. At the onset, production was narrowed down to walk-behind mowers, with the company consequently expanding into commercial riding mowers. 

By 1995, Exmark marveled professional lawn maintenance contractors with the Lazer Z. This was a zero-turn (mid-mount) mower that would ultimately grab a dominant slice of its market. In 1997, Exmark was absorbed by The Toro Company.

Where are Ferris mowers made?

Ferris mowers are produced in Upstate New York in the United States. Having grown into one of the leaders of the commercial lawnmower market, Ferris is deserving of every grain of its ascendancy to the top. 

What else would you say of a company that was founded as far back as 1909? Yes, Ferris opened operations in 1909 as The Uebler Milking Machine Company. 

By 1986, the landscaping industry grew in leaps and bounds, and Uebler Milking Machine Company decided to take an ambitious dive in, reinventing itself as Ferris mowers. 

The company primarily focused on commercial mowers. Riding high on innovation, Ferris announced itself as an industry leader by releasing the first-ever hydrostatic drive walk-behind mower in the turf care space. 

So incredible was the brilliance behind this innovation that Ferris bagged the coveted Innovation Award from the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) award. 

Was Ferris satisfied yet? NO. By 1998, Ferris once again disrupted the status quo by introducing the first Independent Suspension (IS) system on a riding mower. This stroke of genius further landed Ferris the OEMmie award for innovative engineering solutions. 

Where are Grasshopper mowers made?

Grasshopper mowers are produced from its monumental plant in Moundridge in Kansas. When I say monumental, it was no exaggeration. Grasshopper’s Moundridge facility sprawls 350,000 square feet, employing over 280 highly qualified workers.  

For its beginning, Grasshopper was founded in 1969, operating as a family-owned business. The ingenious LeRoy Stucky was the guy behind the invention (and trademark design) of the first Grasshopper mower.  

Grasshopper retains an honorable spot in the history of American landscaping, being the first manufacturer to integrate dual swing-out levers into zero-turn mowers. Was that all? No-no. 

Grasshopper also holds the record for inventing the first zero-turn mower to work on diesel. This was a huge disruptor as diesel engines ultimately became the hallmark of engine longevity, fuel efficiency, and power delivery.

By 1988, Grasshopper would take things a bit further by integrating dual hydrostatic drive systems into its mowers, resulting in significantly enhanced smoothness when riding.

Where are Gravely mowers manufactured?

Gravely mowers are produced in Brillion, east-central Wisconsin in the United States. Gravely machines have been manufactured from the very beginning in the United States. The only exception to this was a two-hiatus when Gravely transferred production to England after World War II. 

The Gravely Company was founded in 1916 by Benjamin Gravely with its focus on producing commercial-grade machines. An exciting beginning, Benjamin Gravely started his enterprise sketching machine designs on the floors of his buddies’ garages. 

By 1937, major ownership of the company was transferred to D.Ray Hill after his purchase of controlling stocks in the company. In 1953, Hill reinvented the company into Gravely Tractor Inc.  

The Gravely Company would eventually blossom, moving to a dedicated production facility in West Virginia. Production would continue here until 1968, when the Gravely Company moved production to Clemens in North Carolina. 

In 1982, Gravely would still again change hand as Ariens acquired it, with production ultimately moving over to Brillion. Today Gravely is majorly known for its zero-turn and walk-behind mowers.

Where are Husqvarna mowers made?

Husqvarna mowers are produced in Husqvarna Consumer Outdoor Products NA, Inc. facilities distributed across Georgia, Orangeburg, McRae, and South Carolina.

It goes without saying that Husqvarna is one of the oldest companies on this list. This company was founded in 1689, close to a small town called Huskvarna in Sweden. This explains the relatively “Un-American” name Husqvarna this brand carries.

It would excite you to learn that Husqvarna didn’t originally start as a mower manufacturer, despite it being its dominant division now. In 1689, Husqvarna began operations as a weapon foundry, making muskets. A keener examination of Husqvarna’s logo today reveals a gun sight when viewed from the perspective of the barrel end.  

From weapon manufacturing, Husqvarna would make detours into kitchen and sewing equipment. Husqvarna only moved into lawnmower production by 1918, following its acquisition of Norrahammars Bruk, a compatriot Swedish company. 

In 1947, Husqvarna tested its first engine-driven lawnmower. By 1959, Husqvarna has consolidated sufficiently in lawnmower production to venture into manufacturing power lawnmowers. 

Husqvarna further raised the bar of innovation in the lawnmower space by designing an unprecedented robotic lawnmower powered by solar energy. These mowers began enjoying bountiful adoption by 2010. 

Where are Scag mowers made?

Scag mowers are manufactured and assembled in the United States from the manufacturer’s Wisconsin facility. Boasting an expansive manufacturing space running over 680,000 square feet, it is no longer a mystery why Scag is one of the best producers of commercial-grade lawnmowers in the United States.

The company behind Scag mowers, Scag Power Equipment, was found in 1983. The company enjoyed a robust bout of growth after its acquisition by MetalCraft in 1986.

Yes, robust would be the befitting adjective to describe how Scag mowers boomed from just one model back in the day (specifically a gear-drive rider) to the more than 50 models of commercial mowing equipment. Today, these models span stand-on mowers, riding mowers, and walk-behind lawnmowers scattered across the US.

Where are Bush Hog mowers made?

Bush Hog prominently counts among the American-made lawnmowers on our list. Bush hog mowers are manufactured from its facility situated in Selma in Alabama. 

The Selma facility is overwhelmingly large, covering more than 500,000 square feet. This is where its extensively trained manual welders combine with robotic welders produce the bulk of the rotary cutters Bush Hog boasts.

The illustriousness in that Bush hog mowers mow over 30,000,000 acres annually is best appreciated when viewed from the reality that Bush Hog started in 1956 from a little dirt-floor factory seated in Selma.

The Model 12 was the first-ever mower offering from this manufacturer. This rotary cutter – boasting trailblazing features like stump jumper, foldable swinging blades, and a 3-point lift – became a darling of farmers fetching Bush Hog massive commercial success.

In September 2009, The Alamo Group (another gigantic American agricultural equipment manufacturer) acquired Bush Hog.

Where are Wright mowers made?

Wright mowers are produced in Frederick, Maryland, in the United States. This manufacturer operates a 99,400 sq.ft facility where most of its zero-turn and stand-on mowers are made. 

Wright Manufacturing, Inc., the company behind Wright mowers, was founded in 1981 by Bill Wright. Originally, the company centered on lawn maintenance. By 1983, the company would reinvent itself into a manufacturing company following its brilliant invention of an all-metal grass collector. 

Through the early 1980s, the company kept itself busy with manufacturing mowing accessories like its invention of the single-wheel stand-on Sulky, for which it bagged a patent in 1991. 

Wright Manufacturing, Inc. transitioned into producing complete mowers in 1993, creating the first-ever stand-on mower the American landscaping space saw in 1997. 

This patent would be further enhanced by the manufacturer likes of John Deere, who contractually agreed with Wright Manufacturing, Inc to leverage the latter’s stand-on mower technology. 

Where are John Deere mowers made?

A significant fraction of John Deere mowers is manufactured in Waterloo, Iowa, in the United States. Nevertheless, John Deere still spreads its production facilities across North America, Asia, and Europe. 

For example, John Deere operates production plants in Montenegro in Brazil, Ningbo, Harbin, and Tianjin in China, Pune in India, Rosario in Argentina, and Saltillo in Mexico. 

As a historic company, John Deere started in 1837 by John Deere. In 1836, John Deere (already established in the capacity of a blacksmith) moved from his birth town of Rutland (in central Vermont in the US) to Grand Detour in Illinois to push through bankruptcy. 

The next year, he rolled out a 1,378-square-foot shop in Grand Detour in 1837, quickly gaining a reputation as the go-to repairman. 

As the company blossomed through the nineteenth century into the twentieth, John Deere dove into the production of lawn tractors. By 1963, John Deere rolled out its model 110, fitted with a 7hp 4-stroke engine that ran on petrol. 

By 1984, John Deere resounded its engineering brilliance, inventing the first mowing equipment to aggregate power steering and hydrostatic drive. 

Where are Simplicity mowers made?

Simplicity mowers are produced in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The Simplicity Manufacturing Company produces these mowers, founded in 1922 by William J. Niederkorn. 

Simplicity mowers began their manufacturing journey in 1939 by releasing its models of walk-behind two-wheeled tractors. By 1957, Simplicity introduced the WonderBoy model, its maiden riding tractor, into the market. 

In June 2004, Briggs & Stratton completed the acquisition of Simplicity for $225 million in cash. The agreement still allows for mowers to still be produced under the Simplicity brand name.

Where are STIHL mowers made?

While STIHL is fundamentally a German company, it has a world-class mower manufacturing facility situated in Virginia Beach. This facility shoulders the manufacturing burden of millions of STIHL outdoor power products which are exported to over 90 countries globally.

A brilliant Andreas Stihl founded STIHL in Waiblingen, Germany. Despite being the leading producer of gasoline-powered outdoor power tools (handheld) in the US today, the company was fundamentally centered on chainsaw production. It was by 1949 that STIHL started moving closer to the lawnmower space.

Acknowledging the cardinal importance of the US market in the turf care industry, the company moved to incorporate itself in the US by 1974. It didn’t stop there; STIHL showed genius in quickly opening a 20,000 sq.fr facility in Virginia Beach. By 1984, STIHL was already independently producing its indigenous lawnmower series.

This facility which started with just 50 employees, has blossomed tremendously to over 2,100 employees at the time of this write-up. 

Today, the facility boasts a lavish 1,000,000-square-feet expanse of operating space. The relentless enterprise of this facility birthed over 80 STIHL mower models that currently rule the lawnmower market.

Where are Walker mowers made?

Walker mowers are manufactured in the United States. Walker Manufacturing operates a production plant situated on the outskirts of Fort Collins, Colorado. This plant has an impressive 216,000 area for working space. 

Walker Manufacturing is a family-owned business founded by Max Walker. Max Walker independently built his maiden lawnmower in 1949, producing a sickle bar unit. 

The company – powered mainly by the creative brilliance of Max Walker – started rolling out its mowers through the 1970s and 80s. The Fort Collins CO was introduced in 1977, and the Models MT (Twin) following in the early 1990s. 

As the year 1989 rolled to an end, the company, now comprising of 33 enterprising employees, hit a milestone of manufacturing the 5,000th unit of Walker mowers.  Fast forward to the summer of 2000, the company had built its 50,000 lawnmower unit. Today, the mowers produced in its Colorado facility are distributed across 28 countries across the globe.