The new 75,000 square foot facility is located in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota.

RED LAKE FALLS, Minn. — Altoz, Inc. broke ground recently on its new 75,000 square foot facility which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. This is the first phase of a multi-phase expansion project in Red Lake Falls, Minn., that brings the combined building space to over 412,500 square feet between the Red Lake Falls and Greenbush locations.

Owners Dennis and Terri Brazier opened the ceremony by welcoming and thanking everyone who attended, including special guests Minnesota Representative John Burkel and Red Lake Falls Mayor Allen Bertilrud. 

“In the past year we have grown the manufacturing workforce here by four times, and we are looking forward to adding many additional careers in all areas, including manufacturing, management and marketing,” said Dennis Brazier.

This expansion provides the opportunity to bring 150 careers to the community over time.

Bertilrud, thanked the Braziers for investing in the community and bringing new job opportunities to the area.

“We have positions that are available now and will have more available in the near future,” said Mike Hugg, director of operations.

The over $12 million expansion project will increase capacity and improve operational efficiency. The new manufacturing facility will accommodate metal fabrication equipment including an automated fiber laser cutting system, turret punch presses, press brakes, robotic welders, a powder coat automated paint system, assembly and a distribution center.

“This new equipment, capacity and space will allow us to grow our production team to keep up with the demand for Altoz products,” said Matt Schaumburg, productions Manager.

 In addition to the manufacturing facility, the site features a multi-story office building that will accommodate a growing workforce.

“Altoz retail sales have increased every year since our inception; we continue to add new dealers across the United States and are expanding distribution internationally. In June we will be revealing a new multi-purpose, multi-seasonal line of equipment that will be a first for the outdoor power equipment industry,” said Karl Bjorkman, director of sales and marketing.

The additional workforce and production capabilities will help prepare for and continue to meet the marketplace demand for Altoz outdoor power equipment. Currently, Altoz offers the only zero-turn mowers and stand-on mowers with tracks. Demand continues to grow as more consumers, commercial lawn care professionals and municipalities recognize the benefits of the tracked mowers and the value that Altoz equipment provides.

The event is Wednesday starting at noon EST.

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The event runs Wednesday, May 11 from noon EST to 1:30. Here's the full schedule. 

The zero-turn unit can cut up to five acres at a time when fully charged.

Waukesha, Wis. — Mean Green announced the availability of the new Mean Green NEMESIS electric mower, designed for people who want a professional-grade mower but do not require go-all- day battery power. Ideal for professionals and homeowners alike, the zero-turn NEMESIS can cut up to five acres at a time when fully charged.

The launch of the NEMESIS responds to the trend of the entire lawn and landscape market – from professionals working long days to homeowners tending to their property – moving toward increased the use of heavy-duty electric-powered equipment.

“The NEMESIS brings commercial power and reliability as well as state-of-the-art, high-performing features such as an interactive touch screen display that allows control of the blade speed, drive speed, and visibility to battery capacity in real-time,” said Brandon DeCoff, vice president Chore Marketing at Generac Power Systems.

The NEMESIS offers a 2.25-hour run-time on its 7.2 kWh battery. It is capable of achieving a top speed of up to 8 mph, handling 15-degree slopes, and offers the power equivalent to a 28 HP gas mower.

Operational savings are built into every Mean Green product. At the professional level, switching from gas to battery-powered mowers turns into big savings on routine maintenance costs. With fewer moving parts to break and the overall expense of replacement componentry such as air filters and spark plugs, the savings between service intervals is noticeable. Fuel costs are also eliminated, along with the dilemma of gasoline storage for larger-sized property owners. While the 7.2 kWh battery in the NEMESIS is substantial, it will charge overnight and be ready for duty the next day.

The NEMESIS also features dual-support, multi-position, anti-scalp wheel mounts to prevent the deck from contacting the ground when passing over high spots. An adjustable rollover protection structure, comfortable high-back suspension seat, dual USB charging ports and cup holders add to the creature comforts – with LED floodlights standard for those mowing later into the evening.

For more information about the Mean Green Nemesis electric mower, visit MeanGreenProducts.com/NEMESIS .

The updates to the automated route planning software simplifies and speeds up the location data import and route building process.

DENVER — OnTerra Systems, the developers of RouteSavvy automated route planning software,  introduced a new version of RouteSavvy that provides innovations in route optimization technology. This RouteSavvy “productivity” software release simplifies and speeds up the location data import and route building process, as well as automatically generating optimized routes for deliveries, pick-ups, service calls and sales calls.

“This new version of RouteSavvy route planning software dramatically simplifies the route building process,” said Steve Milroy, OnTerra Systems president. “The vision for this new version of RouteSavvy is to simplify & automate the route building, route planning, and route optimization process, allowing every user to become a ‘power user.’”

RouteSavvy is cloud-based route planning software designed specifically for the needs of small to mid-sized businesses & non-profits. RouteSavvy generates more efficient routes for deliveries, pick-ups, service calls and sales calls. Efficient routing significantly lowers fleet operating expenses by reducing miles driven, with the following benefits:

In addition, RouteSavvy’s ability to generate more efficient routes typically leads to increases in business revenue and profitability, because more deliveries, pick-ups, or service calls can be shoe-horned into the work week.

RouteSavvy’s new Easy Route Builder tool allows users to upload addresses for a route using RouteSavvy’s new drag-n-drop function, and RouteSavvy can automatically turn uploaded locations into stops and automatically generate an optimized route. This innovative technology saves time and makes it even easier to import location data in seconds; build efficient, optimized routes for deliveries, pick-ups, or service calls; and generate more efficient, optimized routes.

RouteSavvy now offers new drag-n-drop functionality including:

For those businesses or non-profits that have a specific location such as a warehouse, headquarters, or distribution center from which the optimized routes always will originate or end, RouteSavvy allows users to set a Default address as a Start Route or End Route designation. The Start Route or End Route Default setting can be set once, and then RouteSavvy will generate optimized routes based on the specific location where the routes will always start or end.

This will expand the company's product offerings, with five Gravely branded mini-skid loaders coming this fall.

AriensCo has purchased Thomas Equipment from A-L Parts Inc. This allows AriensCo to offer a new four-season product line under the Gravely brand to reach into the rental and construction markets.  

Thomas Equipment has been a manufacturer of outdoor equipment for 79 years based in Beechwood, New Brunswick, Canada. Started in 1943 by the Thomas Brothers as an agricultural repair business, Thomas Equipment quickly expanded into manufacturing equipment for agricultural purposes, namely potato harvesting and handling. In 1969, the company introduced the world’s first hydrostatic drive skid-loader. Thomas Equipment was purchased by A-L Parts Inc. in 2013.  

AriensCo is partnering with Al Downy and Leon Butterfield, owners of A-L Parts Inc. to launch the production of the Gravely branded Mini Skid-Steer line in their Canadian facility. 

“We think this is a perfect extension of our Gravely product line,” said Dan Ariens, chairman and CEO of AriensCo. “This multi-tool piece of equipment is great for hardscape work with accessories like a tree auger, stump grinder, pallet forks, etc. It’s a big tool but is small and compact so it can fit through a gate and can be hauled on a trailer with other mowers. We think it will be a great offering for commercial landscapers.”   

AriensCo is providing management support for the production ramp. 

“The AriensCo Team is professional, pleasant, easy and comfortable,” said Leon Butterfield. “We met with many other companies, but it just never felt right. When we spoke with Larry (Weyers, AriensCo president & COO) that first time, we hit it off immediately. There was just something about them, something driving the conversation that was far more genuine than we had experienced.”

“We knew right then, this company’s core values are what they embody and live by, not just words … and it’s been like that with everyone we have met and worked with throughout this entire process. Words cannot express how excited I am to get this going,” Al Downy added.

Five Gravely branded Mini-Skid Loaders (3 diesel and 2 gas powered models) are planned for this fall.