Matt Land.
Matt Land is on the road again.
After putting his trusty LP3000 propane-powered Dixie Chopper through an 1,800-mile test drive last spring, Land is putting himself through a non-stop schedule only a rock ’n roll roadie might appreciate.
Leaving his mower behind this time, Land has taken to the air, flying to Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans and Los Angeles recently to help spread the word about Dixie Chopper’s unique propane-powered mower.
Is it working? Bet on it.
In early May, the Dixie Chopper sales and marketing director will speak at a Clean Cities conference in Las Vegas -- an invitation extended after the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance honored Dixie Chopper with its 2008 Stakeholder Achievement Award for outstanding accomplishment in the development of the first original engine manufactured (OEM) propane-powered lawn mower.
Dixie Chopper has sold more propane-powered units already this spring than it had collectively the first two years the LP 3000 was on the market, Land said.
“And the number of telephone calls just the last three weeks has been more than the past year because people are coming into dealerships and asking about it,” Land stressed.
“In hindsight, we were probably a year ahead of the curve,” Land conceded, noting that other mower manufacturers appear ready to jump on the propane bandwagon. “The truth of the matter is,” he added, “Dixie Chopper’s been pulling that wagon.”
In 2006, Dixie Chopper partnered with Wisconsin-based engine manufacturer Generac to develop the LP3000 as a new line of “world’s fastest lawn mowers.” Over the past two years, that concept has gone from drawing board to reality as a cleaner, less-expensive lawnmowing alternative.
In fact, Dixie Chopper propane mowers have been purchased by a number of municipalities and educational institutions in their desire to “go green” as well as save the green in their wallets. It is interesting to note that Dixie Chopper propane mowers are now even mowing the grounds of prestigious Harvard University.
“The Dixie Chopper vision has always been to provide our customers with a product that lasts long after it has been paid for,” Land said of the Indiana company that has been making commercial-grade zero-turning radius lawn mowers since 1980. “But now the LP3000 gives them an alternative fuel mower choice, allowing them to comply with Kno-Zone Air Quality Action Day requests, in maintenance and non-attainment regions they serve.”
With crude oil more than $100 a barrel, gasoline nearing $3.50 a gallon at the pump, and diesel topping $4, the price of propane -- roughly half that of gasoline -- is pretty sexy these days.
Land, who last spring personally rode the LP3000 along historic Route 66 from Greencastle, Ind., to Sacramento, Calif., in the name of Earth Day and the environment, is saddened to think that the green of the almighty dollar has proven more of a factor than the green of the environment in bringing propane out of the shadows.
“Hey, going ‘green’ sounded great but apparently the only green that matters is the green in your wallet. It’s a shame it took that for people to wake up,” Land said. “It’s simple economics really -- you can cut your operating costs in half with fuel savings alone, not to mention the increase in productivity.”
With price an issue on one hand and clean air a concern on the other, it has become a perfect storm of interest in the propane-powered Dixie Chopper.
That’s what has taken Land all over the country, talking about the issues of price, productivity and the environment.
“When I was on my trip on Route 66,” he said, “it was all about the environment -- 50 percent fewer ozone-forming emissions, less greenhouse gases, extended engine oil life, extended engine life.”
Statistics show that more fuel is spilled each year refueling outdoor power equipment than the 17 million gallons spilled in the Exxon Valdez incident. Spills aren’t possible with the propane mower, which features a sealed, vaporless system that vents no fuel into the atmosphere.
Is if safe? It uses a standard DOT-approved forklift tank (eight times stronger than plastic tanks on gasoline-powered mowers).
“And here’s a simple question,” Land offered. “You’ll eat a hotdog or steak cooked over a propane flame, right? Would you eat that same food if it were cooked over a gasoline or diesel flame?”
Land realizes it will take the public a while to digest those facts, but he is confident Dixie Chopper is on the right track.
“Last spring on our trip we couldn’t beg, borrow or steal time with any of the real decision-makers,” he said. “They wouldn’t listen to us. And now everybody wants to talk about it. Where were you guys? I wasn’t hard to find. I was the guy out there on the mower for 18 days making sure the LP3000 is ‘Route 66 tested-tough.’”
Land’s thoughts have also turned to off-road issues.
He spent time in Washington recently, meeting with lobbyists who are going to rub elbows and twist arms of legislators involved in setting tax credits for fuel use. There is a 50-cent per-gallon tax credit -- a “green incentive” -- for alternative fuel use by cars, trucks and (proposed) school buses.
Land wants to see that extended to lawn mowers as well, and to drive home his point, he takes a favorite approach, urging any and all listeners to look out the window at a parking lot full of idled cars. None of those vehicles is polluting the air as it sits there eight hours a day. However, the gasoline-powered lawn mower cutting the green space all around the parking area and grounds certainly is, Land stresses.
By extending a 50-cent per-gallon tax credit to lawn mower operators, commercial cutters using propane could save hundreds of dollars a year, Land reasoned.
A typical Florida commercial cutter can put 1,000 hours a year on a Dixie Chopper, Land said. Figuring that he burns two gallons of fuel an hour, that equates to $1,000 back in his pocket (1,000 X 2 X .50 = $1,000).
“Let’s face it,” Land said. “That old 99 cent-a-gallon gasoline is gone forever. And yes, diesel fuel can be more efficient but it costs a dollar a gallon more than gasoline right now.
“Propane, meanwhile, is consistent across the board, and that’s not necessarily so with biodiesel right now. There is a fuel consistency issue there.
“So there you go,” he concluded. “Dixie Chopper offers the cleanest, most profitable cut in the industry. A cleaner cut today means a greener tomorrow -- only Dixie Chopper.”
Take it from a man who’s lived it -- on the road, in the grass and at the cusp of the future.
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