It's a mean machine. It has five mowing decks and cuts the grass finely to a width of 10.4 metres.
The extra wide area mower called X-WAM is the latest to roll off Tauranga-based Trimax Mowing Systems' production line, and it is targeting turf farms in North America, Britain and Europe that are more than 1000 hectares in size.
"We are finding customers want more width in their cuts and the X-WAM is breaking new ground in the marketplace," said Michael Sievwright, Trimax's marketing manager.
"It's size is impressive."
It is the first time Trimax has produced five cutting decks on its mower. The company has packed its third tractor-mounted X-WAM - it takes up a whole 20-foot equivalent container - and is shipping it to New York State in the New Year.
The new rotary, roller mower is designed to increase productivity, cutting 13 hectares an hour and performing zero-turns without having to lift any of the mowing decks. It does the job of two tractor-mounted mowers.
"You only need one tractor, one mower and one driver. The X-WAM saves money on labour and fuel costs and helps efficiency," said Mr Sievwright, son of Trimax founder Bob Sievwright.
The two widest decks closest to the tractor can also be attached to the existing Pegasus mower to produce the bigger cut and a better performance. The Pegasus normally cuts to a width of 6.1 metres.
Two of those attachments are being made at present and will be sent to a Toronto distributor. They will be sold to a company that has turf farm operations on the east and west coast of Canada, and it already owns four Pegasus mowers.
The complete X-WAM costs US$80,000 ($107,000) and the attachment US$42,000.
Trimax will be launching the X-WAM in the British market next June at the Turf Growers' Association trade show.
"They have 2500 growers throughout Britain and Europe and they are demanding wider cuts. We now have the machine to do that," said Mr Sievwright.
The new mower has a hydraulic wing lift system and can be folded up to a width of 2.8 metres - good enough to be transported down the road or packed into a container.
Trimax, which has been exporting for more than 25 years, has hit a new research and development phase. The latest product follows the launch of the Merlin mower in September that is designed for the finest of cuts on golf courses and sports fields.
The Merlin - it looks like a racing car from the front because the mowing decks are covered in - cuts to a width of 2.25 metres. It has narrower, razor-sharp laser blades, and the three decks float separately when they are following the contours of the golf fairways to avoid scalping the grass.
"It produces the cleanest and most accurate cut of all Trimax models, and is ideal for applications where cylinder or reel mowers are typically used," said Mr Sievwright.
Trimax now produces nine different models, and exports to Australia, United States, Canada, Britain, France, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
The bulk of its sales are to councils and contractors for mowing city parks, reserves and sports fields.
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