Dixie Chopper: A Year in Review

After Jacobsen purchased them last year, a lot of people were left with questions about the future of Dixie Chopper. It’s been one year since the purchase and is a good time to sit down and reflect on all the changes and in some instances the lack of changes that have occurred since the buy out occurred.

The truth of the matter is that there haven’t been all that many changes. Which, when you consider the brand that had been built up as the world’s fastest lawn mower, seems like a good thing. Perhaps the most important thing for our local community is that Jacobsen kept their manufacturing in Putnam County. This was the primary concern for local residents when the purchase was first announced. The fact of the matter is that Jacobsen came in and improved on the processes without tearing apart the local economy by moving the factory to a different location. In this way, Jacobsen became a great steward of the hometown brand that Dixie Chopper had built over the years.

The mowers themselves have not changed as much as everyone speculated either. Dixie Choppers still have their stainless steel shine. In the wake of the initial buy out, there were rumors abound that the Dixie Chopper name and design would be scrapped, this simply hasn’t happened. It can be said that a year after the purchase Dixie Choppers have had slight modifications adding ergonomic feel to the classic design for which we’ve all grown accustom. Some of these changes you can look forward to in the new 2015 models are a more spacious floor pan and a reworked spring loaded deck lift system. Anyone who has ridden a Dixie Chopper will agree that these are excellent additions to an already great mowing machine.

Perhaps the greatest advancement for Dixie Chopper with Jacobsen behind the helm is the influx of spare parts. Jacobsen came into a mess of back ordered parts and fixed the problems plain and simple. What used to be the Achilles heel of a fine product has since become one of the things that set them apart in the industry… in a good way. Now within a couple of day’s time (at most) you can get about any Dixie Chopper part. Certainly that has to be one of Jacobsen’s greatest achievements over the last year.

All said and done after a year’s time you can rest assured that Dixie Chopper appears to be in good hands with Jacobsen. They have stayed true to the better parts of the brand, the hometown feel and the commitment to excellence that Chopper had always been known for while fixing the failing systems. Needless to say, there has never been a better time to own a Dixie Chopper, and for our part at Humphreys’ Outdoor Power, we’re excited to see what the next year will hold.