In a few days, the 50,000th Walker Mower will roll out the door. We will celebrate. It has been 21 years in the making. Some of the big competitors in this industry might say, "What is the big deal? We produce 50,000 mowers in the blink of an eye." To us at Walker Mfg., it is a matter of proportion and knowing who we are. We are not big, but small. We do not apologize for being small. But that sense makes us appreciate the magnificence of this achievement.
There are many people to thank for helping us reach this point. We recognize our suppliers of high-quality component parts and services that went into delivering a quality product. When there were problems, these suppliers stuck with us, took responsibility and helped us take care of the customers.
There are the dedicated and faithful factory employees. With an average length of service of six years in the company, the employees combined over 800 years of experience in manufacturing Walker Mowers.
Then there are the 1,000 distributors and dealers who are on the front line with our end customers - many of these folks took a real risk and staked their reputation on an unknown product and manufacturing company when they introduced the Walker in their market.
We thank our customers; they paid the bills. With an estimated 100 million hours of operating Walker Mowers, we especially appreciate customers who followed instructions and took good care of their Walker Mowers. That made us look good, and helped us build a good reputation for our equipment.
Then we must thank the Lord. He supplied life, health, strength, wisdom, guidance and a wonderful opportunity.