If you ever meet Jim Webb, owner of Valley Landscape Services Inc. in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, just remember one thing — don’t call him a cowboy. “I ain’t no cowboy,” explains the southern California transplant. “I’m a California boy who just lives around cowboys.” As a matter of fact, the closest he comes to anything out of the Old West is his practice of being a straight shooter with his employees and customers. “I believe in being honest in my business,” relates Webb, “and it hasn’t done me wrong yet.”

We slowed down in July. As a “level” manufacturer, we produce mowers at a steady rate year-round, based on an annual forecast with the objective of building the number of machines that can be sold to retail customers — not making more or less. The consequences of going too fast or slow are well-known; too much inventory means pushing product to customers at or below cost with resulting poor service and poor value. Too little inventory means customers cannot get the product when they need it, and ultimately they may purchase a lesser product, because it is available.

Imagine for a moment that you’re 53 years old and had worked full-time for Borden Dairy for 33 years. For a change a pace, you decide to join your son in a newly formed lawn maintenance venture. Change of pace, and how! For Bill Dardenne, the story unfolded in 1996 when he and son Dennis purchased a Grasshopper mower and a couple of string trimmers. The kicker was they didn’t have any customers, only the confidence to know they could succeed.

We’re not bashful about saying that Walker Mowers equipped with GHS decks are among the most effective tools for collecting grass clippings and leaves in the industry. The challenge for most Walker users is not picking up debris, but finding a time-saving and cost-effective way to handle it once it has been collected.