Laskowski returns to Lastec, looks to expand niche

Golf Course News, Jun 2003 by Overbeck, Andrew

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Jeff Laskowski has returned as CEO and president of Lastec, a company he co-founded with inventor Dan Tekulve in 1990. The two pioneered the concept of high-end rotary mowing with the introduction of the Articulator and received a patent for the mowing deck's drive system.

In 1998, Laskowski merged the $5 million company with its parent firm Wood-Mizer, which makes portable saw mills, and then decided to leave and pursue other interests. After his father, Donald Laskowski, stepped down in early April, he decided to come back on board to once again run both companies.

According to Laskowski, he's got his hands full.

"The mower side of the business is profitable, but it has shrunk," he said. "The sawmill side is in the red for the first two years in a 25-year history. I would say some of it has to do the economy, but they took their eye off the ball and they need some direction."

On the mower side, Laskowski will concentrate on reasserting Lastec's brand in the marketplace and rebuilding its dealer network.

"We created the niche. Nobody had articulated rotary decks before we did," he said. "We used to supply Toro and John Deere with decks and now everyone is in the game with different configurations and different types of drive systems.

"But Lastec presents the greatest opportunity for the corporation," Laskowski continued. "We got into this market in the worst possible economy in the early '90s and we thrived. The economy doesn't matter if you offer a viable solution to a problem that exists at a reasonable price."

Strengthening Lastec's dealer network will be key to the company's success.

"The distribution network has been neglected a bit," Laskowski said. "We have an effective way of powering decks at a reasonable cost. What we haven't done is build a distributor network to take advantage of what we currently make and we haven't taken that advantage and put it in other niches. We can do four times more volume if we are better at building a distributor network and supporting it."

Laskowski also plans to push zero-turn mowers (ZTRs) in the golf market.

"Golf doesn't go with ZTRs under the false pretense that they are just yard equipment," he said. "But if we can prove to them they can cut twice as fast and give them better looking turf, I believe we will get that business. Articulation combined with the maneuverability of a ZTR creates another niche."

Lastec already markets the 3377, 3682 and 3696 ZTRs in addition to its original line of out front and pull-behind articulating decks. Laskowski said the company is working on a 72-inch articulating ZTR and a 10-foot wide articulating ZTR to round out the lineup.