Allen County has invested quite a bit of money into equipment this year, and earlier this week debated whether to purchase an expensive new boom mower.
A few months ago, Road and Bridge Director Mark Griffith asked commissioners to buy a MowerMax boom mower with an estimated cost of $270,000. They’ve been debating it off and on, and on Tuesday a representative of the Florida-based company that makes the product came before the commission to answer questions.
The company designed a compact, heavy-duty, wide area mower to meet the needs of governments, which traditionally use tractor-mounted boom mowers to clear ditches along streets and roads.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has three of the machines, and Sedgwick County has two. That’s the extent of the company’s foray into Kansas so far.
Commissioners were concerned about service, since there are so few of the mowers in the state.
Neal Colter of AdMax Equipment said the company has seven technicians who travel across the U.S. to service the machines. The machines use a Cummins engine and non-proprietary equipment, so some repairs can be made by local or regional mechanics. The most common problem seems to be hose replacement, he said.
The machine comes with a one-year, bumper-to-bumper warranty.
“If it’s a hose or a blade or something you can fix yourself, we’ll send parts,” Colter said. “If you’re using a local shop, we’ll pay for it while it’s under warranty.”
The nearest company technician lives on the Texas-Oklahoma border.
The distance seemed to concern commissioners.
“I would feel a little remote with service,” Commissioner Bruce Symes said, and asked Griffith, “Does that make you uncomfortable?”
He said KDOT and Sedgwick County officials had not reported any similar concerns.
MowerMax is expanding into the Midwest, Colter said, and likely will add technicians as needed.
Commissioners did not make a decision.
The county needs a new boom mower, after a newer machine caught on fire over the summer. Insurance paid $104,000, which will go toward replacement.
Just last week, commissioners agreed to spend $405,290 for a new excavator at the rock quarry, which can also be used for improvements on county roads. The county also needed to repair several machines over the summer, noting at the time that such large equipment comes with hefty price tags for repair and placement.
