Developing mower platforms to span premium brands.

Toro is a global manufacturer of high-performance lawncare equipment for professional, domestic and agricultural sectors. Our long-standing relationship with Toro has seen the development of a new battery-powered mower platform, developed in two size variants, to successfully work under two separate brands and identities.

The new mower platforms were created primarily for Toro’s new European battery-powered four-wheel mower range, but to also work under their Hayter brand in the UK as part of their new battery-powered rear roller product line.

Under the Toro brand, the design language and aesthetics needed to fit seamlessly into their existing battery-powered Flex-Force range, while maintaining a level of engineering and a build quality that is synonymous with Toro products.

Under the Hayter brand, the products address a new market sector, appealing to a younger audience of aspiring gardeners while maintaining the history, heritage, brand equity and outstanding quality that has underpinned the Hayter brand for over 70 years.

Prototype and Testing

Throughout the early stages of the project, a series of rudimentary printed test platforms were built to establish and test basic details such as roller and wheel configurations, height-of-cut geometry, snail deck (cutting chamber) geometry and the general layout. Given the complexity of the project, this was critical for highlighting both problematic details and elements that worked well, and for minimising risk later in the design process.

These activities were carried out in parallel with early exploration into the potential look and feel of the products and identifying key design details that supported and reflected both the Toro and Hayter brands.

Following this, we were able to explore and refine other aspects of the design such as handlebar layout, ergonomics, folding and storage, colour, material and finish, and ensuring all safety requirements and standards were met.

The mower variants had to deliver class-leading grass cutting and collection. Following an extensive competitor performance and analysis exercise, numerous prototype grass boxes were created to test and refine airflow paths and drop-off, positive/negative air pressure zones, grass-packing ability, maximum capacity, blockages, dead spots and box removal. 

Grass box removal and handling can be a tricky operation when full, owing to weight. The grass box handle was carefully designed and engineered to be as ergonomic and as comfortable as possible for removal, carrying, emptying and replacing, without adding unnecessary cost and extra components. 

The development of two separate mower platforms, each with different configurations and size variants, to work under two separate brands, was a significant design challenge. We supported Toro and Hayter to successfully bring these products to market, working from early concept sketch development and test platforms, through to refined visual models, prototype design, testing and analysis, surfacing, detailed mechanical design and full-scale production and support.