The History of Lastec
In the late 80’s and early 90’s Golf Course Superintendent, Dan Tekulve engineered and patented a tow behind rotary mower that consisted of 7 in line mower decks. He built and used one of these at his course in Indianapolis Indiana.
In 1991 Jeff Laskowski was so impressed with this design and concept that he purchased the patent and set our to develop the first “Lastec 721” Mower. 7-21 is 7 21” Rotary Decks.
Jeff started his company and production of the model 721R in March of 1992. The 721R proved to be a very popular product and the orders started coming in. This initial product had several caster wheels (air filled) and lacked some of the “fine adjustments” that we see on today’s model.
With the first few hundred units sold and working, Jeff began to refine the design and by listening to customers started working on the next model. Jeff spent many many days and weeks on the road, driving his truck and trailer throughout North America, with the Lastec mower showing it to anyone who was interested. Along his way, Jeff not only developed ideas for his mower but set up dealers in every territory of the US and Canada.
After several years Jeff was ready for the next step.
The 721X was introduced in March of 1995. These units were designed with a heavier duty in mind. He included an easier system for height adjustment and a sleeker look. Turnbuckles were introduced so the decks could be adjusted up and down to give a perfect cut. While an improvement over the “R” this model didn’t lift high enough for some customers and under severe conditions has some bearing and bushing trouble. Jeff, now armed with a Service and Engineering staff continued to work on improvements. A few update kits were installed and parts were changed to give greater life. Again with customer input, the next model would prove even better.
The 721XR was released into production in March of 1999. This is the current production model. This unit has proven to be the best. The 721XR lifts a full 24” off the ground (so serviceability is easy), all the tires are foam filled (no more flats), has 20% less moving parts, each deck has it’s own discharge, the tow arms and weight transfer have be re-engineered as well as some other minor improvements. The 721XR still packs a HD unit yet weighs in at only 1250 lbs. This is important because it leaves a very light footprint on the ground.
While the 721Series Lastec was improved, the company also engineered several other products ALL based on “The Articulator” brand that utilizes small decks that contour the ground and will not scalp.
Today Lastec manufactures mowing decks that cut from 72inch to 12 feet and include 10 model configurations.
Lastec has also developed a full line of SELF CONTAINED “ZTR” units ranging from 26 hp gas to 38 hp Diesel.
For more information on the full line of Lastec products please contact us:
sales@armower.com
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