Twenty-nine years ago, Art Evans built the first
Dixie Chopper, zero-turning-radius lawn mower in
a barn on the edge of his parent's property
outside Fillmore, Ind. embarking on a journey
that has changed the way Americans mow grass
while making Dixie Chopper a household name.

Evans had two distinct goals in mind when he
started Dixie Chopper in April 1980: To build a
lawn mower that wouldn’t break when you used it
and to build a machine that would have timeless
value with years of productivity remaining long
after it had been paid for.

Dixie Chopper builds the most productive mid-mount, zero-turn lawn mowers in the industry, ranging from a 20-hp model with a 34-inch cut to a 33-hp version with a 74-inch deck.

The Iron Eagle is the newest Dixie Chopper mower. It’s a tough, compact unit powered by a Kohler engine (available in 20, 23 and 25 horsepower models) and offered in 44-, 50- and 60-inch deck widths. Yet despite its lower price tag, the Iron Eagle includes many of the same rugged Dixie Chopper features that lawn care professionals use every day.

Dixie offers fuel options as well. Besides gasoline engines supplied by Generac and Kohler, Dixie Chopper has a Yanmar diesel and a Generac propane unit in both 66- and 74-inch cutting widths.

Not only has every single Dixie Chopper been made in the USA, they all have been manufactured and assembled right at home in Putnam County, Ind.

Along the way Dixie Chopper has become known as "The World's Fastest Lawn Mower." One with a 72-inch deck can mow a football field in less than ten minutes.

The brand name also gained notoriety in the late 1980s when Evans attached a 150-horsepower Chinook helicopter engine to a regular Dixie Chopper unit, proving the strength and durability of his creation. That Jet Mower caught the eye of comedian Tim Allen, who incorporated it into the 1993 season finale of his TV series, "Home Improvement." In that classic TV bit, Allen used the Jet Mower to beat Bob Vila of "This Old House" fame in a celebrity lawn mower race.

In 2004, Dixie Chopper partnered with the folks at Orange County Choppers to build a Dixie Chopper motorcycle using a lawn mower engine and various mower parts. The OCC bike build was shown in a two-part segment on the wildly popular "American Chopper" TV series. It has been rerun dozens of times on national TV, helping cement Dixie Chopper as a household name. Meanwhile, the Dixie Bike remains a popular attraction at industry trade shows and dealer open houses across the country.

A company that began with a handful of loyal employees in 1980 saw its workforce pass the two hundred mark in 2005 as Dixie Chopper moved the assembly portion of its manufacturing to the old Mallory building on Greencastle’s East Side. The Fillmore headquarters has been turned into a fabrication facility as Dixie Chopper has grown from a “best-kept secret” to a true force in the lawn mower manufacturing industry.

In October 2008, the company ushered in a new president for the first time since Art Evans conceived the idea of a Dixie Chopper. Gary A. Morgan, formerly in a senior management capacity with Case New Holland, has taken over the Dixie Chopper reins as president and CEO. Evans, who turns 67 in March, will concentrate on research and development.

For more information, please give us a call at 800-233-7596 or visit us online at
www.dixiechopper.com.