History of Turf Equipment Manufacturing

Facility in Opp, AL

Click here for Locke Power Reels history

Now known as LOCKE TURF, Inc.

April 23, 2003 – Private investors purchase the turf products line from Bush Hog LLC and Locke Power Mowers from Williams Industries to form Locke Turf, Inc.

Locke Turf is located in Opp, Alabama. Products include a complete line of turf care equipment - including the Mulch Pro 11 ft. mulching mower, tow-behind reel mowers and verti-cutters, reel and bed knife sharpeners, Victory reels, and the new Professional series of commercial walk-behind reel mowers. All manufacturing operations have been consolidated in the company's Opp, Alabama plant. 

April, 1998 – Acquired by Bush Hog Corp, Selma, AL from Great Plains Manufacturing, Salinas, KS

 At the time Bush Hog was a division of Allied Products and publicly traded company. Just over 2 years ago Henry Crown Companies, Chicago, IL purchased Bush Hog from Allied Products. Plans are underway to grow Bush Hog Ag products substantially. To accomplish this, a new facility has been built in Jonesboro, Tennessee for Bush Hog Ag product manufacturing expansion.

April 1994 – Acquired by Great Plains Manufacturing, Salinas, KS. From T.I.International, Inc., Andalusia, AL.

  Great Plains Manufacturing is a major manufacturer of large area grain drills and tillage equipment for the mid west, plains and valley farmers. GPM operates a separate division known as Land Pride. Land Pride manufactures landscape equipment, i.e. box blades, rear blade scrapers, landscape rakes and finishing mowers. In an effort to expand that division, GPM purchased the assets of T.I. International, Inc. All of GPM and LP products are manufactured in facilities in and around Salinas, KS. GPM and LP products are marketed world wide through a network of Agriculture Equipment Dealers.

  At the same time GPM acquired T.I., they also purchased a line of equipment that included tow behind reel mowers and verti-cutters from Cushman division of OMC. These products were originally developed, manufactured and marketed by Brouwer Turf Equipment, Keswick, Ontario, Canada. After acquiring those lines, GPM moved and consolidated the production with the T.I. products in the Andalusia facility. GPM needed additional manufacturing space GPM took advantage of an offer by the City of Opp, AL to move into a city owned facility.

September 1987 - T.I.International was founded

  T.I.International was formed as a joint venture between Don Cotton, Andalusia, Alabama and Willem Kooy, Toronto, Canada. The sole purpose of the new company was to manufacture reels, bed knives and reel sharpeners to be marketed and sold by Cotton and Kooy’s respective businesses. Cotton owned and operated Don Cotton and Company a dealer for Brouwer Turf Equipment, Mowing Machine Maintenance products from England (which included reels, bedknives and reel sharpeners), Steiner Turf Equipment and other support lines and accessories. Primary territory was all of Alabama and the panhandle of Florida with the exception of the MMM products from England which Cotton was the North American importer and distributor. Kooy owned Kooy Brothers Lawn Equipment with brother Harry. Kooy Brothers were sales and service dealers for Lawn Boy, Toro, Ferris and other products and accessories for the greater Toronto area. Kooy Brothers also served as the Canadian importer and distributor for the MMM products through Cotton’s company.

 Cotton and Kooy formed the manufacturing facility in Andalusia to produce reels, bedknives and reel sharpeners after loosing rights to those products after MMM was acquired by Ransomes, Ltd., Ipswich, England.