This push-type lawn mower model from Qianjiang of mainland China has a 3.5hp, 4-stroke air-cooled engine. It bears CE approval.

Engines are the primary focus of R&D since their performance determines compliance with the EPA, CARB and Euro II standards.

On both sides of the Taiwan Strait, lawn mower suppliers are concentrating R&D efforts on engines as they strive to meet stringent international standards regulating the emission of harmful fumes. Makers are fitting lawn mowers with 4-stroke engines to pass the EPA and CARB requirements of the US and the Euro II specifications of the EU.

Suppliers in both mainland China and Taiwan have shifted to this engine type because it emits cleaner smoke and operates at a lower sound level than 2-stroke versions. Engines used in Taiwan range in power capacity from 3 to 13hp.

The 4-stroke engines fitted in lawn mowers from the mainland and Taiwan are often sourced overseas. Some suppliers, however, are producing the engines themselves because of expensive importing costs. Most of these makers have the technology, manufacturing and QC equipment, and the R&D capability necessary to make engines in-house. This is because they already manufacture other motor- or engine-fitted products such as motorcycles, ATVs and pumps.

Suppliers shifted to in-house engine production in an effort to reduce outsourcing costs. This also gives them better control over quality, ensuring that the engines conform to the various guidelines on exhaust emissions in their target markets.

Price competition among lawn mower suppliers is less intense than in the other sectors of the gardening equipment industry. It is for this reason that sourcing engines from the US or Japan is still standard practice for some makers in the mainland and Taiwan despite high importing costs. Consistent quality and adherence to standards also play a major part in suppliers' decisions to procure finished engines.

In Taiwan, companies are more wary of the rising cost of raw materials than that of importing the engines as the former affects prices more significantly. Lawn mower prices in the island have increased 10 percent to reflect the uptrend in material costs.

Mainland makers, on the other hand, have kept price adjustments below 10 percent because of an abundant supply of raw materials, such as copper in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Furthermore, most are predicting minimal increases in lawn mower prices in the coming year.

Any such movement will be limited to 3 percent and will primarily be a result of securing CE, GS, EPA or Euro II approval.

	Mainland China-based Zhejiang Taizhou Wangye fitted the WY460CG model with a 4-stroke, single-cylinder OHV engine that uses a forced-air cooling system. Price is $115.

Fujian Sanli Engine Co. Ltd and Zhejiang Taizhou Wangye Power Co. Ltd, both mainland-based companies, have improved their carburetors to minimize the emission of harmful substances.

Fujian Sanli also enhanced the accuracy of other engine parts, enabling the company to reduce carbon monoxide discharge to 2.1g/km and combined carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emission to 0.4g/km.

Lawn mowers from Fujian Sanli have EPA, CARB and Euro II approval. The company plans to release models conforming to the more stringent Euro III standard.

Zhejiang Taizhou Wangye has secured Euro II and EPA certification for its line of lawn mowers.

Wenling Linxiang Gongmao Co. Ltd lowered carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions by increasing the accelerant in the cylinder, making it burn gas more effectively. The mainland supplier also subjects pistons and cylinders to a type of treatment that improves surface durability and resistance to high temperatures. This improves combustion and decreases carbon buildup, therefore lowering the engine's discharge of particle matter.

In Taiwan, lawn mowers such as those from Jenn Feng Industrial Co. Ltd are usually fitted with 4-stroke engines to pass the various European and US emission standards.

One company that continues to use 2-stroke engines is Whally Min Co. Ltd, reworking the engine's structure to bring smoke and noise emission to acceptable levels. The company now markets the GELM 160 series of EPA-approved lawn mowers with 2-stroke engines to North America and Europe.

Whally Min said the GELM 160 is economical and easier to make, and is 10 percent more energy-efficient than other lawn mower types. The product can be used in 2,500 to 4,000sqm gardens.

Only the GELM 160 model, however, is fitted with a 2-stroke engine. All of the company's other lawn mowers have higher power capacity and therefore use 4-stroke engines. "It is difficult to make 2-stroke engines with displacements exceeding 200cc meet EPA requirements because of the high volume of smoke they emit," sales manager Genwey Kuo said. Units range from $150 to $250.

Whally Min has three lawn mower models with 4-stroke engines ranging in power capacity from 4 to 6.5hp and displacement from 120 to 300cc.

The company has a factory in the mainland where its products are assembled, while engines are manufactured in Taiwan to monitor quality closely. The various engine parts are sourced within the island.

Many suppliers in the mainland draw on their experience as makers of other types of motors and engines when designing those used in lawn mowers.

Zhejiang Taizhou Wangye produces motorcycles and motorcycle engines. The company has an R&D center with a CAD/CAM computer auxiliary design studio and laboratories for motors, motorcycles and the development of universal-type gasoline engines.

A few makers, including Fujian Sanli, work with third-party institutes in their R&D efforts. The company has been collaborating with JCB and Electrolux in developing its lawn mower engines.

Even as more companies are designing and producing lawn mower engines in-house, there are those that continue to purchase the part from reliable suppliers.

Taiwan-based Gen Kai Enterprise Co. Ltd, for instance, imports 4-stroke engines from Mitsubishi of Japan forhigh-power equipment such as lawn mowers. The company, however, can make 2-stroke engines.

In the mainland, both Zhejiang Leo Co. Ltd and Zhejiang Changjiang Mechanism Co. Ltd source BS-brand engines from the US. The companies are able to offset high importing costs by reducing investment in in-house R&D for engines because the outsourced parts are already compliant with EPA and Euro II requirements.

R&D work is not limited to engines as suppliers are also improving lawn mower construction and performance to make them more user-friendly.

In Taiwan, the bulky and boxy edges of housings are being trimmed, weight is being reduced and styles modernized.

Whally Min is changing housing materials from steel to a combination of aluminum and titanium alloy to make lightweight lawn mowers. The company is not using aluminum alone because it is too soft and needs to be combined with another material that is low in weight but strong.

Gen Kai is likewise replacing steel with aluminum to bring overall weight down. The company is developing a commercial-use lawnmower with a compact structure and power capacity of about 6hp. It currently offers one model that can be fitted with engines 8 to 13hp in power.

Jenn Feng has been using modernized housings since it launched lawn mowers in 2003.

The company continues to update its designs and recently introduced curved handles with a cushioned grip to improve ergonomics.

Another new feature in Jenn Feng's lawn mowers is a height-adjusting mechanism that lifts the four wheels simultaneously in 12 stages.

Upcoming models will have an adjustment knob in the handle that makes height adjustment easier. These new releases will also come with a grass collector box or cloth bag.

Jenn Feng offers lawn mowers in more than 30 models. These are available in gasoline-, electric- and battery-powered and manual reel types.

Suppliers in the mainland are working toward reducing operating noise, integrating sound tests in lawn mower performance QC processes.

Qianjiang Group Co. Ltd measures operating noise in six different points within an 8m-diameter range. Based on this test, lawn mowers from the supplier run at a sound level of 108dB.

Zhejiang Leo has brought operating noise down to 90dB. In the year ahead, the company will be improving aesthetics by redesigning the housings and replacing black grass-collection bags with brightly colored receptacles.

One supplier in Taiwan is expecting sales of battery-operated lawn mowers in the small and home garden market to increase because of growing demand for environment-friendly and energy-efficient units.

In fact, Soundeal & Associates Co. Ltd is forecasting sales to jump by at least 50 percent this year. "Users have been waiting for a reliable alternative to heavy, high-fuel consuming lawn mowers," manager Warren Chen said. "This is because most battery-operated units do not have adequate cutting time and are inconvenient to use."

Soundeal said it is the only supplier in Taiwan to offer battery-operated cordless lawn mowers that carry CSA, UL and CE approval. It took more than five years of modifications and redesigns before the models received certification and a total of almost 10 years before mass production started.

The lawn mowers run on a removable rechargeable battery and do not require a warm-up time, prolonging the service life and cutting capability of the battery. They are available in side- and rear-discharge versions with similar specifications.