After announcing Noah Palmer as our “Top Fan” contest winner last month, his local paper got wind of it and ran a story about Noah’s passion for Ventrac.

After stumbling upon Ventrac on YouTube, and becoming totally hooked, Noah took his new found love for Ventrac and combined it with his favorite pastime, ROBLOX (an online building game), and created his own virtual world of “Ventrac”.  His ROBLOX creations were so impressive that it caught our eye and Noah won our “Top Fan” contest!

Below is the article that was printed in Noah’s local paper a couple weeks ago.

Download PDF of Article Here

Sixth grade Woodlands Intermediate student, Noah Palmer, was named VENTRAC by Venture Products Inc. “Top Fan” last month. VENTRAC is a world·wide distributor ‘ of all-wheel drive compact tractors with a wide range of different attachments. Noah’s adventure began one day when he was surfing the web and stumbled upon something that unveiled a hidden passion and launched into a new form of creativity. After watching hours of “You Tube” videos about VENTRAC tractors, the twelve year old felt he had the product line figured out and was ready to virtually reproduce it. Noah decided to combine VENTRAC tractors with one of his other favorite past times, ROBLOX (an online building game), and recreated a virtual VENTRAC world.

Noah's creative ROBLOX world of Ventrac

Noah’s creativity and attention to detail caught the interest of the VENTRAC team in Orrville, Ohio. They invited him down for a tour of the VENTRAC plant to see firsthand how the tractors were made. Amazed by the size of the VENTRAC facility, Noah and his parents, Don and Amy Palmer, spent the day at Plant 2 in Orrville. “It was humongous and very clean,” recalls Noah.

Noah Palmer learns more about Ventrac tractors while sitting on one at our manufacturing plant.

“It was very clear who the number one winner was due to the effort.  He (Noah) recreated our facility in a game,” explained Denver Steiner, Graphic Designer & Web Developer of VENTRAC by Venture Products Inc. “I receive an email from Noah from time to time with different ideas, it is great to see a young person with such creativity.”

To Noah, these are not just ordinary tractors; they are pieces of equipment with a purpose.  When asked why not another brand of equipment,  Noah replied, “the others can’t do the same stuff a VENTRAC can do.”  Noah’s hope is to own a VENTRAC one day. “It is a four season tractor, I will mow in the summer, pick up leaves in the fall, plow in the winter and maybe split wood in the spring,” he emphatically explains. Currently, Noah is a co-owner of a lawn care business with an internet friend out of Wisconsin. Together they own and manage “A + Lawn Care.”  Noah runs the Huron branch and his friend runs the Wisconsin branch.

For Noah, being the “VENTRAC Top Fan” has been an awesome experience and he looks forward to the day he owns his own VENTRAC, but for now he is just a grateful student who lives through the virtual world and appreciates the support of his parents, Miss Bollinger, Mrs. Lamb and his new found friends at VENTRAC.

Article was reposted with permission.
View Noah’s Winning top Fan entry: http://ventrac.com/topfan/noah_palmer

We took a trip to visit  a local homeowner who not only loves his Ventrac, but he may love the striping it creates even more.   Or at least he loves the process of creating those stripes.    We just released the video from our visit which showcases Mark Morrison demonstrating how he puts these artistic touches on his lawn.   He learned some striping tips from a friend who had worked for the Cleveland Indians grounds crew and after finding Ventrac, he now enjoys a finely groomed lawn each and every time he mows.    It was a fun shoot that turned into a fun fast paced video.    See what Mark has to say about his Ventrac tractor and why mowing is more like an experience.

SEE THE CAMERA CREW AT WORK

The camera crew did an awesome job with this shoot and here they are on the rooftop wondering just where to set that camera !  Everything worked out great in the end.   The homeowner was more than willing to allow us on his rooftop so we could get the best shots possible.   Thanks Mark!

Meea, Denver, Dustin and Mark...where do we start?

Up on the roof....Where should we put the camera?

See www.ventrac.com for more about finish mowers and

Ventrac compact tractors.

The seven Steiner brothers of Orrville, Ohio, recently took a road trip to St. Louis and while there, they visited the grounds crew that so immaculately maintain the National Park area and to see how they use Ventrac tractors, which are designed and manufactured by the Steiner brothers.   They met with Jim Jacobs, Gardener Supervisor, and his crew, to catch a glimpse of just how they keep the park in its amazing state all year round.

The Grounds Crew with the Seven Steiner Brothers

The enthusiastic Arch Grounds crew love what they do and do an awesome job at it.   They work hard keeping the park area around the Arch spotless and well groomed and what makes their work fun and productive is that they do it with a Ventrac.  Not only does the Ventrac help make their work easier, they get a beautiful cut and striping effect, plus they have the ability to mow steep grades.   The park area is a gorgeous site with its impressive sloping lawns and attractive pond area.   But they are not always the easiest areas to maintain.    Jim and his crew fell in love with Ventrac because it gave them the ability to feel safer while mowing the steep slopes in the park and particularly around the reflection ponds.  In fact, their Standard Operating Procedures for mowing specifically states that the only mower authorized to mow around the pond is a Ventrac.

Mowing along the contoured pond

Mowing Steep Slopes

Currently, the crew operates three Ventrac 4200 series tractors to help groom the Memorial Grounds.  Along with the tractors, they use over 12 attachments that keep those tractors moving all year round.  During the warm seasons, they use Ventrac to do everything from mowing and sweeping to aerating and trenching.   In the fall, the crew can be found seeding lawns, blowing leaves or sweeping sidewalks of debris.   The winter is equally busy as the grounds crew uses the Ventrac tractors to remove snow, whether it’s in the parking areas or on the sidewalks.  The narrow width of the Ventrac allows the crew to broom or plow snow in areas their larger equipment cannot pass through.

While the grounds crew uses their Ventrac tractors for many uses, they also operate with a large fleet of vehicles and grounds maintenance equipment such as a backhoe, several utility carts and other major pieces of equipment.   Ventrac gives them the ability to perform tasks such as seeding, aeration, trenching and mowing on steep slopes that otherwise could not be done with other equipment.

The Steiner brothers enjoyed their visit to the Gateway Arch and the time spent with the grounds crew as they swapped stories and tips about using and operating the Ventrac.  With the help of Ventrac, the grounds crew of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial makes the Arch Grounds a beautiful site day after day, season after season.

The Seven Steiner Brothers Visit the St. Louis Arch

The Gateway Arch is quite a marvel of modern engineering.  As the Steiners stood at its base admiring the engineering and quality workmanship, they couldn’t help but think how the Ventrac tractor is also an engineering marvel in its own right.

Watch the Video on YouTube