In photo, left to right – Ken Hyatt, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Rhoda Steiner, Dallas Steiner, Ventrac President, Rebecca Blank, U.S. Acting Secretary of Commerce

U.S. Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank presented Venture Products, Inc. with the President’s “E” Award for Exports at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on may 20, 2013. The “E” Awards are the highest recognition any U.S. entity may receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

“I am delighted to be recognizing this year’s Presidential ‘E’ Award winners for their outstanding contributions to U.S. exports and congratulate Venture Products, Inc. on its outstanding export achievement,” said Acting Secretary Blank.“It is businesses like Venture Products that are strengthening the economies of local communities, creating jobs, and contributing to the worldwide demand for ‘Made in the USA’ goods and services.”

“Exporting has enabled us to diversify our revenue streams and weather changes in the marketplace. It allows us to mitigate risk while boosting our competitiveness and bottom lines,” stated Dallas Steiner, President of Venture Products. He adds, “Our products are exported to over 20 countries, with the strongest countries of export being Sweden, Japan, South Korea and Australia.”

 Randy Kitzmiller, Director of Operations for Venture Products said, “Export sales over the past three years have grown 80 percent. This growth has allowed us double our work force and build a new manufacturing facility in Orrville, Ohio.”  

 Venture Products, Inc., located in Orrville, Ohio, is the manufacturer of Ventrac compact tractors and commercial grade attachments. Ventrac tractors are unique; the design includes an articulating frame, front-mounted attachments, and all-wheel drive traction in a compact design. Since the first release of Ventrac products in 1998, the company has quickly become a leader in the sub-compact tractor market, with their equipment being used by professionals worldwide. More than thirty commercial grade attachments are built specifically for the tractor that allows operators to quickly change between tasks like mowing, rough cutting, trenching, sod cutting, leaf blowing, aerating, snow removal, edging, and more. Ventrac equipment is sold through a network of dealers and distributors throughout the world and are used in a wide range of markets, including golf courses, professional contractors, municipalities, hospitals, schools, and estate owners.

U.S. exports hit an all-time record of $2.2 trillion in 2012, and supported nearly 10 million American jobs. President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 and support an additional 2 million jobs in the United States, is opening new avenues for U.S. exporters through enhanced export assistance and a strengthened trade agenda that is targeting emerging markets and industry sectors across the globe.

 President Kennedy revived the World War II “E” symbol of excellence to honor and provide recognition to America’s exporters. The “E” Award Program was established by Executive Order 10978 on December 5, 1961. A total of 57 U.S. companies were presented with the President’s “E” Award this year.

 U.S. companies are nominated for the “E” Award for Exports through the Department of Commerce’s U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service office network, located within the Department’s International Trade Administration, which has offices in 108 U.S. cities and more than 70 countries to help U.S. exporters.  Four years of successive export growth and an applicant’s demonstration of an innovative international marketing plan that led to the increase in exports is a significant factor in making the award.

Every fall the course shuts down for 5 days to perform what Apple calls “aggressive agronomic practices.”  This short window of time allows the maintenance team to take that extra step to nurture and care for the greens they have worked hard all year to maintain. They use this time to aerate, top dress and mow down native fescue grasses. Every part of the course will get taken care of from the tees, greens, bank grasses and fairways. Located on steep inclines and sloping terrain, most of the course’s native grass areas only get mowed down a couple times a year and they rely on the Ventrac Tough Cut mower deck and tractor, equipped with dual wheels, to handle the job nicely. The Ventrac Aera-Vator helps out with the aeration process on the rough while core cleanup is easy with the Turbine Blower.  It takes many machines to care for a course this size but they depend on their Ventrac tractors to make the process run like a well-oiled machine.

Watch the video for the full story and see why Ventrac is such an important piece to the puzzle of golf course maintenance. No matter how perfect a golf course, the team at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick always strive for a better one.  Great work guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-gtO2LWpE

Retired NFL Super Bowl Champ Jeff Hostetler Loves His Ventrac

To be a professional athlete, it takes hard work and dedication.  It takes toughness and durability to reach peak performance.  Preparation requires research and study to stay on top of the game.   Former New York Giants Super Bowl XXV Quarterback, Jeff Hostetler, knows all about what it takes.   We recently spoke with Jeff at his home, where he talked with us about his professional career and how he maintains his home and property with a Ventrac tractor.

Owning and maintaining a sloping hillside property in West Virginia can be quite a challenge for many homeowners.   But for Jeff Hostetler, things got a whole lot easier when he found Ventrac.   His home in Morgantown sits elevated atop a 40 acre property of rolling hillsides and a steep landscape that looks almost impossible to maintain.  The panoramic view is striking, but one might wonder how he tends to such an extreme incline.   Jeff found Ventrac to be the professional equipment that was vital for his property needs.

When Jeff  first spotted a Ventrac, it was at a nearby dealer.  What caught his attention was the tractor sitting on a hillside…wondering how it got there.   Wanting more information on this unique find, Jeff contacted the dealer for a demonstration to see what it could do on his steep property.   And as they say, the rest is history.  Jeff fell in love with the Ventrac, not only for how well it performed and handled on the slopes, but how well it was built.  It did everything he needed it to do and more.   Today, his Ventrac is still performing like the first day he got it.

Jeff uses his Ventrac to mow steep inclines around his home and horse barn as well as many other areas around his property.   He finds the leaf blower saves him days of work in the fall, clearing leaves, and the Power Rake keeps the horse riding arena free of grass and weeds.    Jeff also puts the Power Rake to good use when preparing seed beds on some of the construction projects for his Hoss Foundation.

Jeff sees many similarities in what it takes to be a professional athlete and what goes in to a  professional piece of equipment like Ventrac.   Hear what Jeff has to say in his own words about what Ventrac means for him.   More video on slope mowing can be found on the Ventrac YouTube Channel.

The day began early with a short presentation  full of new tools and strategies for dealers to absorb and take home to use.   There was great interaction amongst everyone as highlights of the new Ventrac website were presented.   Ideas on sales tactics, equipment tips and marketing were also discussed.    Ventrac was able to provide some valuable information to help dealers with marketing their equipment with a concentration on specific sales markets.

After a great lunch, the meeting headed outdoors to the Ventrac plant for an afternoon of equipment demos and hands-on training.  Breaking into several groups, dealers and salesmen were able to learn more about the various tractor models and attachments available through Ventrac.   On hand for questions and assistance were representatives of the Ventrac product support and R & D departments, as well as sales personnel.   Eight Ventrac tractors were distributed throughout the demo area, all equipped with different attachments to allow dealers to get the full effect of operation.    They were able to try out new attachments or maybe just one they never had the opportunity to work with before.    Stump grinders were available to demo along with finish mowers, the contour mowing deck and the field mower.    Several slopes and hills were used for testing out the Ventrac’s powerful traction for mowing hillsides.    Several attendees tried their hand on the slope and were amazed at the traction the Ventrac provided as they maneuvered down the hill, stopped on the hill, then backed up the hill with the tractor and mower deck.   It sure was something to watch!   By the way, you can see more photos from these demos on Facebook.

Taking on the slopes with Ventrac

It was quite a flurry of activity as all the tractors were running at once while operators used the brooms, blowers, mowers, tillers and scoops.   Aerators, power rake and terra rake were on hand as well.   The trencher attachment was a hit and the sod cutter gave dealers a chance to try something new.    The new tractor cabs were on hand for all to see as well as the newest spreader attachment which will be available later this year.    One demo area that received a lot of attention was the tractor with the Versa-Loader attachment.   It seemed to be a big area of interest for all.   Many gathered around to see just how well the loader bucket dug into the sod, scooped and hauled away the dirt.  The post hole digger was added for some extra fun.

Tractor with loader and post hole digger

Overall, the day was a hit and we were surrounded with great people and a whole bunch of Ventrac tractors and equipment.   I believe we can say that fun was had by all.   Thanks to all who took time to participate and attend this great 2010 dealer meeting at Ventrac.   We wish you all the best in the upcoming season.

Visit the Ventrac Facebook page for more photos from the day.

Our first real digital video camera was a Canon XL1 that we bought in 1997. That camera endured many grueling Ventrac shoots including filming wet snow blowing and  getting smacked with leaves, grass clippings, and tire rubber (at a race track where Ventrac was a sponsor).  These first Ventrac video clips were edited using Adobe Premiere on a Pentium Pro 200mhz computer with 80 megabytes of ram, and a 4gb SCSI hard drive.

Camera getting smacked by a wet leaf.

After wearing out our first XL1, a second one was purchased in 2003.  This one was finally retired in 2005.  To this point all our footage had been shot in standard definition. Since then we’ve been using Sony HDV video cameras shooting in 1080i wide-screen High Definition.  However, when producing new sales videos we ran into the several problems in being able to deliver video content in HD:

1. We still had old footage we needed to use that wasn’t in High Definition or even wide-screen
2. In the past, nobody had HD DVD players and we didn’t know if Blu-ray or HD DVD would win (Blu-ray won by the way)
3. Editing HD is more time and hardware intensive

As we enter 2010, things are changing.  Blu-ray players are slowly starting to pop up in our potential customer’s living rooms attached to their HD TVs. One other big change is this past year YouTube has started allowing HD video uploads.  Earlier this past month we released our first video in HD on Youtube:

Ventrac Slope Mower in HD (Make sure you click the “HD” button)

Talk about a quality increase!  Compare this to our previous slope mowing clip.  If you look in Butch Hamby’s glasses, you can actually see my brother, Dustin Steiner, in a blue shirt filming in the reflection of his glasses.  I’m standing beside him in a green shirt and red hat.

High Definition Demo: Interviewer and camera operator viewable in glasses reflection.

Will our next DVD be offered in Blu-ray? Maybe. Maybe not quite yet.  But look to more and more short video clips coming out on YouTube in HD.

~ Denver Steiner
Graphic Designer, Web Developer, and Video Producer

Living in a part of the country where hills, ravines and slopes are part of the landscape, Jack Wiley knows first hand the difficulty in safely mowing these treacherous areas.  Jack owns a Ventrac 4231 Turbo Diesel model compact tractor along with 10 Ventrac attachments and he was happy to share his thoughts and experiences with us.

“Over the years there have been 9 major incidents in my immediate neighborhood where 2 wheel drive lawn and garden tractors have either rolled or run-away downhill out of control.  Some of these resulted in injuries.  With the Ventrac I now safely mow some of the steeper slopes belonging to my neighbors in addition to my own.  They are grateful for the assistance, and I get to enjoy the ride.  For me, mowing is a recreational experience!”

Jack has a real need for his Ventrac and uses it for many different applications and the compact tractor serves as his workhorse as well as being one of his major hobbies.  Besides maintaining his own home, he also grooms the grounds of his church and trails at a wetland preserve, so his Ventrac gets a real workout.

Jack Demonstrating the Secure Down Slope Braking

“The traction advantages of 4 wheel drive are apparent to most people, but I find the secure down-slope braking ability to be one of the most important assets of this type of chassis.”

Jack regularly mows slopes of 28 degrees

Jack raves about the design and construction of his Ventrac equipment, saying it is “outstanding—everything is ‘built like a tank’ and easy to maintain.”

Besides being “just plain fun to operate”, Jack sees quality results every time while using his Ventrac. His photos speak volumes…as Jack says, “It best illustrates the essence of why I am a Ventrac fan.”

Watch the powerful Ventrac tractors on YouTube!  See them in action and see what you are missing!  View the power…take in the perfection…the ultimate slope mower!

You will want one.  Check it out now!