Power Plant is proud to be an official Irish stockist of the Husqvarna range of robotic mowers. Making lawn maintenance easier for Facility Managers and homeowners alike, Husqvarna is the leader in automated lawn mower technology, having introduced the world’s first robotic lawnmower back in 1995. Their story is an interesting one, so for this article, we thought we’d take a look at the development of Husqvarna’s robotic mowers over the years. Of course, like any good story, it’s best to begin at the very start, as the history of Husqvarna as a company is fascinating in itself.
The diverse history of Husqvarna robotic mowers
Husqvarna can trace its origins back to the Swedish city of Husqvarna itself (nowadays spelt as Huskvarna, part of Jönköping. In 1689, a drilling works was established there to provide weapons for the Swedish army, known as the “Jönköping Rifle Company”. This was later renamed as the “Husqvarna Rifle Company”. Despite its weapons-based title, the company would go on to diversify into other products, including bicycles, and indeed, it produced its first motorcycle in 1903. Today, Husqvarna is best known for its lawnmowers, and that chapter began in 1918 when it acquired Norrahammars Bruk, another mill in Jönköping. Husqvarna added boilers and manual lawnmowers to its now extensive product offerings. Husqvarna would begin producing its engines in-house in 1919. The firm’s first motorised lawnmower emerged in 1947, with a model suitable for homeowners being released in 1959. Step forward to 1995, when Husqvarna brought out the world’s first robotic lawnmower, the Automower®.
Husqvarna and the world’s first robotic mower
Husqvarna’s Solar Mower, released in 1995, the world’s first automatic mower
The story of the Husqvarna Automower® began in 1992 when the then-CEO formed a group of engineers to develop a robotic mower. This became known as the Husqvarna Solar mower, and, as mentioned earlier, production commenced in 1995. And what a revolutionary product it was; aside from being an automated mower, it was powered by solar cells, which, for the time, was quite novel. This was also known as the ‘Turtle mower’.
Enter the Husqvarna Automower®
Husqvarna’s 1st Generation Automowerr® was released in 1998
In 1998, Husqvarna released their 1st Generation Automower®, which was battery-powered. It was another great example of Husqvarna’s innovation; not only did it mow the lawn automatically, it had built intelligence so that it knew when its battery was low and would return, of its own accord, to its charging station as needed.
The 2nd Generation Husqvarna Automower®
The 2nd Generation Husqvarna Automower®, released in 2003
The early 2000s saw the debut of the 2nd Generation Husqvarna Automower® in 2003. It sported a new design, with an emphasis on protecting the technology from harsher working environments.
The Hybrid Automower® arrives
The 2008 Hybrid Automower® model
In 2008, Husqvarna released another world-first for automatic lawnmowers, this time a hybrid Automower® model that ran on a combination of solar and battery power. This robotic mower was designed to mow gardens of up to 2200 square metres in area.
An Automower® that texts its owner
More innovation 2009, Husqvarna went one step better with an Automower® that could even send a text message to the owner’s phone if assistance was required. This model was capable of mowing lawns of up to 6000 square metres in area.
The 3rd Generation of Husqvarna Automowers®
The Husqvarna 305 was the first 3rd Generation Automower®, released in 2011
As a new decade dawned, so too did a new generation of Automowers®. First off the mark was the Husqvarna 305 in 2011, with a small footprint, followed by the larger range 320 and 330X Automowers in 2013, the latter sporting GPS-assisted navigation. Ever the innovators, Husqvarna embraced smartphone technology with the rollout of Automower® Connect in 2015, enabling remote control of the lawn mower anywhere in the world using an app. The following year saw the launch of the Automower® 430X and 450X models, with 2018 seeing the arrival of integrated Automower® Connect with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Further models in the X-Line range would emerge over the following years, all of them embracing Automower® Connect technology.
As can be seen, Husqvarna has come a long way from weapons-manufacturing origins in the 17th Century; their founders could only have dreamed that their firm would one day be rolling out fully automated lawnmowers capable of being operated from anywhere in the world. Technology continues to advance at a fast pace; who knows what kind of capabilities Husqvarna Automower®s will have in the decades to come? Whatever their function, Power Plant looks forward to representing the brand in Ireland and helping homeowners and facilities alike embrace the versatility of Husqvarna technology’s robotic mower technology.
Power Plant has decades of experience in supplying automated mowing equipment to homeowners and facilities across Ireland for many years. If you’d like to find out more, you can view our range here, and we’re always happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact today on 053 9235003 or email sales@powerplant.ie.
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