Posts Tagged ‘Engineering’

Exmark Employee Profile: Trevor Porter

Thursday, June 18th, 2015
Exmark Engineering Manager, Trevor Porter - Photo

Exmark Engineering Manager, Trevor Porter

Where are you from?

I’m from all over, really. I grew up in Florida and then went to school in Florida, Utah, and Arizona. I lived in Illinois before Nebraska, which is where I’m at right now.

Tell us about what you do at Exmark.

I’m the engineering manager here. My group handles all the engineering issues surrounding things in production. We do things such as design improvement, fixes, emergency handling, replacement parts, and substitute parts. We always try to get feedback from customers and figure out if there are any issues that we need to address.

What’s been a good, challenging experience for you at Exmark?

The biggest challenge is our growth. Each year, we come out with a new model and my group takes care of that. There’s a new design group that works on one model every 1-2 years. Each one that comes out needs support, kind of like what customer service does.

What’s your favorite thing about working with Exmark?

My favorite thing about working here is the people. The people here are the secret sauce to Exmark. I also love engineering, which makes it fun to come to work every day. It’s really a great place to work.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I spend a lot of time working on my house, which my two teenage boys help out with. We’re actually building a sundeck this year. Other things include hanging out with my friends and family and learning how to play the guitar and bass.

If you could have lunch with any person, who would it be?

I’d like to talk with Isaac Newton because he came up with calculus, which is an amazing thing when you really get into it. How can someone figure something out like that and develop it out of thin air? I’d like to find out.

What’s something surprising about you not many people know about?

I’d have to say how much I’ve moved around the country. I’m also a big fan of 80’s metal, like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

Trevor Porter will celebrate his tenth year at Exmark this August.

Employee spotlight – Judd Stewart

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Judd Stewart has had quite an interesting career path. His first job was working on the family farm. From there he went on to become part of a bridge construction crew. After college, he taught an engineering class at his alma mater. But Judd admits that his favorite job title is the one he has now —Exmark test engineer. Judd finds a lot of satisfaction in being a part of a team that cares about its products and customers. It also doesn’t hurt that he has fun on a daily basis. Where else are you handed a mower and asked to put it through the ringer? In a safe environment, of course.

Tennis balls have the same geometric weight as dry grass. The average Joe wouldn’t know or have any use for this seemingly dull information. But Judd’s no Joe. In his world, this little fact comes in handy when he’s testing a mower’s stability. Instead of filling the Lazer Z’s baggers with cut dry grass, Judd fills them with tennis balls. Not only does the mower handle in the same way with both materials, but the round green balls are easier to handle and not as messy. Who knew?

Even though playing with tennis balls is a pretty sweet perk, Judd still says his favorite part of the testing process happens when the field-ready prototypes get into the hands of the people for whom they were designed—the landscape pros. He genuinely looks forward to receiving feedback from these guys and he’s happy that it’s usually very positive. When it comes to work, he can’t think of anything else that beats getting a pat on the back from the customers.

Have a question for Judd or our engineering department? Let us know with a comment below.