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At an anniversary party Sarlo Power Mowers hosted in May in its Fort Myers headquarters, it embarked on a mission to find out who owned the oldest Sarlo mower.
A North Fort Myers couple came in with a mower that's more than 50 years old and still runs perfectly.
That shouldn't be a surprise: After 80 years in business, the company is the oldest lawn mower manufacturer in the country under single ownership. Sarlo mowers are renowned for their durability and craftsmanship, which is a big reason why customers like the Florida Department of Corrections uses hundreds of the machines for prisoner work on roadways. Sarlo is engine maker Briggs and Stratton's oldest continuous customer.

“Our mowers fall into the definition of a niche,” says Tony Sarlo, the company president and the third generation of Sarlos to run the company.

That niche, says Sarlo, has put the company in good shape since the end of the recession. He says the manufacturing side of the business has rebounded, and the last two months have been the best in the company's history. Sarlo declines to share financial information or employee counts for competitive reasons.