SIDNEY – Michael Lawn and Ag Inc. celebrated one year in business at their new location on 721 N. Vandemark Road with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local officials on Tuesday, May 31.
The business is co-owned by Josh Michael and his dad, Alan Michael, with help from Josh’s wife, Michelle Michael. It initially opened 18 months ago at a rented location at 171 S. Lester Ave. Rather than building a new structure for their growing business, they decided to buy the current location and remodel it.
Opening his own shop is something Josh has aspired to do since he was in high school. He worked at an agriculture dealership in Botkins for about 11 years before he went out on his own.
“I’ve always had a dream of starting my own shop. Even back when I was in high school, I was actually wanting to start an injection pump service for farm equipment, so I guess it’s kind of always been something I wanted to do,” Josh said. “The time came to where I said that I was still young enough that I should just go ahead and do it.”
The shop sells new and used products, including Spartan mowers, Intimidator UTVs, Envy recreational vehicles, Steiner tractors, and Husqvarna and Ego handheld equipment with more products coming soon. Most of these products are gas-powered, but they sell some electric push mowers and will be getting in electric zero-turn mowers soon. Josh said since electric lawn care products are new to the scene, they can be uncomfortable to ride and won’t last as long as a traditional mower, but he predicted that in the next five to 10 years they will be more competitive.
They also sell Ertl and Spec Cast farm toys and collectibles, which tend to be popular with customers. Other services include lawn mower maintenance and agricultural tool repair.
Along with the brick-and-mortar business, the Michaels also attend fairs in Miami, Auglaize, Shelby and Allen counties where they set up displays with newer products and sell farm toys.
For more information, visit the Michael Lawn & Ag website or their Facebook page.
