Black + Decker is the world’s largest tool maker with a workforce in the tens of thousands and a global footprint that extends to every corner of the earth. Not bad for a company started by two guys (one with only a 7th grade education) in Baltimore 110 years ago.
For more than 50 years Black + Decker has made electric lawn mowers that are highly regarded for their affordability and dependability. They were, and are, leaders in the electric lawn mower space who basically laid low for years and waited until environmental concerns drove the market to them. In the Black and Decker lawn mower reviews below we take a close look at various options included in their product line.
Our Black and Decker Lawn Mower Reviews
History of Black+Decker Lawn Mowers
Black & Decker was founded in 1910 in Baltimore, Maryland by S. Duncan Black and Alonzo G. Decker. The pair pooled their savings (totalling $1,200) to start the company and within 5 years had patented the handheld electric drill, which would go on to become one of their signature products.
Thanks to an aggressive, ahead of its time series of corporate acquisitions B+D enjoyed robust growth in the post war years. It was during those post war years that the company first branched out into house and garden equipment, introducing lawn edgers and hedge trimmers in 1957 and, finally, electric lawn mowers in 1966.
Today, Black + Decker makes a variety of corded and cordless electric lawn mowers that are extremely popular both domestically and internationally. The company never bothered to venture into the production of gas powered mowers, and is hailed today as pioneering the development and acceptance of electric mowers.
Throughout its long history the company had always been led either by one of its founding partners or their siblings or children. The last of these family members, Alonzo Decker Jr. resigned from the company board in 2000 at the age of 92. This leadership continuity is credited with playing an important role in the company’s success.
The company underwent a series of restructurings in the 1980s and 90s and by the early 2000s returned to robust health. In 2010 Black & Decker merged with fellow power tool behemoth Stanley Works to form Stanley Black & Decker. And in 2014 the Black & Decker subsidiary was rebranded Black + Decker.
Where are Black & Decker Lawn Mowers Made?
More than half of Black + Decker’s 27,000 worldwide employees are located in the US. In recent years, the company has increased its American manufacturing footprint by more than 40%, which can only be considered a good thing.
However, all of Black + Decker’s electric lawn mowers are made in China. This may change in the days and years ahead as the company faces increasing labor costs and uncertainty there. (Witness the fact that the company abruptly closed its Shenzhen tool manufacturing plant with little notice in 2020.) But for now, all the mowers in my Black and Decker mowers reviews are manufactured in China.
