A growing market for large lawn mowers is powering plans for new production lines — and 30 new jobs — at a plant in the East Hills Business Park.

Sauer-Danfoss Co. is adding four production lines at its plant in southeast Lawrence, expanding the company’s ability to make motors typically used to power professional-grade mowers — the kind used by golf course crews, professional landscapers and owners of homes with large yards.

The Lawrence plant got the call for producing the motors after a Sauer-Danfoss plant in Denmark ran out of room.

“They have so many orders, and there’s such high demand — especially here — that the company decided that moving it to North America seemed like a fabulous idea,” said Victoria Purvis, the company’s team leader for human resources in Lawrence.

With the Lawrence plant about to have some of its open space back — Amarr Garage Doors is about to vacate the space it had been leasing from Sauer-Danfoss, now that its own expansion is wrapping up — there will be plenty of room to accommodate the new workers and equipment, Purvis said.

All but three of the new employees will come from Lawrence and the surrounding area, ranging from line workers to managers, Purvis said. Hiring will go in phases, beginning in April and continuing through the end of the year.

Sauer-Danfoss is bringing in three employees from Denmark to get the Low Speed High Torque motor lines up and running, but those employees will be scheduled to leave within two years, Purvis said.

“Everybody is going to be hired here,” she said.

The move continues a growth spurt for Sauer-Danfoss in Lawrence, which today has 210 employees. The plant ended 2004 with 185 employees, after adding 40 workers during the year. A year earlier, the plant had added 45 workers.

Sauer-Danfoss Co., the maker of hydraulic power systems, in the East Hills Business Park, is adding another 30 jobs this year to keep pace with demand for large lawn mowing equipment. This photo was taken in January after the company already had added 40 jobs.

“This is absolutely incredible news,” said Lynn Parman, vice president of economic development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “The corporation has confidence in its location in Lawrence, and the work force in Lawrence. That says a lot about our community — that they continue to choose us for expansion.”

Parman said she was optimistic for even better news in the months ahead. Inquiries from existing and potential businesses are up 50 percent so far this year, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Brown Cargo Van already has added 10 employees this year, to keep up with demand for products purchased using federal Homeland Security grants. Griffin Technologies also set out to hire a handful of new employees after its “SecuriKey” computer-security products garnered rave reviews at two recent trade shows.

“The activity level is good,” Parman said.