Briggs & Stratton officials recently announced plans to close generator and pressure washer plants in Jefferson and Watertown, Wis., with resulting layoffs of more than 400 employees. Production at the plants will be consolidated into existing U.S. production facilities to “optimize plant utilization and achieve better integration between engine and end-product design, manufacturing and distribution,” according to the company.

Harold Redman, president of Briggs & Stratton’s Home Power Products Group, says Briggs & Stratton has available capacity at other locations and shifting work to those plans will make manufacturing more efficient.

Portable generator production will be shifted to Briggs & Stratton’s plant in Auburn, Ala., where engines for the generators currently are manufactured in a location much closer to  coastal areas affected by hurricanes. Production of pressure washers will be moved to a Briggs plant in McDonough, Ga., and manufacturing of home standby generators will be moved to Briggs’ factory in Wauwatosa, Wis. The headquarters for Briggs & Stratton’s Home Power Products Group also will be moved to Wauwatosa.

Briggs & Stratton management hasn’t set an exact date for the layoffs and shifts in production, but it likely will come at the end of the current calendar year or in early 2010.

Christmas Decor’s “Decorated Family Program” and Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program are teaming up this year in a joint effort to raise money and create awareness for the “Buck it Up” program. “Buck it Up” is a fundraising initiative which creates scholarships for military family members seeking a career in the horticulture industry, increases infrastructure to better handle the 8,000 military families and 2,200 volunteers participating in GreenCare for Troops, and enhance the free lawn and landscape services currently provided.

This 4th of July, Christmas Decor, the nation’s largest outdoor lighting and decorating franchise, is reaching out to the American public to launch its biggest search yet to nominate families who have loved ones that are or will be serving in the armed forces this winter.

It’s that time of the year again, mower fans: Grass is growing and the sun’s hot, leading some to lose their cool around their mowers:

• Mower DUIs—In Virginia, one Glenn Bowers, driving a beat-up Craftsman riding mower, was pulled over in downtown Waynesboro, while pulling a dog named after the Flintstones character Kazoo the Martian in a little green utility trailer. According to officers, Bowers ran a stop sign—an act he denied. Bowers then blew the field test and the breathalyzer, registering a .024 blood-alcohol content.
  

Times are tough all over, as most dealers will agree, with some of industry’s top suppliers making tough decisions in poor markets. Following are news items taken from a recent edition of OPEESA’s OPE-In-The-Know on-line newsletter, one of industry’s top news sources, showing how top suppliers are being affected by the economic downturn:

GIE+EXPO has launched a new, enhanced website that includes an online directory of exhibitors. A standard listing is free to all exhibitors, and three other listing options are available to exhibitors and vary in price. Some new features of the various levels will include enhanced company profiles, company logos, trackable hyperlinks to websites, new product listings and more.

The industry is feeling the weight of this down economy on their businesses and purchasing plans for 2010, but missing GIE+EXPO 2009 could mean missing out on the latest industry news and deals. According to Business Media, tradeshows are of immense value to attendees, because tradeshows: help attendees become aware of new products and services; allow attendees to interact with sales representatives; enable attendees to interact with peers; and provide information that attendees can trust.

Husqvarna has developed a quiet, powerful and environmentally friendly ride-on mower for the future garden. The concept mower is made of recycled materials and gives an indication how the future of mowing might come to look.

Husqvarna Panthera Leo is a hybrid made up of two ride-on mowers, Rider and Zero-Turn. A battery that can be charged at any electrical outlet has replaced the traditional gas engine. Five powerful electrical motors partnered with a sound absorbing cutting deck, allow the Husqvarna Panthera Leo to glide effortlessly and silently across the lawn.

Mantis and the National Gardening Assn. (NGA) are once again offering awards to charitable and educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life in their host communities. Any organization that has or wishes to create a community or youth garden is eligible to apply. In Spring 2010, 25 of these programs will receive a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator with a border/edger attachment.

“Mantis is happy to continue its support of gardeners who are striving to improve their communities,” says Mantis Award Program Coordinator Linda Beattie. “We know that gardening is a powerful tool for change, but it’s always amazing to hear about the great impact that dedicated volunteers and innovative nonprofit agencies can make by bringing people together with the soil.”

To apply for the 2010 Mantis Awards, please visit http://www.kidsgardening.org/grants. The application deadline is March 1, 2010. Winners will receive their Mantis Tiller/Cultivators by April 30, 2010.

The fourth PET Dealers Choice Awards promise more excitement this year at GIE+EXPO 2009, where dealers will vote on the show’s top new products submitted to Power Equipment Trade. This year’s awards will also feature on-line voting that will open in mid September and giveaways for both on-line and on-site Dealers Choice Awards voters. The PET Dealers Choice Awards honor top new products at GIE+EXPO—as voted on by dealers—in five categories: wheeled equipment, hand-held products, power sports/recreational products, accessories/attachments and business management services.

Ardisam Inc. of Cumberland, Wis., manufacturer of Earthquake power equipment and Cumberland Stove Works since 1960, has announced an agreement with Lucky Distributing, Portland Ore., to distribute Ardisam products on the West Coast.

Lucky Distributing is part of a successful, 50-year-old, family-owned business. Lucky has grown significantly over the years and has four divisions: Outdoor Power, Hearth & Home, EnergyEarth Wise and BCS America.

Lucky is the exclusive distributor of Ardisam product lines, Earthquake Power Equipment and Cumberland Stoves for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii and will provide direct support to the dealer network.

“We are very pleased and excited to have Lucky Distributing as a partner on the west coast representing our product,” says Pat Sifert, sales manager for Ardisam.

Maruyama U.S. Inc., Denton, Tex., has chosen Tidewater Power Equipment Co., Virginia Beach, Va., as distributor of its full line of professional power equipment products. Tidewater Power will distribute Maruyama products in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and central and eastern Tennessee. Tidewater Power has a proven track record of over 25 years. Through the strength of its workforce, modern warehouse facility and general business acumen, the company today is one of the largest and most successful power equipment distributors in Virginia.

“All of us at Tidewater Power are truly excited about our new relationship with Maruyama,” says Todd Winstead, general manager. “Maruyama is an outstanding company with outstanding commercial-grade products. We certainly feel this is one of the best opportunities Tidewater Power has had in its over 25 years of serving dealers in the lawn and garden power equipment industry.”