There’s a new lobby ornament at the Honda Power Equipment Mfg. plant in Swepsonville, NC: the facility’s 20 millionth product—a shiny new HRR216K5VXAA walk-behind mower that factory officials say they’re going to keep as a monument to the organization’s success and quality output.

Honda Power Equipment products are produced at 11 manufacturing facilities worldwide, and a large percentage comes from the Swepsonville plant, which opened in August 1984 and has an annual capacity of 1.5 million engines. Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer, producing and marketing nearly 22 million units every year for automotive, motorcycle, marine and power equipment products.

This year’s GIE+EXPO in Louisville October 23-25 featured the three “Es” on every dealer’s mind: The economy, the election and ethanol, though not necessarily in that order depending on the topic at hand. For dealers who were at GIE+EXPO and for those who missed it, here’s the scoop on what industry leaders, suppliers and dealers had to say about the dealer outlook towards the next year, especially when grappling with those three “Es”:

• Financing and credit extensions are going to be much tougher to come by in the next year-plus. Dealers need to be more cautious and smarter than ever when buying from suppliers and seeking optimum inventory levels. Finding good, old-fashioned local sources of credit is imperative.

From left: Marv Mathwig, Stihl product manager, accepting for John Keeler, Stihl national training manager; Audra Hanson, Mojack marketing director; Dan Shell, PET managing editor; Bill Bower of Briggs & Stratton; and Gary Lalla, Echo product manager. Not pictured is Powersports/Recreation category winner Husqvarna.

After months of suspense, the moment finally drew near when the long-awaited winners of the third annual Power Equipment Trade Dealers Choice Awards winners were announced near the end of the GIE+EXPO show in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, October 25. Dealers attending GIE+EXPO voted on their favorite new products in five categories in the third annual Power Equipment Trade (PET) GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards. Voting commenced on the show’s first two days, with the winners announced on Saturday, October 25.

As part of the awards, PET held drawings for two PulseTech battery chargers and a $100 cash award. Winners of the battery chargers are Steve Wilson of Madison Tool Rental in London, Oh., and Dennis Tedder of Tedder Outdoor Power in Camden, Ark. Winner of the $100 cash award is J.L. Rainwater of JR’s Small Engine in Collinsville, Okla.

GIE+EXPO

Yet another year closer to becoming one of those 20-year Louisville show visitors, I’m still finding neat things to do and see at GIE+EXPO, and this year was especially interesting with the economic turmoil occurring in financial markets and the increasing use of ethanol in gasoline that’s going to have a big impact on lawn and garden power equipment.

Thursday’s weather was beautiful, the kind of late October Mid-South fall day—sunny, in the 60s with a light breeze—that show organizers had in mind when the event was moved from the heat and humidity of late July several years ago.

In an article about how dealer-oriented manufacturers are working through the economic downturn, Stihl Inc. was one of two companies highlighted in a recent on-line edition of the Wall Street Journal. This was one of the items noted in a recent edition of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s daily “SmartBrief” on-line newsletter:

The small engine group Alliance for a Safe Alternative Fuels Environment (AllSAFE), of which the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute is a member, is supporting a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement letter addressing self-directed blender pumps at retail outlets and the risks involved when using fuel blends containing more than 10% ethanol.

Water-damaged carb, possibly from ethanol blended fuel

Ethanol is gasoline has become a fact of American life, with 10% ethanol blends at just about every station around. While 10% ethanol is a mixture that’s been approved by all automakers and just about all small engine manufacturers, the anecdotal evidence out there shows there are problems in small engines—especially older units. Want to confuse yourself? Just Google up “Small Engines Ethanol,” and the results will show that for every source claiming ethanol blends—even at 10%—are just fine (Renewable Fuels Assn., Minnesota Corn Growers, etc.), there’s another source, generally a local newspaper article, talking with dealers and small engine technicians who say they are seeing engine problems caused by ethanol. For example, here’s a recent article from the Green Bay Press Gazette that was included in the latest Outdoor Power Equipment & Engine Service Assn. “OPE-In-The-Know Newsletter”:

Shivvers Mfg. of Iowa, makers of Country Clipper mowers, is making a voluntary product recall in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company is recalling 450 jack lift tools and kits. The jack lifts can have threads stripping or the nuts breaking, resulting in the shaft slipping and the mower falling from its stand-up position. Shivvers has received five reports of jack lift failures and 37 warranty claims for replacement parts. Two versions of the jack model have been manufactured. Version number one was made with a nylon nut, and version number two was made  with a sintered bronze nut. These recalled jacks were sold separately and on Charger, JAZee and Boss riding lawnmowers. The mowers were sold by Country Clipper dealers nationwide from May 2007 through June 2008. Visit countryclipper.com or download their Recall Alert PDF.

Only days after the October issue hit the streets, I got a call from “the inimitable” C.B. Fulbright of Jefferson City, Mo., who was profiled in the magazine so many years ago that “Chain Saw Age” was still on the cover. In the October issue, I had mentioned some memories of the first Expo I had attended, way back in 1991, and how C.B. would scour the show floor with a briefcase containing defective or poorly-performing parts that he was happy to share with other dealers, distributors and especially manufacturers. In our profile from the early ’90s, we detailed C.B.’s free saw chain sharpening cards, of which he had sold thousands. Here’s his latest venture: He’s been buying mowers at price from a mass merchant for $139, putting them in his showroom for $239, and offering free $40 mower checkups. When a mower comes in that doesn’t run or costs too much to fix, he offers customers a chance to apply the $40 towards the purchase of one of the new mowers. “I bet I’ve sold almost a thousand of them,” he says.

A natural-born promoter and marketer, C.B. says dealers can’t just “sit around and wait for the money to come in—you’ve got to have a gimmick.”

Power Equipment Trade GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards voters now have two more ways to win: The first two years of the Dealers Choice Awards, PET gave away a cash prize, and this year we’re adding to our vote-buying assets with two additional give-aways: a set of PulseTech battery chargers. Dealers vote for their favorite new products on GIE+EXPO’s first two days, PET tabulates the vote overnight and announces dealer-selected winners in five categories at noon on GIE+EXPO’s final day, Saturday October 25 at Booth 800, immediately following the Trucks of Industry Giveaway winner announcement. On the two days of voting, we’ll draw a battery charger winner from each day’s ballots, then put all ballots into a $100 cash drawing. The winners are announced on Saturday. Look for official PET GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards ballots at PET Booth 11157, just inside the door at The Dealer Experience, and at the Dealer Club lounge area.