Oklahoma’s state legislature is considering legislation to strengthen dealer-manufacturer franchise contract law to require a supplier to repurchase new, unused and undamaged repair parts at 90% of the merchandise’s value, up from 85% in current law. Legislation under consideration would also specifically include forestry, construction, industrial, maintenance and paving equipment inventory in the current law that deals with contracts between dealers and manufacturers.

Currently, both the Oklahoma state House and Senate are reviewing dealer franchise legislation. During a February presentation to the House, Tag Webb, regional manager for the Southwestern Assn., a North American Equipment Dealers Assn. affiliate, noted that “There is no such thing as a negotiated contract between manufacturers and dealers. Dealers are offered an agreement on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.”

Scott Eisenhauer, general manager for Deere dealership P&K Equipment, with five stores in Oklahoma, said the bill would help Oklahoma business owners who do not have the ability to truly negotiate a contract with a major manufacturer. News reports state the legislation under consideration resembles language on the books in 46 states.

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), along with the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), have announced support for two new bills that would overturn the ban resulting from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, aka the Lead Ban, which brought the sales of off-highway motorcycles and ATVs designed for kids 12 and under to an abrupt halt on February 10, 2009.

Although the MIC continues to believe that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has the power under the law and based on the scientific evidence submitted to grant the Industry’s pending exclusion petitions, the CPSC appears poised to deny these petitions. As a result, the MIC has intensified efforts to get Congressional support for a regulatory or legislative ‘fix,’ and is now strongly advocating two new bills that have been introduced, S. 608 and H.R. 1587. 

On March 17, 2009, U.S. Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) introduced S.608 to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to exclude secondary sales, repair services and certain vehicles—including youth ATVs and motorcycles—from the ban on lead in children’s products, and for other purposes.

On March 18, 2009, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Rehberg, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Pomeroy and Mr. Simpson introduced  H.R. 1587 to amend the lead prohibition provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to provide an exemption for certain off-highway vehicles and for other purposes.

The MIC will continue to work with the sponsors to provide necessary relief to the powersports industry.  S. 608, as currently drafted, will stop the ban on vehicles intended for children ages 7-12.   The MIC and SVIA advocate for the exemption of vehicles intended for children ages 6-12 to ensure all current models again will be available, since many have been designed for ages 6 and up. 

“It’s time to start letting kids ride safely again on vehicles designed for their use, and finally put an end to this untimely economic debacle,” says Paul Vitrano, general counsel for the MIC and SVIA. “We’re very pleased to see that congressional action is being taken to end the ban, and we’re working with the bill sponsors to ensure these bills would provide immediate and critical relief to the powersports industry.”

The MIC urges its members, dealers, and enthusiasts to act now and show their support for S. 608 and H.R. 1587 by contacting their Members of Congress and appropriate committee members via www.StopTheBanNow.com.

A new federal law enacted in February by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has hit the youth motorcycle and all terrain vehicle market hard: The new law prevents the sale of all products for children ages 12 and under that contains lead over specified limits, included in that ban are some widely popular ATVs and bikes. The youth ATV category is the fastest-growing ATV sales segment.

The new regulations will apply to all current inventories, future production at the commercial level, accessories and replacement and aftermarket parts.

Paul Vitrano, the Motorcycle Industry Council’s general counsel, says he is “not optimistic” the CPSC will grant exclusion for

Officials with Yamabiko Corp., the recently formed parent company of Kioritz Corporation and Shindaiwa Corporation, today announced plans to merge the two companies and operate as Yamabiko. Initially, Yamabiko Corp. was created as a holding company on December 1, 2008 to take advantage of management integration,sourcing, engineering, manufacturing and other efficiencies.

The new plan is to expand the scope of the merger to include streamlining all functions. “We have already made significant progress in gaining synergy with the two companies since our 2007 alliance,” says Chuck Kitazume, President and CEO of Yamabiko. “However, continued weakening of world markets, rising costs and declining exchange rate between the dollar and yen dictate that we accelerate the consolidation process.” Operations of both companies will be merged in Japan by October 1, 2009.

This consolidation will also impact the North American operations of both companies. Shindaiwa will transfer sales and marketing responsibilities for Europe, Asia and the Middle East back to Japan as of April 1, 2009. Eventually, all Shindaiwa operations will be merged with Echo Inc., subsidiary of Kioritz Corp., in Lake Zurich, Ill. Consolidation of the U.S. operations should be completed by October 1, 2009.

“Both ECHO and Shindaiwa are well respected premium brands in the power equipment industry. The merger of these operations will result in an efficient organization with lower costs, allowing both brands to be even more competitive in the North and South American markets,” said Yasushi Asamoto, Chairman of Yamabiko Corp.

Kioritz Corp. and Echo Inc. are global manufacturers and marketers of forestry and agricultural machinery, as well as outdoor power equipment. Shindaiwa Corp. and Shindaiwa Inc. are global manufacturers and marketers of welding machines and generators, agricultural and forestry machinery and outdoor power equipment. All are members of the Yamabiko Group.

Ariens Co. officials recently announced acquisition of the Treker line of utility vehicles (UTV), attachments and accessories from the Land Pride Div. of Great Plains Mfg. Inc. Ariens will continue to sell the UTVs through Land Pride retailers as well as select power equipment retailers under the Gravely brand name.

“The addition of Treker vehicles will expand our product offering for the core rural lifestyle
customer we reach through Gravely retailers,” says Dan Ariens, Ariens Co. president. “We really see the utility vehicle positioned as a utilitarian material handling tool for this segment.”

The Treker line includes a two- or four-wheel drive UTV that features a 30 MPH
groundspeed, electric bed lift and 1,200 lb. payload. Multiple attachments and accessories are available for each model, enabling buyers to customize the vehicles for their specific use. The UTV will also be sold through Gravely Turf retailers who serve the sports field management segment, according to Ariens.

Cyclist registration is now open for the Stihl Tour des Trees, a weeklong, 500-mile, cross-country cycling event to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund.

“The Stihl Tour des Trees is a memorable, green way to see the country and meet folks from across the nation who share interests in conservation and cycling,” says Paul Wood, Tour Director. “Every rider leaves the Tour with strong relationships and a desire to come back and ride again the next year.”

Considered America’s largest fundraiser for tree research, the 2009 Stihl Tour des Trees kicks off in

According to news reports, major chain saw bar and chain manufacturer Blount International has been awarded $2 million in damages in a patent infringement case against TriLink Global LLC and its subsidiaries TriLink Saw Chain LLC, Jinhua TriLink Huihuang Co. and Jinhua Huihuang Hardware Co.

At issue was Blount’s patented design for a nose sprocket in a chain saw guide bar. The sprocket uses a “cradle” technology that Blount says lasts three times as long as conventional nose sprockets. During the trial, the defendants argued they didn’t copy Blount, but modeled their products on guide bars from saw chain and bar supplier Carlton Co., which is now owned by Blount. But a Carlton engineer testified that Carlton’s products didn’t exist at the time the defendants claimed to have copied them.

“This is an important victory for Blount and for innovators throughout the United States,” say Blount CEO James Osterman. “This victory emphasizes that we will not allow companies to misappropriate our intellectual property.”

The conclusions don’t match the data, says an independent researcher commissioned by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) to critique a federal report released last year by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) concerning the impact higher percentages of ethanol in gasoline have on automobiles and small engines. Ethanol proponents have seized on the small, preliminary study  that showed automobiles fared generally well under higher percentage gas-ethanol blends as a reason to raise the ethanol content of motor fuel from 10% to 15%. This week an ethanol trade group filed a formal request with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking to expedite a rule-making process that could have higher blend E15 gasoline at retail as soon as nine months from now.

According to environmental researcher Dr. Ron Sahu, the DOE ethanol study executive summary “does not accurately summarize the scope, results (or) uncertainties associated with the testing. Since most policy-makers will focus on the executive summary, this could result in misinformed policies based on misleading conclusions.”

The DOE report released last fall was covered extensively on powerETblog and in Power Equipment Trade magazine’s January-February issue, and documents the effects of