Echo Inc. yesterday cut the ribbon on their new 129,000 sq. ft. warehouse expansion. The new warehouse was built to accommodate additional space requirements resulting from the company’s recent merger with outdoor power equipment manufacturer Shindaiwa, and to support the future growth of the Shindaiwa brand in both North America and Latin America.

Joining in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were dealers, employees, vendors, Lake Zurich city officials and other special guests.

Jason Emmons, a professional chain saw carver from Branchville, IN, walked away with first place in the 5th Annual ECHO Chain Saw Carving Championship held October 2-4 during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. After 22 hours of stiff competition between four carvers, Emmons was awarded $5,000, the prestigious ECHO Cup and a new ECHO CS 400 chain saw for his piece, “Spirit of Southwest.”

The difficult decision was made by five judges who studied the intricate details of the statues up close before naming the winner. Sculpture entries capturing the theme “The Great American Southwest” featured realistic-looking slices of everyday life in the region, complete with feathers and fur, all made from wooden logs by chain saws in the hands of the skilled artists.

View video coverage of the full event and the finished pieces on YouTube.

Kwik Products Inc. (KPI), an Arizona based manufacturer and distributor of easy load trimmer heads and trimmer line, has been acquired by Echo Inc. of Lake Zurich, Ill.

KPI will continue to operate out of Phoenix, Ariz. as an independent company, led by current president, Fernando Iacona. The company has served the power equipment industry with trimmer heads and line for 12 years.

Echo Inc. is a leading manufacturer of professional-grade, high-performance hand-held power equipment for commercial and residential use.

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.