Stens has joined popular social networking sites Twitter and Linked In. Stens plans to use the networking sites to communicate with customers and hopes these sites will be viewed as a direct line to Stens staff. Stens believes this is a step to staying connected with its customers and keeping its finger on the pulse of the industry.

It was the spring of 2008 when a vendor approached Stens with a request to donate an ambulance to Mercy & Sharing, an organization dedicated to helping feed, educate, and medically care for children and widows in Haiti.  “The request was a bit of a surprise to be honest,” says Peter Ariens, president of Stens, an Ariens Co. subsidiary.  “It’s not often that we have vendors approach us for such specific donations.”  Mark Salter, the Stens vendor who asked for the donation, has grown used to soliciting for such useful donations.  Since his involvement in the Mercy & Sharing organization, he has taken the role of Program Director and helped founder Susie Krabacher foster the children of Haiti.  “I have been to Haiti and seen the dangerous and unhealthy conditions these children live in everyday.  It’s truly heartwrenching,” Salter admits.

The Engines and Power Products Div. of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., has announced a new distribution arrangement for Canada, effective this week. Stens, LLC, headquartered in Jasper, Ind., will become the distributor of Kawasaki-branded replacement engines and handheld power products to a network of more than 500 independent dealers in Canada. According to Rodger Howe, Kawasaki Director of Operations,