Category: News

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

Just got finished this past weekend wading through all 61 Power Equipment Trade/GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards nominees, and developed a good list of finalists. Products nominated were weighted heavily toward the “Accessory/Attachment” and “Wheeled” product categories, though there is some really cool stuff in all five categories. Following are the 2008 PET GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice…

While on the topic of generators, I got a call the other day from a guy down in West Palm Beach, Fla., who wanted to “pick my brain” about the industry. . .

I didn’t have enough room in the October show issue to include all the information from dealer Kenneth Holloway of K&S Power Equipment in Mauriceville, Tex., 20 or so miles northeast of Beaumont, which was heavily damaged by hurricane Ike. As with every major hurricane that affects millions in a given region, generators are in…