Category: News

I guess it was only a matter of time, especially after the Wall Street Journal article we mentioned a while back. The other day I was watching TV, and what came on the screen was a “YAMAHA RHINO ALERT!” ad from a trial lawyer firm looking to put together a class-action lawsuit against Yamaha, manufacturer…

As I mentioned in the first poweretblog post following GIE+EXPO, ethanol was a hot topic at the event. We’ve got more coverage of ethanol issues that came up during GIE+EXPO in the December issue of PET, with comments from OPEI officials and a quick take on an ethanol technical session given by Stihl technical training…

A complete roundup of the 2008 Power Equipment Trade GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards winners and finalists is now available online at PET’s website, www.poweret.com/dca. There’s also coverage of the winners and finalists in next month’s December hard-copy issue, but the Internet version, not constrained by those pesky page counts and ad budgets, contains larger photos…

Alert PET reader John Greco in Old Forge, Pa. spotted the almost-forgotten McCulloch BP-1 chain saw in the photo on p. 48 of the PET November PowerGuide issue and sent a note thanking us for running it. Greco, who sold McCulloch for Eastern States Distributors and as a factory rep back in the day, noted…

One of the best-attended sessions last month at GIE+EXPO in Louisville October 23-25 was at The Dealer Experience, where long-time industry leaders Stihl Inc. President Fred Whyte and Ariens Co. President Dan Ariens took questions from the 100+ dealers in the audience and gauged the outlook for independent dealers in the lawn and garden industry….

Ariens Co. has announced the signing of a letter of intent to enter into an agreement with two Iowa middle school students to produce and distribute an invention they designed as part of the Invent Iowa program. Sam Hipple and Matt Moran attend Sudlow Intermediate School in Davenport. They designed the “Mega Melter” as part…

Husqvarna has announced the winners of its 2008 “Husqvarna Heroes” program, a special recognition designed to highlight dealers for being “hands-on” in support of their local community. Five dealers across the country were selected on the basis of their community participation and good works. “Several of our Husqvarna dealers have recently gone above and beyond…

I noticed it just this morning driving to work. Gas at the local station had dropped six cents a gallon overnight to $1.99, led by the “Venezuelans” that supply several Citgo franchises around town. I need to send a photo to PET sales rep Bill Albrant, who lives in Orange County, Calif. Last month at…

While Stihl got a cool mention in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago for its dealer relationships, Yamaha recently found itself front and center in an in-depth WSJ article about pending utility vehicle regulation. There’s nothing like being used as a major media example—the “poster child” for a given issue—to set off…

The Equipment & Engine Training Council (EETC), a non-profit association whose goal is to address the critical shortage of qualified service technicians in the OPE industry, recently announced address changes for certification program correspondence, and for EETC’s offices. Info Access has responsibility for administration of the EETC’s technician certification testing program, and ARI recently acquired…