July/August 2011

Commercial customers offer dealers high-volume accounts and potential long-term business relationships. Here’s how several dealers are working to boost their pro business: In the Northeast U.S., Grey Petrucelli at Suburban Lawn & Equipment in Wilmington, Del. says a super-heavy snow season had two big impacts: It delayed the spring season by about a month, but it also greatly boosted commercial contractor revenues, putting them in a buying mood for spring and summer equipment.

The brand-new Dealer Resource Pavilion at GIE+EXPO 2011, October 27-29, will combine education for dealership owners and managers, a dealer-only lounge and Internet cafe, new products and best-practice advice for managing your service center. Only dealers, distributors, retailers and technicians will be admitted to this feature area, which will be located on the show floor.

Maruyama introduces the Backpack Multi-Cutter System, a package that is being offered in a 30cc model (MC3021BK-SB), and will be followed up with a 42cc version soon. This uniquely configured system utilizes all the same high quality attachments that Maruyama has offered in the past, coupled with a power package that offers greater comfort and functionality to the operator. With the engine mounted to the rear of the operator, noise and exposure to exhaust gasses are greatly reduced, and only the weight of the cutting attachment is felt. The anti-vibration buffer system and weight distribution make for easy and nearly effortless operation.

Brian Stanton, owner of McAbee Tractor and Turf, says he approaches his business a little differently than some dealers, in at least one aspect. “I bought a business, so I had a debt to service.” He says that a lot of dealers who have been in the business for decades, who perhaps inherited from family, never had any capital investment and so operate less like a business and more like a checkbook. Due to his education and his background in accounts management for large companies, he approaches the business with more of an eye to the not-so-hidden costs. “I have been very fortunate to have a good education,” he says, “so I understand costs.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a new label for E15 fuel pumps, alerting consumers to the higher ethanol/gasoline blend of 15% ethanol after approving E15 as a standard transportation fuel in 2010. Last October, EPA  granted the ethanol industry a waiver approving the use of E15 in 2007 and newer light-duty vehicles. Earlier this year, EPA extended the waiver to include 2001-06 model year cars and light trucks as well. For the past 30 years, E10 was the highest ethanol-gasoline blend approved.

I’m often amazed at how many times something has to happen to me before I figure it out. I believe that most of us get smarter as we get older. But somehow, despite that, we often make the same mistakes. On the flip side — but no less comforting—we often do many things right and then fail to repeat them. There’s a simple reason for it: we rarely take the time to pause, breathe, and think about what’s working and what’s not. There’s just too much to do and no time to reflect.

For several weeks this country has seen terrible weather. From flooding to tornadoes and there is seemingly no end in sight. Just in my area there is continued flooding along the majority of the southern and eastern part of the state of Missouri, with no real promise of much relief for several more weeks. One of the worst tragedies was the tornado that struck Joplin, Mo. in May. It is hard to fathom a tornado that takes a path of approximately one mile wide and about six miles long, yet this is what happened on that fateful Sunday. This raging tornado demolished not only homes but also businesses, a major hospital and several thousand individual lives forever. At last count over 130 souls lost their lives and approximately 7,000 postal mailing addresses are lost.