Leadership Means Making Decisions, Taking Risks by Greg German

With four sons ranging in age from 5 to 17, I have had more than my share of opportunities to watch them play in all different types of sporting events. Depending on my energy level, I will coach one or two teams each year. That leaves many more teams to simply be a fan. Like most of the dads in the crowd, I tend to be an armchair quarterback (ACQB). The other armchairs around me trade ideas back and forth of what we would have done as the coach in whatever situation that just went wrong. With amazing accuracy, we are always right in our assessment. Hindsight usually works that way.

The past two fall seasons I have coached our high school baseball team. Since this is outside of the normal school team, parents rather than high school teachers coach the league. I love baseball. Having coached 20+ teams over the past couple of decades, I know the game pretty well. I definitely don’t know it all. In last week’s game, I made a couple of decisions that made perfect sen

Expo Elite

Adding strength to its commitment to the consumer marketplace, the Engines and Power Products Div. of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. has increased the consumer warranty on selected engine groupings to three years. Engines affected by this new warranty coverage are the FR, FS, and FX series, which totals 22 separate engines. According to Rodger Howe, Director of Operations, this expanded warranty does not apply to engines used for commercial purposes. The company’s standard two-year warranty will continue to cover those used in professional lawn and garden applications.

“This represents a reaffirmation of our commitment to the consumer and is a strong indication of the company’s continuing confidence in the strength and reliability of the engines we build,” said Howe.

Faith Farm & Equipment Living Up To Its Name by David Abbott

There’s a story behind the name Faith Farm & Equipment Sales, Inc. Years ago, before they sold any equipment, owners Tim and Pam Ervin bought a farm that was actually located on Faith Road, but that’s not why they chose the name. When Ervin bought the farm, he hadn’t yet sold his previous farm. “So we bought on the faith that we could somehow make payments on two places until we sold the first one, which we did.” Thus, Faith Farm was conceived.

Sometime later, Ervin decided to go into the business of selling trailers as well. Needing a name for the new venture, he just added to one of his existing enterprises: Faith Farm & Equipment Sales, Inc. “It seems odd now because we’re not located on a farm anymore, but, in keeping with that spirit, we do have a flock of chickens here.”

GIE+EXPO 2009: Value, Opportunity

Industry’s biggest event, GIE+EXPO 2009, runs October 29-31 and offers a complete profile of the lawn and garden industry, with information and demonstrations of every product and service imaginable from any segment of North America’s “green industry,” from manufacturing technology to dealership management and small engine repair all the way through lawn and landscape design and maintenance.

GIE+EXPO offers visitors more than 600 exhibitors showcasing their latest innovations in one 425,700 sq. ft. exhibit hall, plus a 19 acre outdoor demonstration area that holds another 170-plus exhibits where those in attendance have a unique opportunity to operate the latest in lawn and garden equipment.

Service Opportunity Offers Best Profits by John Walker

It was late 1977 when After Market Services Consulting Co. was established. This was a time when mortgage rates were high and banks were paying double digits on invested capital. Equipment dealers were doing well and competition from overseas had not quite begun to heat up.

In the late 1980s and early ’90s equipment sales really began to take off. Margins on equipment climbed to 12%, 14%, 15% and even to 16%. Many equipment dealers forgot the lessons they learned in the ’70s. It was a time when most equipment dealers did not want to listen to those who were telling them they needed to keep an eye on their aftermarket for increased financial opportunity.

Teamwork Critical To Dealership Success by Nevin Weaver

EDITOR’S NOTE: Responding to a suggestion by a Toro sales rep to write a few notes on the weekly employee meetings he holds at his dealership, Nevin Weaver, owner of Bowers Sales & Rental, Bowers, Pa., developed the following article:

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”—Henry Ford

1960s Vintage Chain Saw Age Editions Offered In Economical ‘Variety Packs’

Vintage chain saw collectors/restorers, logging equipment enthusiasts, and others interested in ’60s vintage forestry equipment may appreciate a special offer from the dusty archives of Chain Saw Age magazine, the forerunner of Power Equipment Trade. Former editor and CSA archivist Ken Morrison has assembled three different, 10-issue “variety packs” from the 1960s and is offering them for sale in limited quantities. Each pack is unique; no issues are duplicated.

GIE+EXPO: Arm Yourself by Dan Shell

Perhaps GIE+EXPO Show Director Warren Sellers said it best, quoted in a pre-show press release saying “Dealers should expect to go home armed with the knowledge that can help move their service departments to a new level of profitability.”

And while Sellers was talking about the new Service Department feature at GIE+EXPO, ultimately, that’s what the show is all about no matter your interest in the lawn and garden industry: gaining knowledge to help you in your business. What GIE+EXPO provides may be a better way of handling service or buying inventory, a new product line or information from a supplier or even competitor that may help a dealership sharpen its business plan, tweak a marketing message or revamp operations entirely to create better performance and more profit.

The Latest In New Products, New Technology

Ariens Co. recently announced the launch of the AMP Rider, an all-electric riding lawnmower, which delivers as much drive and cutting power as conventional gas-powered riding mowers, without the emissions, oil, belts or noise.

The AMP Rider was designed to meet a growing market need for all-electric riding mowers that can match the power, cutting precision and reliability of gas-powered riding mowers. The AMP Rider is clean and powerful and offers the following features: no gasoline-producing emissions; 50% quieter than gas-reliant engine mowers; fully charges in 16 hours (overnight) and runs up to 75 min. on 1 charge; charges with smart technology, shutting down automatically once full charge is reached; same power as a conventional gas-powered rear engine riding mower; minimal maintenance—no oil, gas, or belts to maintain; constructed with the same durable, high-performance structure used on Ariens’ other premium riding mowers; and strong support network, with 2,000 Ariens

More Compressed-Air Storage Equals Lower Electric Bills

Looking to save on dealership power bills, Rodney Rom of Rom’s Reworks in Butler, Mo., has contributed a cost-saving PET Tech Tip:

With energy costs rising in all aspects of business today, expenses must be cut wherever possible for a healthier bottom line. One often-overlooked area is in-shop electricity consumption. For some reason, lighting seems to get most of the attention lately, but in most shops air-compressor run-time is a larger consumer. Since a capacitor-start motor momentarily consumes approximately three times the amount of electricity required during running, and since most air compressors use capacitor-start motors, reducing the amount of starts will reduce the electric bill. The only way to reduce starts is to increase compressed-air storage. This is inexpensively easy.