GE Capital to be Exclusive Provider of Briggs Power Products Inventory Financing

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Jul 20 -- GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) today announced that it will become the exclusive provider of floorplan financing for Briggs and Stratton Power Products Group LLC (BSPPG) in the U.S. and Canada.

Headquartered in Wauwatosa, WI, BSPPG offers residential and outdoor power equipment under the Simplicity, Snapper, Massey Ferguson, Snapper Pro and Ferris brand names. Parent company Briggs and Stratton Corp. also manufactures and markets GE-branded standby generators under a separate licensing agreement.

"Floorplan financing is an important element of a successful dealer business model, and GE Capital provides a long-term solution for lawn and garden dealers to stock and market outdoor power equipment," said Harold Redman, senior vice president of Briggs & Stratton and president of Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group.

"We are very pleased to have been chosen by BSPPG, and we look forward to providing exceptional service and innovative financing to meet the needs of their dealers," said Marvin Solomon, managing director of CDF's strategic industries group. "Our team is eager to work together with our new client to develop financing programs that are right for their dealer customers."

Briggs and Stratton Merges Generator and Power Equipment Business Units

Briggs and Stratton Corp.’s recent decision to merge two of its business units has led to job cuts in the company’s management ranks.

The Wauwatosa-based manufacturer of small engines and outdoor power equipment is merging its Home Power and Yard Power groups into a single unit, company spokeswoman Laura Timm said.

“We made some staffing changes to streamline the group’s functions as part of this strategic move,” she said. “This included eliminating a limited number of management positions.”

Timm declined to reveal the exact number of jobs that were cut or the names of the executives whose positions were eliminated, citing privacy issues.

Briggs and Stratton’s Home Power Group included generators and pressure washers, while the Yard Power Group had been made up of the Simplicity, Snapper and Ferris brands of products and assets that the company bought from Murray Inc.

The consolidated Products Group will be led by Harold Redman Sr., a senior vice president at Briggs and Stratton who had been president of the Home Power Products Group. Vincent Shiely had served as president of the Yard Power Products Group. The company wouldn’t comment on whether Shiely was one of the executives who lost their jobs.

“We are confident that this new structure creates a solid business model that will allow our team to better serve our customers and consumers with products, programs and services,” Timm said.

News of the reorganization came shortly after Briggs and Stratton reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $8.1 million, or 16 cents per share, as consumer spending remained weak.

The performance, which exceeded analysts’ expectations, represented a slight improvement from the same period last year, when the company reported a net loss of $8.7 million.

Sales for the three-month period rose 2.9 percent to $334.1 million.