Briggs to Temporarily Shut Down Production at McDonough, GA Facility

MILWAUKEE -- Sept. 17 -- Briggs and Stratton Corporation announced today that the Company will temporarily shut down its production facility in McDonough, Georgia in order to reduce inventory levels of lawn and garden products that are produced at the facility. Market demand for lawn and garden equipment remains soft as a result of the ongoing drought that is affecting a large portion of the United States since May 2012. 

Production will be suspended from October 29th to November 25, 2012; however, shipments of products and service parts to customers will continue during this time. Plant personnel will also utilize the shutdown period to complete the movement of certain equipment from the Company's recently closed Newbern, TN facility into the McDonough plant and to re-tool for new products for spring production. 

Approximately 340 hourly employees and 200 temporary employees will be temporarily laid off during this plant shutdown.  The Company does not anticipate that this temporary plant shutdown will have a significant impact on its previously announced estimates for fiscal year 2013 net income of $60 to $75 million, or $1.25 to $1.55 per diluted share. 

Briggs and Stratton Corporation, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. Its wholly owned subsidiary Briggs and Stratton Power Products Group LLC is North America's number one manufacturer of portable generators and pressure washers, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of standby generators, along with lawn and garden and turf care through its Simplicity®, Snapper®, Ferris® and Murray® brands.  Briggs and Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents.

OSHA Proposes Penalties Against Briggs McDonough, GA Plant For Safety Violations

Oct 11, 2010 -- OSHA is proposing $78,000 in penalties against Briggs and Stratton Corp. in McDonough, Ga., for nine safety and health violations following a worker being injured.

In April, an employee sustained thermal and chemical burns when he stepped off a platform into a tank that contained hot caustic chemicals while repairing a wash line. The company is being cited with one serious safety violation for allowing the platform above the chemical tank to have open sides without a railing or guards.

"If the proper safety precautions had been taken by management, this injury could have been prevented," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office. "It is the employer's responsibility to ensure all aspects of OSHA standards are followed."

Briggs and Stratton is also being cited with one willful and six additional serious safety violations, along with one serious health violation. The willful citation with a $55,000 proposed penalty is due to the company exposing employees to danger by failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures to control hazardous energy.

Serious safety violations include exposing employees to amputation hazards by failing to install machine guards; electrical hazards including improper use of electrical equipment, improper electrical connections and making electrical equipment inaccessible for maintenance; unused openings in cabinets, boxes and fittings that were not effectively closed; and material data sheets on hazardous chemicals that were not readily available to employees. The serious health citation was issued because the employer did not provide training to employees on hazards associated with the specific chemicals being used in the plant.

Fines for the serious citations total $23,000.

According to the company’s website, Briggs and Stratton is the world’s largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.