MTD To Add 107 Jobs With $9.3 Million Mississippi Plan Expansion

The expansion at MTD Products into the former Eljer Plumbingware building is valued at more than $9.3 million.

Here's where the money comes from:

$7.1 million - MTD

$1.2 million - state funding

$721,700 - local funding

$300,000 - ARC grant

VERONA, MS - A multimillion-dollar expansion of MTD Products will serve two important functions - adding more than 100 jobs and putting an old industrial building to use.

On Tuesday, state and local officials gathered at the Tupelo-Lee Industrial Park South to formally announce the $9.3 million project, which includes a $7.1 million investment by the outdoor equipment maker itself.

MTD's expansion into the former Eljer Plumbingwear building will give MTD much-needed elbow room. Ten plastic injection molding machines already have been installed in the 525,000-square-foot building.

Later this year, two more assembly lines and a paint applicator system will be installed.

With the expansion come an additional 107 workers. MTD, a privately held company based in Cleveland, Ohio, now employs 1,150 in Lee County.

"We like doing business in Mississippi," said MTD Chairman Ted Moll. "Mississippi has been good for us. We especially like doing business in Lee County."

"We're a global organization and this work force is second to none."

MTD has been in business since 1932 and came to Lee County in 1986 when it bought Aircap Industries.

MTD's brands include Cub Cadet, Cub Cadet Commercial, Cub Cadet Yanmar, Troy-Bilt, White Outdoor, Yard-Man, Yard Machines, Bolens, Arnold, GardenWay, MTD Pro and MTD Gold.

The expansion will allow MTD to build and supply its own parts, rather than rely on others.

Holding one plastic part that the new machinery will be producing soon, Moll said the company will save 60 cents in transportation costs alone on each piece. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of lawn mowers produced each year at the facility, and the savings add up.

"We can control our quality," said Jomae Kimble, who's worked at MTD for 13 years and inspects the parts that arrive at MTD. "We don't have to wait six weeks for the parts to come from somewhere else and then discover there's a problem and have to ship them back. And that happens."

In addition to the money MTD is plowing into the project, the Mississippi Development Authority helped with $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grant Program funds, local sources pitched in $721,700, and the Appalachian Regional Commission added $300,000 to help pay for infrastructure improvements, including a fire-suppression sprinkler system and new roofing.

"This is a significant project when you create 107 jobs with an empty building," said Gov. Haley Barbour, who lauded MTD as a "great entrepreneurial company."

David Rumbarger, president and CEO of the Community Development Foundation said the expansion helps ensure MTD's future.

"As long as grass grows and as long as we're cutting grass, they'll will be selling lawn mowers," he said.

Lawnmower Makers Settle Horsepower Suit

April 7 -- Spring has finally arrived, and with it the obligation to get the yard back in shape. But this year consumers finally have a reason to be thankful for their lawnmower: a class action lawsuit settlement that entitles scores of people to a check and/or a warranty extension.

The settlement concerns a lawsuit, filed last May, contending that advertisements for over 20 lawnmower brands exaggerated the machines' horsepower. The complaint, filed in federal court in Wisconsin, claimed the defendant companies "defrauded the public" by "significantly overstating" the horsepower of the subject lawnmowers, and by "failing to disclose...[their] true, significantly lower horsepower."

Specifically, the complaint stated that the defendants sold "identical, but differently and misleadingly labeled, engines at different prices -- with higher prices for engines labeled with purported higher horsepower." In other words, the companies took two identical engines, slapped different labels on them, and sold them at significantly different prices.

The suit also claimed that several of the companies created a so-called "Power Labeling Task Force," a group that they used to plan and organize their conspiracy. The group held meetings "at various locations," and even kept minutes that were distributed once the task force had adjourned.

By discovering the task force, the plaintiffs were able to include a count for violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). According to the complaint, the defendants' "repeated acts of mail and wire fraud" -- namely, mailing false and misleading advertisements -- rose "above mere fraud."

The suit concerns lawnmowers with the brand names Yard-Man, Cub Cadet, Honda, Bolens, Exmark, Deere, Sabre, Scotts, Toro, Yard Machines, Craftsman, Troy Bilt, Husqvarna, Poulan, Poulan PRO, Lawn-Boy, Weed Eater, White Outdoor, Snapper, Simplicity, Brute, and Murray. The suit also covers "numerous other brands" with engines manufactured by Briggs & Stratton, Tecumseh, Kawasaki, Honda or Kohler.

Under the settlement, class members who submit timely claim forms can receive $35 for every eligible walk-behind lawnmower they own, and $75 for every eligible ride-on mower. Consumers who own a Briggs & Stratton, Toro, Tecumseh, TecumsehPower, Kawasaki, or Kohler mower, which was under a manufacturer's warranty when purchased, can receive a one-year warranty extension.

Additionally, MTD, Kawasaki, Kohler, Sears, Deere, Tecumseh, Briggs & Stratton, Toro, Electrolux, and Husqvarna have agreed to begin using a "new uniform standard" to measure horsepower.

A final approval hearing is scheduled for June 22. Class members who wish to object or opt out of the class must do so by June 4. Claim forms for the above-detailed cash benefits are due by August 31. Consumers have one year following final approval to submit claim forms for a warranty extension. Additional information is available at the official settlement website.

In addition to the RICO claim, the complaint alleged unjust enrichment, antitrust violations, conspiracy, and violations of state consumer protection laws.