OPEI Says EPA Decision Puts Consumers and Equipment at Risk

Alexandria, Va. – June 18 — The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute issues a warning today that the EPA’s ruling providing their approval of the sale of 15 percent ethanol (E15) into the U.S. consumer marketplace for automobiles made since 2001, is dangerous. The government’s test results that show E15 is harmful to outdoor power equipment, boats and marine engines and other non-road engine products. The fuel used for automobiles and other engine products would have to be divided, substantially increasing the risk for misfueling, significant engine damage and consumer hazard.

“For the first time in American history, fuel used for some automobiles may no longer safe for any non-road products. It may, in fact, destroy or damage generators, chain saws, utility vehicles, lawn mowers, boats and marine engines, snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, and more,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, one of the industry groups who have been sending warnings to the federal government about E15.

In September 2011, members of the Engine Products Group (OPEI, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Global Automakers) filed a formal legal challenge to EPA’s E15 partial waiver decision.  The EPG asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the E15 waiver decision. The decision on this matter is expected to be issued at any time by the court.

Said OPEI’s Kiser, “EPA purports to educate tens of millions of Americans using hundreds of millions of engine products, asserting it will educate these users with a 3 inch by 3 inch pump label. It’s frighteningly inadequate.”

Many times OPEI has pointed out that the EPA’s prior experience with the introduction of new fuels shows that labeling alone is insufficient to prevent misfueling. As the EPA led the transition to unleaded fuels, the Agency reported a misfueling rate of nearly 15 percent almost ten years after the introduction of unleaded gasoline, and even with a physical barrier at the pumps.

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is an international trade association representing more than 80 engine and equipment manufacturers worldwide in the utility, forestry, landscape, and lawn and garden industry. OPEI is a recognized Standards Development Organization for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and active internationally through the International Standards Organization (ISO) in the development of safety standards. For more information, visit www.OPEI.org.

Fire Temporarily Halts Work at Husqvarna Orangeburg Plant

ORANGEBURG, SC -- June 20 --  A Tuesday morning fire at Orangeburg’s Husqvarna plant cut operations short for the day, with employees evacuating the building.

The fire occurred around 11:01 a.m. in the plant’s powder-coating area, where lawn mowers are painted.

“The incident was contained to a small area of the plant and employees were safely evacuated immediately,” Husqvarna Marketing Communications Manager Evin Ellis said. “No injuries or casualties have been reported.

“The cause of the fire is still under investigation.”

Husqvarna is Orangeburg County’s largest manufacturer. It employs an average of 1,500 making riding lawn tractors, tillers and snow throwers. At its height, the company typically employs upward of 2,300.

After the fire, some employees were told to leave and report back to work the next day.

Employees standing outside during the evacuation asked to remain anonymous, saying they did not officially know what had transpired.

“All we heard was ‘boom, boom,’” one employee said. He can’t remember a similar incident in his seven years at the plant.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. Mike Adams said the fire began in one of the plant’s three powder-coating machines.

“When officers got to the rear of the building, they found heavy smoke and fire at which time they made an interior attack from the east and west side of the building,” Adams said.

Adams said the fire was confined to one machine, which is about 12 feet high and 40 feet long.

"There was extensive damage to the machine and some damage to the roof,” he said. “The fire is not suspicious.”

The fire was put out within 40 minutes.

The fire caused about $50,000 in damage to the machine and $50,000 to the roof, Adams said.

The Jamison Fire Department also responded to the fire.

 http://thetandd.com/news  

ARI Network Services Announces 3rd Quarter 2012 Financial Results

MILWAUKEE, Wis., June 14 -- ARI Network Services, a leader in creating, marketing, and supporting software, SaaS, and DaaS solutions that connect consumers, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers in selected vertical markets, reported financial results today for the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 ended April 30, 2012.

Highlights for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 included:

• Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 increased 6.7% to $5.7 million compared to $5.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Recurring revenue for the quarter increased 9.8% to $4.8 million, or 83.7% of total revenue, from $4.4 million, or 81.3% of total revenue, in the third quarter of fiscal 2011; compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2012, recurring revenue increased 2.7%, representing the seventh straight quarter of growth.
•  During the quarter, the Company invested $851,000 in strategic research and technology investments to support future new product introductions and revenue growth.
• The Company paid down $398,000 of debt in the third quarter.  In fiscal 2012 the Company reduced its total debt from $5.6 million at July 31, 2011 to $4.5 million at April 30, 2012.
• In the third quarter, the Company added 103 new customers and 2 new reseller agreements;
• For the nine-month period ended April 30, 2012, churn (the measure of customers that do not renew) improved 15% compared to the end of the third fiscal quarter of 2011.

Third quarter 2012 Financials

For the third fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2012, ARI reported revenue of $5.7 million versus $5.4 million in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2011; an increase of 6.7%. Total operating expenses in the third quarter were $4.0 million, up 11.8%, compared to $3.6 million in the fiscal 2011 third quarter. This increase resulted from investments made in product research and development, the Company's internal technology infrastructure and the roll out of the Company's fiscal 2012 investor relations initiative.  As a result of these investments, operating income for the third quarter was $327,000 compared to $675,000 in the third quarter of 2011.

The company reported net income of $210,000, or $0.03 per share, in the third quarter of 2012, compared to net income of $541,000, or $0.07 per share in the third quarter of 2011.  The decline was largely due to a $433,000 gain on the disposition of a component of the business recognized in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 that did not recur in fiscal 2012. Recurring revenue for the quarter was $4.8 million, or 83.7% of total revenue, versus $4.4 million, or 82.8% of total revenue, for the third quarter last year.

EBITDA for the third quarter was $1.1 million, comparable to EBITDA of $1.9 million in the third quarter last year.

Management Discussion

Roy W. Olivier, president and chief executive officer of ARI, commented, "We are pleased with the results of the quarter in regards to top line revenue growth. Our fiscal 2012 recurring revenue has increased to 84.0% of total revenue, compared to 81.4% last year, and we reduced our rate of churn by 15% over this same period.  These improvements resulted in an increase in recurring revenue of nearly 8%. We have signed on two new resellers, added over 100 new customers and signed a deal with a national retailer to use our catalog content in their 1,200 service centers, all of which will contribute to recurring revenue growth."

Mr. Olivier continued, "We are very focused on the execution of our revenue growth strategy and are making strategic investments in technology to achieve this growth.  We have expanded our product research and development resources to focus solely on providing our customers with easy access to the innovative technology they need to grow their businesses.  We continue to integrate several of our core product offerings and have updated our lead management tools to allow us to electronically distribute them to a large number of potential new users in an extremely cost efficient manner, which is a critical driver of revenue growth. "

Darin Janecek, chief financial officer of ARI, commented, "We had a year over year decline in operating income for the quarter of 27.7% or $381,000 due to planned investments in our products, technology infrastructure and our investor relations program.  These investments are critical components of executing on our growth strategy and increasing shareholder value. Since the beginning of Fiscal 2012, we have seen substantial increases in both our average daily trading volume and our stock price during this time. Several of these costs are one-time and will not continue into the fourth quarter."

About ARI

ARI Network Services, Inc. ("ARI" or the "Company") is a leader in creating, marketing, and supporting software, software as a service ("SaaS") and data as a service ("DaaS") solutions that enhance revenue and reduce costs for our customers. Our innovative, technology-enabled solutions connect the community of consumers, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers to help our customers efficiently service and sell more whole goods, parts, garments, and accessories worldwide in selected vertical markets that include power sports, outdoor power equipment, marine, and white goods.  We estimate that approximately 18,000 equipment dealers, 125 manufacturers, and 150 distributors worldwide leverage our technology to drive revenue, gain efficiencies and increase customer satisfaction.

Bosch Sees Strong Opportunities for Consumer Robotics

June 14, 2012 -- The Bosch Group in the United Kingdom said during its annual UK press conference that it continues to view the Consumer Goods and Building Technology sector as one of the sectors with the largest opportunity for growth.

"We see a strong growth opportunity for robotic applications in the consumer market," said Peter Fouquet, president of Bosch UK at the press conference.

He noted that Bosch will soon begin manufacturing robotic lawn-mowers at the Stowmarket, UK Bosch plant.

"In addition," he added, "our home appliances products are pioneering and setting standards worldwide. In 2011, we held the record for the most efficient washer-dryer."

Bosch appears to have already launched the British-built robotic lawnmower in at least one European market: the Indego was billed as the world's first intelligent lawn mower when it was unveiled in Sweden in late-May 2012. The unit is designed to recognize and mow around trees, flower beds, and gravel areas. The unit is designed to be easier to use than other robotic mowers because pre-programming is not required.

The unit's intelligence means it mows using parallel navigation, as opposed to the less efficient random navigation used by some other robotic mowers.

The unit also keeps track of its charger and its own current grass-cutting status. If it needs to stop mid-trim to recharge, it can return to the same spot to pick up where it left off. The unit is equipped with a lithium-ion battery.

 www.appliancemagazine.com  

NOAA: Warmest U.S. Spring on Record

WASHINGTON – June 7 - So far, 2012 has been the warmest year the United States has ever seen, with the warmest spring and the second-warmest May since record-keeping began in 1895, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday.

Temperatures for the past 12 months and the year-to-date have been the warmest on record for the contiguous United States, NOAA said.

The average temperature for the contiguous 48 states for meteorological spring, which runs from March through May, was 57.1 degrees F (13.9 C), 5.2 degrees (2.9 C) above the 20th century long-term average and 2 degrees F (1.1 C) warmer than the previous warmest spring in 1910.

Record warmth and near-record warmth blanketed the eastern two-thirds of the country from this spring, with 31 states reporting record warmth for the season and 11 more with spring temperatures among their 10 warmest.

"The Midwest and the upper Midwest were the epicenters for this vast warmth," Deke Arndt of NOAA's Climatic Data Center said in an online video. That meant farming started earlier in the year, and so did pests and weeds, bringing higher costs earlier in the growing season, Arndt said.

"This warmth is an example of what we would expect to see more often in a warming world," Arndt said.

More long-lasting heat waves, record-high daytime temperatures and record-high overnight low temperatures are to be expected in a warming world, said Jake Crouch of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

Generac Completes Refinancing of Senior Secured Credit Facility

WAUKESHA, Wis., May 31 -- Generac Holdings Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of generators and other engine powered products, announced today that it has completed the previously disclosed amendment and restatement of its existing senior secured credit facilities, pursuant to which it has incurred $900 million of senior secured term loans to replace its existing $575 million term loan facilities.

Additionally, the Company has obtained a separate $150 million asset-based revolving credit facility to replace its existing $150 million unfunded revolving credit facility.

The new term loans will mature in 2018, with interest accruing at LIBOR plus 5.0% with a LIBOR floor of 1.25%.

The new revolving credit facility will terminate in 2017 and interest will accrue on drawn proceeds using an availability-based pricing grid starting at LIBOR plus 2.0%.

As previously announced, the Company intends to use the remaining proceeds from the new term loans and cash on hand to fund a special cash dividend to its stockholders of $6.00 per share, or approximately $408 million in the aggregate, and to pay related financing fees and expenses.

Following the closing of the new senior secured credit facility and related borrowings thereunder, the Company's Board of Directors yesterday declared the special cash dividend of $6.00 per share. The special cash dividend is payable to stockholders of record on June 20, 2012 and will be paid on June 29, 2012.

We have been informed by the New York Stock Exchange that the ex-dividend date is expected to be July 2, 2012, in accordance with its rules. Shareholders of record on the record date who sell their shares on or before the payment date will not receive the special cash dividend.

As a result of the closing on the $900 million of senior secured term loans, the Company is updating its guidance for interest expense for the full-year 2012. Interest expense is now expected to be in the range of $49.0 to $50.0 million, which includes $45.0 to $46.0 million of debt service costs, at current LIBOR rates, plus approximately $4.0 million for deferred financing cost and original issue discount amortization for the new credit facility. Interest expense during the third quarter of 2012, the first full quarter under the new capital structure, is expected to be approximately $17.2 million, which includes approximately $1.4 million of deferred financing costs and original issue discount amortization.