The Carlyle Group Acquires Walbro Engine Management

TOKYO, Sep 24 -- Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group announced that it has acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of Walbro Engine Management, a global small engine parts manufacturer, from Sun Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Equity for the investment comes from Carlyle Japan Partners II.

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Walbro is the world's largest manufacturer of carburetors and a major manufacturer of fuel and air management components mainly targeted at the outdoor power equipment industry. Walbro has significant sales, R&D, and production capabilities in Japan and the United States, and also has manufacturing facilities in Thailand, China and Mexico.

Mr. Tony Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Walbro Engine Management, said, "Walbro supports worldwide markets with the aim to be the industry leader in the global small engine market by anticipating customer needs and delivering innovative solutions to a world that demands a cleaner environment. This transaction is consistent with our aim to satisfy increasing global market demands and we plan to leverage Carlyle's global network to pursue further growth."

"I am proud of the efforts of Walbro employees around the world in developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative products that add value to our company and position Walbro for the next level of growth with the support of The Carlyle Group," Martin added. "The resources of The Carlyle Group will help us continue to serve our customers with the products and technology they need to meet today's environmental and business challenges."

Mr. Kazuhiro Yamada, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle Japan, said, "Walbro is led by a strong management team with outstanding global presence. We will harness Carlyle's global network and financial resources to help Walbro expand to the next stage of product innovation and realize global growth."

About Walbro Engine Management

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Walbro Engine Management is the world's largest manufacturer of carburetors and a major manufacturer of ignition systems, fuel injection and air/fuel management components, and fuel storage and delivery components for engines targeted at outdoor power equipment, marine, recreational and two-wheel applications. Walbro Engine Management employs 2,200 people in facilities in the United States, Japan, Thailand, China and Mexico. Please visit www.walbro.com

           

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with $156 billion of assets under management across 99 funds and 63 fund of fund vehicles as of June 30, 2012. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value. Carlyle invests across four segments - Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Fund of Funds Solutions - in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs 1,300 people in 32 offices across six continents. www.carlyle.com

              

About Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments in companies that can benefit from its in-house operating professionals and experience. Sun Capital affiliates have invested in more than 300 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $45 billion since Sun Capital's inception in 1995. Sun Capital has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as affiliates in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Shanghai and Shenzhen. For more information, please visit www.SunCapPart.com          

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.

Briggs Facility Purchased By Generac

JEFFERSON, WI --  September 6 — Briggs and Stratton’s former Jefferson manufacturing facility has been purchased by Waukesha-based generator manufacturer Generac and although Generac has not announced plans for utilizing the facility, Jefferson officials said today they hope it will be used for advanced manufacturing.

“I can confirm that Generac has purchased the property and we met with some of the folks from Generac yesterday,” Jefferson City Administrator Tim Freitag told the Daily Times this morning regarding a Wednesday afternoon meeting with Generac that also included Jefferson Mayor Dale Oppermann. “I can confirm Generac is the owner of the property at 900 N. Parkway in the city’s North Industrial Park, which was previously owned by Briggs and Stratton.”

Briggs and Stratton moved out of the facility about three years ago. Freitag said it was his impression that the deal between Briggs and Stratton and Generac for the sale closed last week. A sale price was not available.

The facility includes approximately 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehousing and office space. It sits on 18.9 acres. As part of the deal, Generac has also acquired an adjacent 6.2 acres of farmland that could be used for facility expansion.

“We wanted a company like Generac to acquire this property,” Freitag said, adding the potential for local employment through advanced manufacturing is very attractive to city leaders. “We talked in fairly good detail yesterday with Generac officials and they are still putting their plans together. They are unsure of what they will do at the Jefferson site. They are reviewing their options for the building.”

A call from the Daily Times to Generac officials was not returned this morning and Oppermann told the Daily Times he wanted to reserve any print comment on the matter until Generac had contacted the media.

According to its website, Generac was founded in 1959 and “has earned a reputation as the company that home and business owners turn to when the power goes out.”

It touts itself as the first to engineer affordable home standby generators, along with the first engine developed specifically for the rigors of generator use.

“We now sell more home standby generators than all of our competitors combined,” the company stated. “We revolutionized the commercial market with the first cost-effective product line meeting the needs of small and mid-sized businesses.”

Generac manufactures a wide range of power products, including portable, RV, residential, commercial and industrial generators.

“We, down here, are certainly hoping Generac plans to locate a manufacturing operation in this Jefferson facility, which was built in the 1990s and is well served by city utilities,” Freitag said. “It is a pretty modern structure and is one of the biggest manufacturing facilities in the city.”

Freitag said that during their meeting with Generac he and Oppermann made it clear the city will do everything it can to aid Generac in meeting with success in Jefferson.

“They told us they bought the property and that they were reviewing their options as how to best utilize it,” Freitag said. “The mayor and I articulated that we would like to see a manufacturing operation relocated back to that facility and that we would do whatever we could to help the company pursue its plans. They said it could be awhile before they could firm up their plans on how it will be utilized, but this isn’t a company that sits on its hands and it should have a decision made on usage in the near term.”

Freitag said city leaders are optimistic Jefferson will see a positive, overall economic outcome from the sale.

“We are pretty excited, because Generac is fairly successful and dynamic, and they have been in the media quite a bit recently about plans for their company’s expansion,” he said. “The mayor and I are pretty impressed. I think it’s a good deal for Jefferson because when the Briggs plant closed we lost manufacturing jobs and that came right along with the economic downturn. It has been hard to replace those jobs and our collective fear, along with the city’s common council, has been that a potential buyer would want to put a warehouse in there. Ware-houses provide fewer jobs and we want the opportunity to put manufacturing in there ... This could be advanced manufacturing. We think there is a chance for this to happen and that is our hope.”

 Steve Sharp         www.wdtimes.com   

Briggs Auburn Plant Shifts Gears, Accelerates Focus on V-Twin Engine Production

AUBURN, Ala., Aug. 28, 2012 -- Since its opening in August 1995, the Briggs and Stratton plant in Auburn, Ala. has manufactured a wide range of products. Now, starting its 18th year of production, the team at Auburn – over 400 employees strong – will switch from flexible to focused, as the plant transitions from producing multiple products to becoming a dedicated V-twin (twin cylinder) engine manufacturing facility to better meet marketplace needs.

In recent years, the demand for V-twin engines has increased as more U.S. homeowners and commercial lawn service companies have sought to buy zero-turn riding mowers and premium lawn tractors.  The Auburn facility has increased production to keep pace with this change in consumer preferences and demand for v-twin engines is expected to remain strong.  As this trend towards v-twin engines evolved, Briggs and Stratton launched new products such as the Professional Series™ and Commercial Turf Series™ engines, both produced in Auburn, to penetrate the premium and commercial segments of the riding mower market.

While the drive to innovate has ramped up, the team at Auburn has also boosted its continuous improvement efforts.  The plant utilizes a Lean Six Sigma methodology that utilizes lean manufacturing to address process flow and wastes issues, and Six Sigma, to focus on variation and design opportunities.  These complementary disciplines help the Auburn plant delivery a very high quality product to the market. 

Recently, the continuous improvement team even partnered with Alabama Power on a week-long event to identify energy saving opportunities that could lead to significant cost savings for the plant.  

"Customers are aware of our continuing efforts to manufacture quality v-twin engines.  And they are particularly pleased with the fact that we can deliver an engine made in the USA, at a facility located in Auburn, Alabama", said Russ Stone, plant manager for Briggs and Stratton.

Briggs and Stratton is a Top 5 employer in the Auburn-Opelika region and has been actively involved in community activities such as Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, and Rebuilding Together, as well as being a long-running sponsor of the Fourth of July fireworks for the City of Auburn.  The Company also has a long standing relationship with Auburn University, working collaboratively on many engineering projects over the years. 

Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. said "Briggs and Stratton is an example of what a great corporate citizen can mean to a community, and they are an important piece of the local workforce and economy. I look forward to their continued success as they evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers through their Auburn plant."

These Briggs and Stratton® engines manufactured in Auburn, Ala., using U.S. and global parts, power several popular riding mower brands including Ariens, Craftsman, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, John Deere, Simplicity, and Snapper.  To learn more about why engines matter, visit EnginesMatter.com.

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 home 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.