WASHINGTON - After 45 years of representing manufacturers of hand-held outdoor power equipment, the Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers Association (PPEMA) is closing its doors. Karen Hutchison, PPEMA vice president, cited lack of funding, a dwindling membership base and the emergence of other organizations devoted to the same goal of being a collective voice for portable power equipment makers as reasons for PPEMA’s close.
"There have been a lot of changes and consolidations in the industry, and we have been losing membership over the years, so financial reasons have really compelled us. We’re no longer financially viable with such a small membership," explained Hutchison.
PPEMA’s 16-company membership decided unanimously to disband the organization at the close of its annual membership meeting May 18, 2001, in Naples, Fla. Hutchison said the plan is to close PPEMA’s doors by the end of this year. However, there is much work to be done before the close.
"This organization has 45 years of history. There’s an awful lot of documentation here that’s very important, and we have to figure out where all of that goes - all the history of the standards development and all the letters and correspondence with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and CARB (California Air Resources Board) on exhaust emissions and regulations that have an impact on how things are being done now," she explained. "Clearly, somebody will have to take over those functions, but who that organization will be has not been finalized."
Although transfer of PPEMA’s work has not been determined, Hutchison said a viable candidate to take over as a voice for the hand-held equipment manufacturers is the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), especially because several current and former PPEMA members have already joined OPEI. "I would say most of our membership would be over at [OPEI]. They bring a great deal of expertise in the hand-held area to that group, so I think OPEI will be a lot stronger with these new members and with the existing members. And they’ll be able to do a good job for the hand-held industry as well," said Hutchison.
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"The biggest issue that the hand-held power equipment industry has faced for the last 10 years - and will probably be its biggest challenge for the foreseeable future - is reducing exhaust emissions from the products," said Karen Hutchison, vice president of the Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers Association (PPEMA). Hutchison explained that products today are significantly cleaner than they were in the early 1990s, but federal and state governments are still looking for further reductions that could be difficult for manufacturers to achieve. "[Further reductions] will require manufacturers to look at new ways of configuring their products, and that is very expensive," she explained. Increased emission reductions are especially evident in California, a state that is typically more aggressive than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in environmental regulations, according to Hutchison. Through the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the state is moving into its next phase of regulations, known as CARB Tier III, which further reduce exhaust emissions for several products and industries, including hand-held power equipment. With PPEMA disbanding this year, Hutchison noted that the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute will be taking a lead for the industry in negotiating with California regulators to make sure the industry’s concerns are heard. Hand-held power equipment manufactures are hoping that EPA and CARB regulations will closely match, such that there is one set of exhaust emissions regulations for all hand-held products sold in the U.S. "It’s great to not have to manufacture products for the California market only," she explained. Hutchison also said noise reduction issues are the other major challenge facing the industry. "We continue to see public concerns primarily over leaf blowers, and this will be a challenge for this industry for many years to come," she noted. Manufacturers will need to make sure operators know how to use the equipment properly to reduce noise and will also need to manufacture the quietest equipment possible said Hutchison. "That is another engineering challenge for manufacturers, and it takes money, technology and a big investment of time," she expressed. |
PPEMA HISTORY AND MEMBERSHIP. PPEMA evolved from the "Chain Saw Association" in 1956, to the "Power Saw Manufacturers Association" from 1956 to 1977, to the "Chain Saw Manufacturers Association" from 1977 to 1983. In 1983, the association's focus expanded to include virtually all hand-held outdoor power equipment, and its name changed to reflect its new mission.
Today, PPEMA is committed to the preservation of environmental quality and the safety and health of industry employees and all portable power equipment users. Acting as a voice for the hand-held equipment industry, PPEMA participates actively in the negotiation and development of reasonable laws, regulations and private sector standards that impact the products manufactured by its members. It also conducts a monthly statistical program for its members and reports on industry shipments annually.
PPEMA members manufacture equipment used in lawn and garden, forestry, arborist, nursery and construction applications, including chain saws, cut-off saws, hand-held blowers, backpack blowers, trimmers, brushcutters and edgers.
That membership topped off at about 18 or 19 member companies, according to Hutchison, but the current membership consists of 16 member companies. The recent loss of some large member companies started the organization’s demise.
"We sort of had everybody because at that point in time we were the only group that dealt with hand-held issues. With the exhaust emissions discussions, PPEMA got very expensive for a while. So a number of companies dropped out and a couple decided they had technologies that they wanted to push that were not what the PPEMA members were supporting, so they dropped out, too," explained Hutchison. "Over time you just have gradual attrition."
The attrition Hutchison refers to is not, however, evident in the recent growth of OPEI’s voice in the hand-held power equipment industry. Hutchison said OPEI has a hand-held subcommittee that has been operating for about two years, and several PPEMA members have joined or will soon join OPEI.
"The technical expertise now all resides in OPEI. So I believe that you will see that organization being a lot more active and a lot more vocal in the hand-held area," said Hutchison. "[OPEI] will be able to speak with quite a bit of authority because they’ll have virtually the entire industry there."
As of Dec. 31, 2001, PPEMA will be no more. "We’re sorry to see PPEMA go. We’ve done a lot of good things over the years, but things change and we have to change with it," said Hutchison. "Hopefully, no one will notice any bumps in the road."
For more information about the Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers Association and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, visit the organizations’ Web sites at www.ppema.org and http://opei.mow.org, respectively.
The author is Internet Editor of Lawn & Landscape Online.