Products

The Northeast Window & Door Association will merge with the Window & Door Manufacturers Association.

Versatex Building Products, LLC, is adding a fourth realistic woodtone finish for 2018.

A shade called Amber will be added to Versatex’s Canvas Series of premium PVC surfaces for porch and veranda ceilings.

Introduced earlier this year, the Canvas Series was developed for projects that call for the classic look of hardwood overhead, without the mess of onsite finishing or the cost of old-school installation, the company said. Other tones in the series include black cherry, walnut, and tropical macore.

Briggs & Stratton has introduced electronic fuel injection (EFI) to its Simplicity brand Prestige garden tractor.

“The new Commercial Series V-twin engine with EFI provides more reliable starting,” says Ryan Fredrickson, product manager for consumer rides, Briggs & Stratton Turf & Consumer Products.

According to the company, the Commercial Series V-twin engine with EFI can save the operator up to 15% in fuel costs (compared to a standard carbureted engine).

Briggs & Stratton has a number of reasons to celebrate the number 85: its Kentucky plant in Murray, Kentucky, began making Briggs & Stratton engines in 1985. Additionally, the company makes 85% of its small engines in the U.S. And now, the Murray plant is celebrating its 85th million small engine.

Since 1985, the plant has grown to employ over 900 workers and produces more engines than any other Briggs & Stratton facility.

Walnut Creek, California-based Central Garden & Pet said it rebuffed acquisition offers from an investment group.

The marketer and producer of products for the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets, said that, after an extensive review, its board of directors unanimously concluded that it will not pursue two proposals received from Harbinger Group Inc. in June to acquire all of Central’s common stock at $10 per share in cash or, alternatively, to acquire the company's pet segment for $750 million in cash.

Once a year, the industry packs its bags and heads to Las Vegas for the annual hardware event that tops all the rest in its scope, diversity, and sheer magnitude.

Outdoor power equipment is one of those categories we habitually return to because the cutting-edge products tend to look vastly different on a year-by-year basis.

This year, as with the previous year, the products have come back bolder, stronger and, actually, quieter (thanks to advancements in engine technology). Manufacturers are serving up more robust battery offerings, as well as innovative new lineups to be powered by them.

Here is a product featured in a recent issue of HBSDealer: