OPEESA Eligibility Requirements
OPEESA is the Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association. Our membership includes more than 140 distributors and manufacturers of outdoor power equipment and air-cooled gas and diesel engines.
Distributor Members
An applicant for Distributor membership in the Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association shall be a distributor of O.E.M. outdoor power equipment and/or parts who meets the following minimum qualifications. These qualifications are mandatory and shall be applied without exception. The applicant shall:
A. Have gross sales of outdoor power equipment to retailers of outdoor power equipment and/or parts and related lines averaging at least $1,000,000 in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date of application for membership.
B. Not manufacture outdoor power equipment. A manufacturer-owned distributor is eligible for membership if the distributor can demonstrate that its operations are similar in scope to that of independent distributor. Information that the Association will take into account when deciding eligibility includes, but is not limited to, the following: physical location of the distributor; inventory management capabilities; sales force management; marketing capabilities; profit and loss accountability; and any other information the Association deems helpful in deciding eligibility.
C. Purchase at least one line of outdoor power equipment and/or O.E.M. equipment parts or engine parts from a manufacturer who would meet OPEESA's manufacturer member requirements.
D. Employ an outside sales force.
E. Possess business integrity, a lack of which shall be deemed demonstrated in the absence of significant mitigating circumstances, if any one or more of the below have occurred during the year in which the application was made and/or in the five (5) calendar years immediately preceding the date of application.
- Conviction of the applicant, or of any officer, director, shareholder or principal of the applicant while acting for and/or on behalf of it, of any offense involving moral turpitude.
- A finding by any duly constituted court of law, administrative agency, or other tribunal, that the applicant or any officer, director, or shareholder of an applicant acting for and/or on behalf of it violated the antitrust laws of the United States during the said period.
- Willful or repeated disparagement, by the applicant or by any officer, director, shareholder, or principal while acting for or on behalf of it, of the business reputation, trade name or product of a competitor in the outdoor power equipment industry, sufficient in the opinion of the counsel for the association to constitute the tort of unfair competition.
Download the distributor application here.
Manufacturer Members
An applicant for Manufacturer membership in the Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association must meet and continue to meet the following minimum qualifications. These qualifications are mandatory and shall be applied without exception:
A. The applicant shall be any firm or corporation regularly engaged in supplying to distributors of outdoor power equipment (Distributor Members) for resale by them:
- A significant amount of whole goods and/or O.E.M. engines and O.E.M. parts, but excluding those which supply only replacement, aftermarket parts for, or components of, such equipment or products.
- Supply a "significant amount" of products means that either a minimum of 50% of the annual sales of such products by the applicant (or its corporate division) or $1,000.,000 of such annual sales are made through distributors of outdoor power equipment (Regular Members), excluding sales of replacement parts for, or components of, such equipment. If an applicant is a new company with less than one (1) year's sales experience, it is deemed to meet the requirements of this paragraph if it represents that its sales policies will enable it to meet such requirements.
B. The applicant shall possess business integrity, a lack of which shall be deemed demonstrated in the absence of significant mitigating circumstances, if any one or more of the below have occurred during the year in which the application was made and/or in the five (5) calendar years immediately preceding the date of application:
- Conviction of the applicant, or of any officer, director, shareholder or principal of the applicant while acting for and/or on behalf of it, of any offense involving moral turpitude.
- A finding by any duly constituted court of law, administrative agency, or other tribunal, that the applicant or any officer, director, or shareholder of an applicant acting for and/or on behalf of it violated the antitrust laws of the United States during the said period.
- Willful or repeated disparagement, by the applicant or by any officer, director, shareholder, or principal while acting for or on behalf of it, of the business reputation, trade name or product of a competitor in the outdoor power equipment industry, sufficient in the opinion of the counsel for the association to constitute the tort of unfair competition.
Download the manufacturer application here.
Affiliate Members
An applicant for Affiliate membership in the Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association must meet the following minimum qualifications. These qualifications are mandatory and shall be applied without exception:
A. The applicant shall be any individual, firm or corporation who provides support services such as consulting, educational, and financial to the retail and/or wholesale segments of the outdoor power equipment industry.
B. The applicant shall possess business integrity, a lack of which shall be deemed demonstrated in the absence of significant mitigating circumstances, if any one or more of the below have occurred during the year in which the application was made and/or in the five (5) calendar years immediately preceding the date of application:
- Conviction of the applicant, or of any officer, director, shareholder or principal of the applicant while acting for and/or on behalf of it, of any offense involving moral turpitude.
- A finding by any duly constituted court of law, administrative agency, or other tribunal, that the applicant or any officer, director, or shareholder of an applicant acting for and/or on behalf of it violated the antitrust laws of the United States during the said period.
- Willful or repeated disparagement, by the applicant or by any officer, director, shareholder, or principal while acting for or on behalf of it, of the business reputation, trade name or product of a competitor in the outdoor power equipment industry, sufficient in the opinion of the counsel for the association to constitute the tort of unfair competition.