OPEESA OPE-in-the-KNOW - April 2018

Toro Earns WaterSense Certification

RIVERSIDE, Calif., – The Toro Company has been awarded WaterSense certification by the EPA for its range of 570Z Series spray heads with built-in pressure regulation. The certification was awarded after an evaluation and third-party testing in accordance with the EPA’s WaterSense Specification for Spray Sprinkler Bodies. The 570Z Series sprays met or exceeded the specification’s requirements, which include restrictive tolerances for flow and pressure characteristics, to qualify for the WaterSense certification.

“As responsible stewards of water, we are excited for our 570Z Series products to have been proven to help our customers save water”, said Orion Goe, Toro’s marketing manager for residential and commercial irrigation. “This WaterSense certification is further evidence of Toro’s commitment to meeting the expectations of our customers and the shared goals around being efficient with our natural resources.”

Sponsored by the EPA, the WaterSense program is a voluntary partnership between manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and other stakeholders that allows for products to be labeled as water-efficient when they meet particular requirements specified by the EPA. The WaterSense label makes the identification of water-efficient products easy for professional contractors, homeowners, and consumers, and certifies that labeled products and services use at least 20 percent less water than competing, non-labeled models.

Briggs and Stratton Q3 Profit Report

(RTTNews.com) – Briggs & Stratton ( BGG ) released a profit for third quarter that declined from last year. The company’s profit totaled $31.89 million, or $0.74 per share. This compares with $35.82 million, or $0.83 per share, in last year’s third quarter. Excluding items, Briggs & Stratton reported adjusted earnings of $36.23 million or $0.84 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.82 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 1.2% to $604.07 million from $596.97 million last year.

Briggs & Stratton earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q3): $36.23 Mln. vs. $35.82 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q3): $0.84 vs. $0.83 last year. -Analysts Estimate: $0.82

-Revenue (Q3): $604.07 Mln vs. $596.97 Mln last year.

-Guidance:

Full year EPS guidance: $1.33 to $1.50
Full year revenue guidance: $1.89 – $1.94

Options for Business Transitions

Full disclosure: This article was provided by Mandy Patterson – Owner Resource Group and Robert Davis – Round Table Wealth Management. ORG does offer the services mentioned in the article.

We often say to our clients that there are three parts to every transaction: a beginning, a middle, and an end. The “easy” part is getting in, i.e., the beginning. More difficult is the middle (actually developing profitability). And the most important, and often ignored until too late, is the end. Not to say that other aspects such as managing costs, strategic marketing or critical hires are not important, it’s just that the exit is final—no “do-overs” allowed. For this reason, planning the exit or sale of a business needs careful scenario analysis and planning to affect the right transaction. Preparing a business for sale should begin, in some cases, years in advance. Ramping revenues, improving margins and managing expenses is critical to achieving optimal valuations from a serious buyer. Not to mention having thoughtful conversations with yourself and loved ones to ensure that the path you are taking is the one you desire most.

That’s because there are multiple options for a transition of ownership. These include: selling or gifting the business to family member(s), selling to a private equity firm, selling to a strategic buyer (oftentimes a competitor), creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), or a management buy-out (MBO), which often requires a funding source for management (such as seller financing or a private equity backer). The most flexible option is usually partnering with a private equity firm, as long as their goals are aligned with yours. Many firms will allow you to determine your day-to-day role in the business moving forward – whether that’s continuing to manage the business, transitioning to retirement or exiting completely and immediately. A good partner (private equity firm or other buyer) will enable you to remain invested in the business to benefit from the future growth of your company, while also taking some chips off the table.

Management buy-outs appeal to business owners who want to retire and wish to reward their management teams with the opportunity to become owners of the company. MBO’s allow the management team to continue running the business and to reap the financial rewards from the future success of the business. Regardless of your approach, you should choose a partner that listens to what you want your world to look like after the sale and will help you achieve your goals.

Of course, selling a business incorporates not only deal terms and the extent of the business owner’s ongoing involvement, but also draws in personal tax implications, family health insurance needs, estate planning considerations and, of course, portfolio management of sale proceeds for ongoing income. Each of these aspects requires outside professional, objective advice and a sufficient time horizon for optimal impact.

Generally speaking, owners should revisit their wealth plan (or begin one!) in the context of a potential business sale at least nine months ahead of entering a transaction. How an owner views their wealth and in what amounts that wealth transfers to future generations are complex issues. Wealth planning strategies such as gifting, establishing trusts or transferring shares of a business may be subject to less scrutiny by tax authorities if it occurs separate from a sale transaction. Pursuit of philanthropic goals and creating their respective entities may also be established prior to a transaction and implemented afterward. Each wealth planning strategy requires the coordination of financial advisors, legal counsel, accounting professionals and adequate preparation time.

Successful business owners understand that selling their business does not end their business career, but is only the beginning of the next chapter. Many find they are not ready to retire and may set their sights on new endeavors, which could include continued involvement in their “old” business, another for-profit business or philanthropic causes. Regardless of the post-sale pursuit, the “old business” has been transformed into a new, well capitalized business: an investment portfolio. Similar to all businesses, the business of portfolio management needs to provide tax-efficient income and economic security to the entrepreneur and their family. Not unlike employing a highly competent Chief Financial Officer, engaging a top-tier, well-credentialed financial advisor is an important step to navigating the intricacies of portfolio management. Recognizing that Wealth Planning is a business in and of itself, and that it requires professional guidance and education, will allow the successful business owner to remain successful.

Douglas Dynamics Announced 2017 Earnings

Douglas Dynamics (NYSE:PLOW) recently announced its 2017 earnings results. The auto parts company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $137.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.33 million. Douglas Dynamics had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 11.66%. analysts forecast that Douglas Dynamics will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend. Investors of record on Thursday, March 22nd were be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Douglas Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 21st. Douglas Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PLOW. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Douglas Dynamics from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. ValuEngine cut Douglas Dynamics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Douglas Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $50.00 price objective on Douglas Dynamics and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $47.67.

In other Douglas Dynamics news, VP Robert L. Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.08, for a total transaction of $601,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 116,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,659,821.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Dejana sold 741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total value of $32,226.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,138 shares of company stock worth $1,824,922 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Douglas Dynamics
Douglas Dynamics, Inc is a manufacturer and up-fitter of commercial vehicle attachments and equipment. The Company’s portfolio includes snow and ice management attachments sold under the BLIZZARD, FISHER, HENDERSON, SNOWEX and WESTERN brands, turf care equipment under the TURFEX brand and industrial maintenance equipment under the SWEEPEX brand.

The Toro Company Has Acquired L.T. Rich Products

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.– The Toro Company announced it has acquired L.T. Rich Products, a manufacturer of commercial zero-turn spreader/sprayers, aerators and snow and ice management equipment. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

L.T. Rich Products is known for its Z-Spray line of stand-on spreaders and sprayers for landscape contractors and groundskeeping professionals. It offers five models of high-capacity, zero-turn machines designed for properties of all sizes.
Other products include the Z-Plug stand-on aerator designed to convert to a slicer/seeder, snow plow or dethatching rake, and the stand-on Snowrator for snow and ice management.

“With our continued focus on innovation and technology, we believe these products have broad application across many of our professional markets,” said Richard M. Olson, Toro chairman and CEO.

“We believe that Toro’s strong history, market leadership and resources will further enable our continued growth in the market,” said Tom Rich, president of L.T. Rich Products.

The Toro Company is a leading producer of outdoor environment equipment, including turf maintenance, snow and ice management, landscape, rental and specialty construction equipment, and irrigation and outdoor lighting. With sales of $2.5 billion in fiscal 2017, Toro’s presence extends to more than 125 countries.

Iron Mountain-based Boss Products is a division of the Toro Company.

Ocean Bio-Chem Declares Special Cash Dividend: $0.06 per/share

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc. (NASDAQ: OBCI), announced that its Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.06 per share, paid on April 16, 2018 to shareholders of record as of April 2, 2018.

“We are very pleased to be able to provide to our shareholders the special cash dividend,” said Peter Dornau, Ocean Bio-Chem’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This dividend demonstrates Ocean Bio-Chem’s strong financial condition and our continued commitment to increasing shareholder value.”

About Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc.:
Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc. is principally engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of a broad line of appearance and maintenance products for boats, recreational vehicles, automobiles, power sports, outdoor power equipment and motorcycle markets under the Star brite®, StarTron®, Performacide® and other trademarks within the United States and Canada. In addition, the Company produces private label formulations of many of its products for various customers and provides custom blending and packaging services for these and other products.

The Company trades publicly under NASDAQ Capital Markets, Ticker Symbol: OBCI

Briggs & Stratton Recalls 18,000 Riding Mowers

Briggs & Stratton is recalling 18,000 riding mowers sold under the Massey Ferguson, Snapper, and Simplicity brand names. The reverse switch on the mowers can malfunction, causing the blades to continue cutting when you back up, a potential danger to bystanders. There have been no incidents or injuries reported to date.

This is the third recall of riding mowers in recent weeks. In early February, John Deere recalled 3,700 ZTrak riding mowers because the mower can continue to operate with the cutting blades engaged even if the user gets off the seat. Husqvarna issued a recall of 7,100 zero-turn-radius mowers over a possible fuel-line leak.

The latest recall involves 28 models of riding mowers sold at Briggs & Stratton dealers across the country.

You’ll find the full list of affected model numbers and serial numbers in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall notice. To find the model and serial number on a mower, look on the right-hand rWith gold augers in hand, leaders of Stihl Inc. held a groundbreaking on Thursday for a new phase of its campus in Virginia Beach.

Greenworks Commercial and Conniff Sales Inc. Establish Partnership

Greenworks Commercial, manufacturer of battery-powered outdPor equipment for landscaping, turf management and golf maintenance professionals, and Conniff Sales Inc., announced an exclusive partnership to benefit independent lawn and landscape dealers throughout five Midwestern states. Through the arrangement, Conniff Sales Inc. will provide distribution, logistics, service and sales support for both the award-winning Greenworks Commercial 82-Volt system and the newly launched Greenworks Elite 40-Volt system, among independent dealers in IN, IL, KY, MI and OH.

Since 1970, Conniff Sales Inc. has been the trusted choice of dealers in its region for supplying a wide array of high-quality lawn and garden equipment, service and support. With the addition of the Greenworks Commercial and Greenworks Elite lines to its portfolio, Conniff Sales Inc. will now offer dealers the industry’s broadest line of lithium-ion, battery-powered outdoor equipment, including a ground-breaking selection of stand-on and ride-on commercial grade zero turn mowers later this year.

“Conniff Sales Inc. is extremely excited about distributing such a world-class and innovative product line,” said Michael Straszheim, Vice President and General Manager of Conniff Sales Inc. “The Greenworks product line will allow the Conniff Sales Inc. dealer network to offer products that are clean, quiet and efficient to the Lawn Care Industry.”

“We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Conniff Sales Inc., one of the industry’s most trusted and well-respected distributors,” said Tony Marchese, Director of Independent Retail for Greenworks North America. “We continue to hear people in the industry say ‘battery is coming,’ but they’re wrong. Battery is already here! We are confident that the experts at Conniff Sales Inc. will help us educate their dealers on the fact that Greenworks Commercial currently offers two complete, easy-to-use outdoor power equipment systems to overcome their customers’ challenges with evolving noise ordinances and emission regulations, while providing the power and run-time necessary to get even the toughest of jobs done.”

STIHL Headquarters Expansion

With gold augers in hand, leaders of Stihl Inc. recently held a groundbreaking or a new phase of its campus in Virginia Beach. The more than $25 million dollar project will include an 80,000-square-foot administration building, a new entry guard house, a new museum, as well as a new demonstration and training area.

Bjoern Fischer, Stihl’s president, spoke briefly at the ceremony on the 150-acre Stihl campus off Lynnhaven Road. Fischer said the Stihl “campus is not very ideal” and that the new construction phase is meant to use the land more efficiently. No new employment opportunities were announced as a result of the new construction.

Chainsaw and power equipment manufacturing company, Stihl, will be expanding and improving their headquarters facility, with plans to increase the size of it’s administration building. Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms took part in the groundbreaking and said he was “so proud to have your company headquartered in our city. If you ever need anything at all, please ask.”

The Virginia Beach Development Authority awarded the company an Economic Development Investment Program grant of $500,000 based on an original $20 million capital investment in the administration facility. Over the last 20 years, Virginia Beach has awarded Stihl $1.41 million in grants, which has leveraged more than $167.6 million in new capital investment, according to a company representative.

Stihl moved its U.S. headquarters to Virginia Beach, and the new administrative building will replace the one built in 1978. The company employs more than 1,800 people in Virginia Beach, with an annual revenue of more than $1 billion.

ARI Quarterly Earnings

ARI Network Services Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIS) issued its quarterly earnings data. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. ARI Network Services had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 3.56%. The company had revenue of $12.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.02 million.

Shares of ARI Network Services (NASDAQ:ARIS) traded up 4.72% recently, reaching $5.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 86,079 shares. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.48. ARI Network Services has a 12-month low of $3.33 and a 12-month high of $5.50. The company has a market cap of $93.92 million, a P/E ratio of 60.44 and a beta of 0.64.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research downgraded ARI Network Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 2nd.

ARI Network Services Company Profile
ARI Network Services, Inc (ARI) provides Website, software and data solutions. The Company’s solutions include Lead Generation and eCommerce Websites, eCatalogs, Business Management Software, Digital Marketing Services. It offers a menu of Website add-ons, including a mobile inventory management application, third-party inventory integrations and business management integrations.

The Green Industry & Equipment Expo Is Already Setting Records in 2018

Show organizers predict another record year for the Green Industry & Equipment Expo (GIE+EXPO) as exhibit space sales soar. GIE+EXPO is set for October 17 through 19, 2018 at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

By the end of February, 413 companies signed contracts for exhibit space, compared to 315 at the same time last year. Twenty-one of those companies are new exhibitors. This, combined with space increases by returning exhibitors, is leading organizers to predict a 25,000-net-square-foot increase in the show floor when it opens in October.

“We’ve reached 200,000 square feet faster than ever and the increase in square footage will bring even more new products to the show floor. Think of the addition as the equivalent of 12 basketball courts,” said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). “This show continues to be the gathering place for the entire industry and, thanks to its continued growth, this fall will be another must-attend event for landscapers, dealers, hardscapers and other industry professionals.”

Returning exhibitors are attributing their decisions of reserving larger spaces to the growing attendance at the show and the desire to introduce more new products. STIHL, ODES Industries, Hurricane Power and ECHO are among the returning exhibitors that increased their exhibit space.
“For STIHL, GIE+EXPO has always been the right place to showcase new products and business news for our industry,” said Bjoern Fischer, president of STIHL Inc. “Given our significant product portfolio expansions into several categories, including lithium battery and high-pressure cleaners, expanding our booth presence at the OPEI’s single largest annual trade show makes complete sense for 2018.”

According to Casey Slingerland, sales director for ODES Industries, the company, in its third year of exhibiting, planned for a larger exhibit to display its new 2019 utility vehicles (UTVs) and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). “Each year, we have watched the attendance grow, which has allowed us to continually increase our exposure and brand awareness. We are looking forward to another trip to Louisville this October and continuing to grow with the show year after year!”

Jon Geer, senior operations manager for Hurricane Power, attributes much of the company’s growth to its participation in GIE+EXPO. “Over the past 10 years, Hurricane Power has been excited to share its tremendous growth and innovation at GIE+EXPO. What an incredible venue to connect and create a buzz within the industry!”

ECHO is another long-time exhibitor that is increasing its space. “With three brands active within our industry, we have found the GIE+EXPO to be the best means to showcase key products and company developments,” said Wayne Thomsen, vice president of marketing and aftermarket for ECHO. “This year’s show profile changes to accommodate more visitor time on Wednesday. That change, plus increased demand for our products, has led us to outgrowing our footprint and requesting more booth space. Gratefully, show organizers were able to accommodate our request.”

“For STIHL, GIE+EXPO has always been the right place to showcase new products and business news for our industry,” said Bjoern Fischer, president of STIHL Inc. “Given our significant product portfolio expansions into several categories, including lithium battery and high-pressure cleaners, expanding our booth presence at the OPEI’s single largest annual trade show makes complete sense for 2018.”

OPEI Annual Meeting Registration is Open

OPEI’s premier annual event will be held at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, in Bonita Springs, Fla., June 18-20. The meeting will feature two keynotes:

Vivek Wadhwa, who was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” and by Time magazine as one of the 40 most influential minds in tech, and
Adam Steltzner, a NASA rocket scientist who led the team that invented the “sky crane” landing system that so spectacularly landed the Mars rover, Curiosity.

Other sessions will focus on upcoming challenges posed by a new regulatory scheme in California.

Click here to register.

Exmark Earns Manufacturing Business of the Year Award

A Beatrice business has been named the Nebraska Business Development Center’s 2017 Manufacturing Business of the Year. Exmark Manufacturing Co. was formally presented with the award last month at a luncheon at the Nebraska Capitol.

Exmark was founded in 1982 in Beatrice and makes midsize, walk-behind mowers and turf rakes. Its Lazer Z line is considered the market leader in its category in the United States.

NBDC, which is a collaboration between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, awards the Manufacturing Business of the Year annually to a Nebraska business that “demonstrates leadership in employee involvement, continual process improvement, customer and supplier relations, innovation and new product development, sales growth and sustainability.”

Thoughts for the Day

Like sheep that get lost nibbling away at the grass because they never look up, we often focus so much on ourselves and our problems that we get lost.
-Allen Klein

You can’t see Canada across lake Erie, but you know it’s there. It’s the same with spring. You have to have faith, especially in Cleveland.
-Paul Fleischman

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”
-Robin Williams

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass’; ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’
-Harmon Killebrew

Breathless, we flung us on a windy hill,
Laughed in the sun, and kissed the lovely grass.
-Rupert Brooke

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.
-Nadine Stair

It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want–oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
-Mark Twain

When you’re a kid, you lay in the grass and watch the clouds going over, and you literally don’t have a thought in your mind. It’s purely meditation, and we lose that.
-Dick Van Dyke

AEM and EDA Team Up to Support CASE Scholarship Program – Teaching the Teachers

One of the manufacturing industry’s greatest challenges is inspiring young people to consider working toward a career in equipment manufacturing.

However, a new initiative led by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)’s ag sector board aims to change that fact by increasing the number of equipment-specific courses being taught in high schools today, to help expand awareness of and enthusiasm for the equipment manufacturing industry.

With help from the Equipment Dealers Association (EDA), the two organizations have awarded 32 educators from 15 states partial scholarships for certification in equipment courses starting this summer. The courses, offered through the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE), will qualify teachers to begin teaching the courses this coming fall and reaching over 2200 students in the 2018-2019 school year.

“By leading a teacher scholarship program in partnership with Equipment Dealers Association, we have a great opportunity to help make students more aware of and excited about the opportunities on the equipment side of the Ag industry,” said Curt Blades, Senior Vice President of Ag Services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “AEM is fully committed to workforce development and we are proud to help provide 32 teachers the training that will help them fully engage their students in the opportunities available in agriculture.”

Since the launch of the CASE curriculum, more than 2,500 teachers have achieved certification to teach its classes. However, only about 90 of those certifications are in equipment-specific courses. AEM and EDA hope to increase that number through this scholarship program.

“Since its inception, EDA’s Foundation, the Equipment Dealers Foundation, has provided scholarships for students looking to begin or further a career in Ag,” says Joe Dykes, VP of Industry Relations for EDA. “Now we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with AEM and CASE to promote the value of an agricultural education from the other side of the classroom. Sponsoring scholarships for teachers is consistent with one of the Foundation’s most important goals, workforce development. The specific programs we’re sponsoring are aimed at closing the skills gap, or the gap between supply and demand for equipment technicians – a major issue in our industry right now. We believe working together to get people excited to teach and learn about agriculture is the best way to grow and sustain interest in our industry.”

The teacher certification initiative is just one piece of AEM’s broader, comprehensive workforce development initiative crossing the agriculture equipment and construction industries.

To emphasize local workforce development, AEM and EDA members located near the scholarship recipients have an opportunity to connect directly with the teacher and their students. Manufacturers and dealers are encouraged to bring the teacher and students to their facility for hands-on experiences beginning this fall. This supports long-term relationship building with the teacher and the students and develops a sustainable grassroots effort to increase the number of qualified service technicians and technologists entering the workforce.

“We expect agriculture teachers to be ‘jacks-of-all-trades’ as they must teach a variety of agricultural, natural resources, and mechanic related subjects while enhancing core-academic disciplines, such as science and mathematics,” said Miranda Chaplin, CASE Operations/Outreach Director. “However, agriculture teachers often have minimal training in how to teach mechanics related content and skills. Funding provided by AEM and EDA is essential for teachers to gain cutting-edge professional development experiences with CASE to enhance their teaching practices in order to implement STEM-based agricultural mechanics courses. The long-term impact of this support will benefit and spark interest in thousands of high school agriculture students.”

CASE is a multi-year approach to agriscience education with rigorous educator training requirements and hands-on, inquiry focused learning activities for students. While CASE currently offers ten courses, the Agricultural Power and Technology (APT) and Mechanical Systems in Agriculture (MSA) prepare students for the wide array of career opportunities in agricultural engineering. Students are immersed in inquiry-based exercises that emphasize in the math and science of agricultural mechanics and engineering.

During the CASE Institute, teachers will spend 80 hours working through nearly every lesson in the yearlong curriculum and learning how to deliver lessons in an inquiry-based way that will shift focus in the classroom from teacher-led to student-directed learning.

Organizations wishing to contribute or match the teacher scholarship, which currently covers about half of the teacher’s total certification expenses, should contact Brian Voss with AEM at 414-298-4108.

Soccer Goals=Trees

Thanks to every goal scored by Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact teams, Canada will have 17,600 more trees.

Husqvarna Canada Inc., is working with One Tree Planted to see through its commitment from its Goals for Trees program that promised 100 trees to be planted for every goal scored by the three Canadian teams.

Goals for Trees will complete the planting between April and May, with 5,000 trees in B.C., 7,400 in Ontario and 5,200 in Quebec.

“Husqvarna is excited to be able to work closely with the Canadian pro-soccer teams and One Tree Planted on this initiative,” says Michelle Sordi, director of marketing at Husqvarna North America. “Husqvarna is committed to taking social and environmental responsibility for our business. With the Goals for Trees program we’re able to bring together our support of Canadian soccer with our belief in conducting business with respect for nature.”

This commitment is evident through Husqvarna’s involvement with the United Nations Global Compact and FTSE4Good initiatives. Both of which help push innovation forward within the professional-grade battery-powered tool industry that include chainsaws, leaf blowers and lawn and hedge trimmers that offer traditional performance, but with a power source that provides a cleaner and quieter experience. Globally, Husqvarna Group is a leader in outdoor power products and is also a market leader in development and sales of robotic mowers.

OPE-in-the-KNOW – April 2018