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Upfront Encore and ethanol T Editor Steve Noe snoe@m2media360.com M2MEDIA360 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone: (847) 720-5600 • Fax: (847) 720-5601 Web site: www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OPE Staff here are times that bringing you important, late-breaking industry news in a timely fashion takes precedence over anything clever and witty that I planned to write for my editorial column. This happens to be one of those times… Encore sold:As we were about to go to press with this issue, I learned from multi- ple sources that Encore Manufacturing Co. Inc. of Beatrice, Neb., was sold to Worldlawn Power Equipment, a Chinese company operating out of Industry, Calif. I also heard that Worldlawn would be relocating from Industry to Beatrice. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. I was unable to reach an Encore representative for comment, but Worldlawn was planning to issue a press release shortly after we went to press. Please be sure to look for updates on this breaking story at www.outdoorpowerequipment.com. Trade groups ask EPA to mandate use of E10: Auto, marine, motorcycle, outdoor power equipment, personal watercraft and snowmobile groups filed a petition March 23, asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure the continued sale and availability of gasoline blends of no greater than 10-percent ethanol (E10) for the 400 million engine products used by tens of millions of people every day in the United States. These products were not designed, built, or warranted to run on any fuel containing more than 10-percent ethanol. The groups are concerned that retailers are not prepared to offer both E10 and E15 (15-percent ethanol) at their stations, and given the choice, may opt to offer E15 only. “Misfueling is our prime concern, and we foresee that consumers will be forced to fuel with E15 unless EPA requires stations to carry both legacy (E10) and new E15 fuels,” said Kris Kiser, executive vice president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Insti- tute (OPEI), while speaking on behalf of the organizations. “Many stations may not be equipped to accommodate an additional fuel, leading them to choose between E15 and E10 fuels — and E15 will likely win out since it may be more profitable for them to carry. This means consumers might have no choice but to fuel with E15, and there will be little to prevent them from misfueling when they come in with a lawn mower, chain saw, motorcycle, snowmobile, boat or older car.” The organizations point out that EPA’s prior experience with fuel transitions and misfueling demonstrates that labeling alone is insufficient to prevent misfueling. In 1974, as EPA led the transition to unleaded fuels, the agency reported a misfueling rate of 15 percent over 10 years after the introduction of unleaded gasoline. The petition for rulemaking, filed with the U.S. EPA, says that with a partial waiver ruling, EPA cannot ensure E10 fuel will be available for legacy fleet, and therefore, the petitioners request that EPA, consistent with prior precedent, ensure continued con- sumer choice by requiring the continued sale of gasoline blends of no greater than E10 fuel. The petition states that EPA must ensure continued availability of E10 for three specific reasons. 1. There is a strong potential that the reduced volume of E10 fuel required in the marketplace might result in the elimination of supply, further eroding the availability of a fuel needed for millions of off-road, small-engine equipment. 2. EPA must create legal obligations that ensure that the conditions on which the waivers were based can be fulfilled. 3. EPA has enough evidence that emission control devices would be significantly “impaired” by E15 to support a requirement for E10. A detailed fact sheet on the joint petition filing can be found at http://members.opei.org/news/detail.dot?id=12146. OPE 6 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com Account Representatives: Bruce Loria 626 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 500, Los Angeles, CA 90017 Ph: 213-596-7226 • bloria@m2media360.com Joy Gariepy 16267 W. 14 Mile Rd., Ste. 202, Beverly Hills, MI 48025 Ph: 248-530-0300, ext. 1401 • jgariepy@m2media360.com Classified Sales/Marketplace: Glenn Datz Phone: 213-596-7220 • Fax: 213-624-0997 gdatz@m2media360.com Executive Vice President Editor Editorial Direction Art Director Production Manager Contributing Writers Charles Forman Steve Noe Richard Brandes Brian Snook Karen Kalinyak Bob Clements, Dave Worden Direct Mail List Sales Cheryl Naughton, (678) 292-6054; e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com Reprint Service Cheryl Naughton, (678) 292-6054; e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com M2MEDIA360 President/CEO Vice President, Finance and Operations Vice President, Circulation and Collateral Services Production and Operations Director Executive Director, EETC Executive VP, Dixie Sales Co. Pres., Plano Power Equipment and Whipper Clipper Marion Minor Gerald Winkel Joanne Juda-Prainito Mary Jo Tomei Editorial Advisory Board Jim Roche Jim Starmer Glen Whitt Circulation For subscription inquiries and customer service questions, please call (847) 763-9565 or fax (847) 763-9569 business hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CST Publisher’s Notice: We assume no responsibility for the validity of adver- tising claims in connection with items appearing in Outdoor Power Equipment. Reader Service Numbers are given to facilitate further inquiry. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorse- ment by Outdoor Power Equipment or M2MEDIA360, or preference over similar products not mentioned. 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone: (847) 720-5600 • Fax: (847) 720-5601