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34 FEBRUARY 2017 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com STEVEN D. PURDY PRESIDENT OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT AND ENGINE SERVICE ASSOCIATION (OPEESA) (ESSEX, CONN.) & PRESIDENT OSCAR WILSON ENGINES & PARTS, INC. (O'FALLON, MO.) 1) What is new with your company and/or any OPE industry associations that you represent? Steven D. Purdy (SDP): In 2016, our company intensified the implementation of its management succession plans. Our senior management group is now among the youngest of any of our peers; I anticipate more movement on this front throughout our industry, both at the manufacturing level (particularly small, closely held manufacturing companies) and in distribution. 2) How will the election of Republican Donald Trump as president, along with Republicans maintaining control of Congress in both the House and Senate, impact the OPE industry? SDP: Assuming that President Trump continues to focus on what were his primary campaign issues, I can't see where he will have a significant impact on the manufacturing and distribution components of our industry one way or another. The vast majority of the products we employ are produced either in the U.S. or Asia. It has proven to be a challenge to competitively produce most wheeled goods overseas, due to high cube and weight characteristics. Mexico has not been a major producer of products used in our space either, so whatever President Trump does to tinker with our trade agreements in North America, our industry won't be substantially affected. However, because much of the labor deployed in the grounds care segment is of Mexican descent, many will be keeping a watchful eye to see if ANY of the wild campaign promises made by President Trump to clean up immigration actually come to fruition. 3) What was the OPE industry's biggest story in 2016, and what do you predict it will be in 2017? SDP: 2016 was a relatively quiet year in our industry. Major acquisitions/consolidations have quieted for the time being. Much of the significant consolidation and/or channel realignment we are seeing, at least in the short term, can be found in the distribution sector. 4) What will be the OPE industry's hottest trends in 2017? SDP: I think one of the hottest trends for 2017 (and beyond) will be to design products that translate well with younger, professional consumers. What will that look like? I don't think that we know for certain. The exciting thing is that this group has no pre-conceived notions about what outdoor power equipment should look like, or how it should "behave." They DO want easy-to-use, reliable, eco-friendly products that require little maintenance. They relate well to products that deliver high feature content more so than brute or brawn. 5) What is your overall outlook for the OPE industry in 2017? SDP: I believe that the outlook for the OPE industry in 2017 is reasonably bright. The housing market, even where it has been lagging, is looking strong for the coming year. We generally do well in periods where housing starts are healthy. Just as in retail in general, we are moving evermore toward e-commerce. This includes the purchase of new products, as well as service parts and accessories. We are seeing all sorts of emerging enterprise designed specifically to take advantage of this trend. Because our industry is lagging on this front, I look for stronger-than-average growth in the area of e-commerce. ADVERTISERS' INDEX FEBRUARY 2017 Outdoor Power Equipment magazine FEATURE STORY | Industry Forecasts Continued from page 19 OPE Advertiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page # Ahlborn Equipment, Inc. . . . . . . . . 9 ahlbornequipment.com Billy Goat, a brand of Briggs & Stratton Turf & Consumer Products . . . . . . . . . 17 www.billygoat.com Caterpillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 cat.com/jointheteam Ecolawn Applicator . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www.ecolawnapplicator.com ENM Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www.enmco.com Gardner Dixie Sales . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.dixiesales.com Heftee Industries LLC . . . . . . . . . 31 www.heftee.com Honda Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 engines.honda.com Husqvarna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.husqvarna.com MacKissic Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 www.mackissic.com Masport Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.masport.com Rotary Corp. . . . . . . . 27, 31, Cover 4 rotarycorp.com Seat Warehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www.seat-warehouse.com Simpson, an FNA Group brand . . . . . . Cover 3 www.simpsoncleaning.com/aluminum TD Retail Card Services. . . . . . . . 13 TDRCS.com Water Cannon, Inc. . . . . . . . . . 5, 31 WaterCannon.com YARDMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 yardmax.com