Bob Walker shares OPE industry outlook for 2012
In an Outdoor Power Equipment exclusive on Dec. 13, Bob Walker, president of Walker Manufacturing Company (Fort Collins, Colo.), shared his thoughts on the OPE industry heading into 2012.
OPE: What is exciting or new about your company or organization for 2012?
BW: Ryan Walker, Dean Walker’s second oldest son (my nephew), has started to work in the company as a third-generation Walker family member, and his brother, Ted Walker, Dean’s firstborn, is planning to join early in 2012; we are excited because our planning and dreaming for the company are to continue to be a independent, family-owned and family-operated business. Also, we are making capital investments for our operations to be more productive and efficient — a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) manufacturing software operating system will be installed in 2012 and several new metal-working machines have been purchased for the factory.
OPE: What will be the OPE industry’s top trends in 2012?
BW: We think EFI engines will become the dominant power for commercial mowing equipment in the next couple of years. We began putting Kohler EFI engines in our machines 13 years ago, and now for the first time, in 2011, we sold more machines equipped with EFI engines than carburetor engines in our most popular model. With the major producers such as Exmark and John Deere beginning to use EFI engines in their machines, the industry should begin to shift and the momentum build for the EFI technology.
OPE: What will be the OPE industry’s biggest story in 2012?
BW: I don’t have any insight on the “big” story, but would suggest that industry consolidation and the impact of environmental and technical compliance issues on equipment design have the potential to be big stories in 2012.
OPE: Who will emerge as the Republican Party representative for the 2012 U.S. presidential election? Who will be elected president? How will the outcome of the presidential election impact the OPE industry?
BW: Mitt Romney will be nominated and elected as president. He will have a positive influence on the OPE industry and the economic engine of this country. Just shifting away from leadership that denigrates wealth creators and job creators “not paying their fair share” to leadership that understands how the economy works will be a huge boost to business and to the attitude of folks throughout the country. The common sense possessed by the majority of our citizens understands that the high standard of living we enjoy in the country comes from wealth generated by private enterprise and not from tax revenues and government spending.
5. What is your overall outlook for the OPE industry in 2012?
BW: The industry will be on a plateau in 2012, holding at about the same level as 2011. Modest expansion could begin in the last quarter of 2012.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To read what other leaders had to say about the state of the OPE industry heading into 2012, be sure to check out Outdoor Power Equipment‘s two-part “Industry Forecasts” series in the January and February 2011 issues!
