The 2014 Dealers Choice Awards winners were honored on the last day of GIE+EXPO held October 22-24 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
The Power Equipment Trade GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards cover lawn and garden products and services in five categories: Accessory/Attachment, Business Management Services, Handheld, Industrial/Engine and Wheeled.
Winners in each category are:
• Accessory/Attachment—Briggs & Stratton Advanced Fuel Treatment—Super concentrated 5-in-1 formula offers complete protection against the harmful effects of ethanol blended fuel on small gasoline engines.
• Business Management Services—ARI New OPE Web Site Platform—Highlights include: redesigned layout, action-oriented imagery, responsive design to showcase inventory, enhanced search bar and mobile inventory management app.
• Handheld—Echo CS-590 Timber Wolf Chain Saw—Features rugged 59.8cc pro-grade 2-stroke engine delivering extreme power and torque. Durable, with magnesium crankcase and sprocket cover.
• Industrial/Engine—Kohler KDW1003 Engine—This 1028cc, 3-cylinder diesel engine powers numerous applications, including Polaris ORVs. Features OHC and advanced fuel-injection system. Meets all EPA Tier 4 final, CARB and EURO emissions standards.
• Wheeled—Redesigned Wright Stander ZK—Features roomier platform, better balance and stability. Reinforced wheelie wheels and elastomer bumpers for progressive ride control help the mower hug the ground on all types of terrain.
This year more than 1,000 lawn and garden power equipment dealers participated in the ninth annual PET GIE+EXPO Dealers Choice Awards, voting on their favorite products on display in five categories. Power Equipment Trade solicited product nominations from all GIE+EXPO exhibitors, and selected up to five finalists in each category. Power Equipment Trade dealer readers and other qualified dealers participated through an on-line ballot system and also voted in person at the show.
Published since 1952, Power Equipment Trade is industry’s longest-running lawn and garden dealer magazine and the first choice of power equipment professionals. Visit poweret.com, a Hatton-Brown Publishers publication.
Chosen from on-site Dealers Choice Awards voters, dealer Larry Bergman, owner of Bergman’s Power Equipment in Grand Rapids, Mich., won the $100 cash voter drawing.
Photo cutline: Accepting their respective 2014 Dealers Choice Awards, from left, are Shawn Wolf, President of Wright Mfg.; Andrew Ewig, Briggs & Stratton Service Div. Marketing Coordinator; Brian Rhode, ARI Sales Manager, Outdoor Power; Kyle Brandenmuhl, Kohler director of Diesel Engines Americas; and Tim Bartelt, Echo Inc. Supervisor of Marketing Communications.