Stihl Inc. Names Auditorium After Former President Fred Whyte

Stihl Inc. kicked off the new year by paying homage to, and dedicating its U.S. headquarters’ auditorium to, former President Fred J. Whyte. On Jan. 10, 2023, Whyte’s wife, Karen Whyte, and Stihl Inc. President and CEO Terry Horan unveiled the newly named Fred J. Whyte auditorium during an afternoon ceremony.

Whyte began his Stihl career in 1971 as a regional manager for Stihl American, the same company where his father had worked for nearly two decades. In 1982, the Stihl family asked him to establish Canadian operations for Stihl. After 10 years with Stihl Ltd. in Canada, he was named Stihl Inc. president in 1992. Whyte served in this role for 23 years and managed the Stihl U.S. operations headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va. Under Whyte’s presidential tenure at Stihl Inc., the company experienced 22 years of annual increases in sales and revenue and became the number-one-selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld power equipment in America. He retired from this position in December 2015.

During retirement, he served as sole director and chairman of the board of directors for Stihl Inc. In this advisory role, Whyte provided strategic counsel to the company’s executive council and reported to Stihl International, where he worked closely with the Stihl family in Germany. Whyte passed away in July 2017 at age 70.

“Fred truly enjoyed connecting with people, but when it came to interactions with people at Stihl, it went another level,” Karen Whyte shared at the ceremony. “Fred realized that the success of Stihl depended on the success of the employees, the distributors and Stihl dealers. It was important to him to build relationships with them, to understand their businesses and what they needed to be successful.” protection for equipment used by commercial green space and tree care professionals. The two-year warranty is a significant benefit for professional saw customers, as the coverage is the longest commercial warranty in the market. Additionally for commercial zero-turn mowers and stand-on mowers, the first two years of ownership will be covered under warranty with no hour limitations on usage. Customers can immediately take advantage of this program and benefit from two full years of warranty coverage for Husqvarna 300 and 500 series professional handheld and wheeled products.

The Fred J. Whyte Auditorium is located in the 80,000 sq. ft. Stihl Inc. administration building in Virginia Beach, which opened in October 2019.

These include pro batteries (BLi100-Bli950x); pro split boom attachments; W500 walk-behind mowers; Z400 zero-turns; V500/Z500/ P500D stand-on, zero-turn and articulating riders.

“Husqvarna’s revamped warranty program is another demonstration of our commitment to our commercial customers,” commentsCarlos Haddad, Vice President ofNorth America, Professional Products at Husqvarna Group.

Third Eye Blind Playing Equip Expo Concert

Equip Exposition, the international landscape, outdoor living, and equipment exposition, has announced the event’s first ever arena concert, being held at the KFC YUM! Center, Thursday, October 19, as part of the trade show being held October 17-20 at the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC).

Third Eye Blind will headline a “thank you” concert at the KFC YUM! Center, and singer-songwriter Dylan Scott will open the show thanking the many people who make Equip Exposition what it is.

This special arena concert acknowledges the many significant friends and partners of Equip Expo that have welcomed the trade show to Louisville for 40 years and promises to be a great time for Equip Exposition attendees.

“We’re celebrating our 40th anniversary of Expo, and we couldn’t have grown to this point without the support of thousands of people — from our attendees and exhibitors at the show to the bartenders and hotel staff through- out the city,” says Kris Kiser, President of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which owns and manages the show. “They all make the ‘Expo experience’ possible, and we want to say thank you with this concert. The entire industry comes to Expo, and now everyone who participates can come to the party. It’s on us.”

Registered attendees and exhibitors for Equip Exposition may attend all three nights of entertainment for free with their registration badges serving as tickets.

In addition to the concert at the KFC YUM! Center, entertainment during the 2023 three-day event includes: House band, The Crashers with a jamming Welcome Party at the downtown Kentucky International Convention Center on Tuesday night, October 17. Food and hors d’oeuvres will be provided and there will be a cash bar for drinks. A free Fourth Street Live! Concert by the Juicebox Heroes starts at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18. World-champion, Kentucky-based chain saw carver, Abby Peterson, at the Kentucky Exposition Center, October 18–20, will carve a statue of TurfMutt Foundation spokes- dog, Mulligan the TurfMutt.

Equip Exposition hotel reservations are open and making plans early on where to stay is strongly encouraged. Registration to the show will open in April.

VP Racing Fuels Has New Brand Identity

VP Racing Fuels, Inc., regarded worldwide as the leader in racing, performance fuel products, and branded re- tail, has announced the launch of a new identity for the corporation, its products, and programs. VP will immediately begin transitioning to the “VP Racing” moniker and a refreshed logo.

“We are excited to announce an updated identity for VP,” says Alan Cerwick, VP Racing’s President & CEO. “This change is a better reflection of the vitality of our company and its ever-expanding product and service lines.”

For the past decade, VP has been charging into new areas of business and new product categories. Over this time, VP has entered the motor oil market for outdoor equipment fuels, fuel additives, coolants, appearance products, jug containers, diesel contamination prevention products, UAV/ UAS fuels, hand sanitizer, and spe- cialty chemicals. Further, VP has branded nearly 400 gas stations, oil change centers, car washes, and marinas.

“We are immensely proud that VP remainsthe global leader in racing fuels with over 80 custom-formulated blends,” adds Cerwick. “However, we are clearly now much more than race fuel.”

NEDA Goes To DC, Promotes Issues

In March, the Northeast Equipment Dealers Assn. (NEDA) participated in numerous visits with legislators in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to share dealership concerns and priorities. Representative Zach Nunn (Iowa) and Representative G.T. Thompson (Pennsylvania) staff along with many others were interested to learn about dealership priorities, explore issues unique to the industry and its small business such as: Infrastructure spending, tax policy, the 2023 Farm Bill, workforce development, Right-to-Repair, pharmacy benefit manager/drug price transparency (S. 4293), and Wa- ters of the U.S. (WOTUS).

Without exception, every legislator thanked the participants for taking the time and effort to invest in face-toface visits. Noting that the visits demonstrated a true commitment by the participants to building the relationships necessary for solutions-based legislation/governance. NEDA’s Tim Wentz says the organization has come to understand that those who take the time to invest in face-to-face visits soon become the legislators “SME (subject matter experts)” that are called on as the legislators seek to gain better understanding of compli -