Former STIHL President Fred Whyte Dies at 70: This Week’s Industry News

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Man of STIHL, and Power Tool Icon, Dies after 45 Years of Service
Fred Whyte, former president of STIHL Inc., passed away July 7, 2017 surrounded by his family at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia after a battle with an aggressive form of cancer. He was 70 years old. A Vancouver, British Columbia native, Whyte began his STIHL career in 1971, working as a regional manager for STIHL American. After serving STIHL for more than 45 years and leading STIHL Inc. for 23 years, Whyte retired, and was named sole director and chairman of the Board of Directors for STIHL Inc. and influenced STIHL strategy worldwide.

Arborjet Adds to Marketing, Research & Development Teams
Sydnie Lopolito joins Arborjet’s Marketing team as Marketing Communications and Social Media Specialist; John-Michael Alexy has taken on a new appointment at the company as Research and Formulation Specialist; and Francesca Holinko joins Arborjet as a Research Horticulturist.

John Deere Awards Winner of “Small Machines. Big Impact.” Contest
Eric Moores, a high school building trades instructor in Woodbine, Iowa, was crowned the grand prize winner of the inaugural John Deere “Small Machines. Big Impact.” contest at the 2017 John Deere Classic pairings party. As the winner, Moores will take home a new 333G compact track loader with a WorkSite Pro bucket attachment to help with his project “Teaching Tomorrow’s Builders,” which includes hands-on learning in his building trades high school class, as well as other community improvement projects.

CASE Announces 2017 Dealer Award Winners
CASE Construction Equipment has named its 2017 “Diamond Dealer” and “Gold Dealer” award recipients as a part of its North American Construction Equipment Partnership Program. The awards recognize 20 dealerships across the US and Canada for excellence in five categories including sales performance, marketing and communications, product support, parts support and training.

  • The 2017 Diamond Dealer award winners are: Birkey’s Construction Equipment (Ill.), Burris Equipment Company (Ill.), Crawler Supply (La.), Groff Tractor (Pa., Md.), Kucera Farm Supply (Ontario), Longus Equipment Inc. (Quebec), Miller Bradford & Risberg (Wis., Mi. and Ill.), Monroe Tractor (N.Y., Mass.), Nueces Power Equipment (Texas) and Redhead Equipment (Saskatchewan).
  • The 2017 Gold Dealer award winners are: ASCO (Texas), Burks Tractor (Idaho), Crown Power & Equipment (Mo.), Eagle Power & Equipment (Del., Pa.), Hills Machinery (N.C., S.C.), HiTrac (1974) – (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Lawrence Equipment (Va.), McCann Industries – Ill., Ind.) and State Equipment (Ky., W. Va.).

SiteOne Landscape Supply Shares Sold by Janus Capital Management LLC
Janus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. by 0.2 percent during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Janus Capital Management LLC owned 0.76 percent of SiteOne worth $14,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Keynote Announced for 10th WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition
Catherine Greener, Vice President of Sustainability for Xanterra Parks & Resorts, will deliver the keynote address at the opening session for the 10th annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition, Wednesday, October 4. Greener joined Xanterra in September 2012 and is responsible for overseeing the company’s corporate environmental initiatives. She brings more than 25 years of experience in the implementation of sustainability, lean manufacturing, and quality management system. The conference will be October 4-6 at the South Point Hotel and Conference Center in Las Vegas.

LogOX Unveiled at TCIA Annual Expo
The LogOX is billed as a 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool, that combines a cant hook, timberjack, and hauler. The hollow steel frame design uses clevis pins to connect a cant hook handle extension and timberjack T-bar attachment to the Hauler, creating both additional tools, which are easy to disassemble and store in a 28-inch bag. The Hauler, which resembles and can be used as a 21-inch short cant hook, replaces the pulp hook for lifting logs off the ground, but in a much safer manner without continually bending over.

Read last week’s industry news roundup: Technology Tuesday to Kick Off Smart Irrigation Month