Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest manufacturer of air-cooled gasoline engines primarily for outdoor power equipment. Current production averages 11 million engines per year.
History
The company was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1908 and today is based in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Briggs and Stratton engines are commonly used on lawnmowers, as well as pressure washers, electrical generators, and a wide variety of other applications. Their original cast-iron engines were known for their durability, but the company's success was established following the development of lightweight aluminum engines in 1953. The aluminum engine was the perfect solution for the recently invented rotary lawnmower due to its lighter weight and lower cost. The company has developed a good reputation because of its independent central services distributors (CSDs), low cost replacement parts and well designed service literature.
The company started in 1908 as an informal partnership between Stephen Foster Briggs and Harold M. Stratton. The original intent of the founders was to produce automobiles. In 1922, the company set a record in the automotive industry, selling the lowest-priced car ever called the Briggs & Stratton Flyer (also called the "Red Bug") which sold at only US$125-US$150.
Eventually the company settled on manufacturing automotive components and small gasoline engines. Briggs purchased an engine patent from A.O. Smith Company and began powering early washing machines and refrigerators. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1928.
During World War II, Briggs and Stratton produced generators for the war effort. Some components in these generators and engines were made with aluminum, which helped the company develop its expertise in using this material. This development, along with the post-war growth of 1950s suburbs (and lawns), helped secure Briggs and Stratton's successful growth throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Stephen Briggs went on to purchase Evinrude and Johnson Outboards and start the Outboard Marine Corporation. Fredrick P. Stratton, Sr. (the son of Harold Stratton) served as Chairman of Briggs & Stratton until his death in 1962. Fredrick P. Stratton, Jr. served as Chairman until his retirement in 2001.
In 1995, Briggs & Stratton sold the automotive component business. The resulting company is Strattec Security Corporation.
In 2003, the company acquired its consumer generator business from the Beacon Group and formed Briggs & Stratton Power Products. The Beacon Group had previously purchased the Consumer Products Division of Generac Corporation (now Generac Power Systems) in 1998. In 2005, the company added Simplicity Manufacturing Inc, and Snapper, Inc, to the Briggs & Stratton Power Products line. Murray, Inc, one of its largest customers, collapsed owing the company $40 million, and to minimize the loss B&S purchased the name, marketing rights & product designs of that company.
On 4 June 2008 Briggs & Stratton announced it would be acquiring the Victa Lawn Care business from GUD Holdings Limited Australia for A$23 million.
Acquisitions, agreements and joint ventures
- Farymann Diesel GmbH (1979—1984) - Based in Lampertheim (near Mannheim) in Germany, this was the first foreign acquisition B&S had ever made and was a poor fit with the company's acknowledged expertise in high volume, low cost production. Despite investing in new production methods, B&S never understood the very low volume, highly customized nature of the air-cooled diesel engine market. After considering adding Italy's Lombardini to increase its presence in the diesel market, as well as a failed attempt to develop its own designs, B&S accepted defeat and sold the company to a private investor for a minimal amount to avoid further liabilities. Since the energy crisis had not affected the US market's preference for gasoline engines, enthusiasm waned rapidly at management level for diesel engines.[3] They officially completed the acquisition on May 29, 1979.[4]
- Daihatsu Briggs & Stratton (DBS) - In an effort to stave off Japanese competition during the 1980s, B&S entered a 50/50 joint venture with the Daihatsu Motor Company in Japan. Located in Shiga Prefecture (50 miles (80 km) from Osaka, Japan), construction on the then-57,000-square-foot (5,300 m2) plant began in December 1986 and was completed in April 1987. This joint venture was notable for the manufacture of vertical & horizontal crankshaft engines from 12.5 to 22 hp (16 kW) under the Vanguard brand. Today the plant employs roughly 100 people on two shifts and manufactures Vanguard V-twin engines ranging from 14 to 36 hp (27 kW).[5]
- The Mitsubishi Agreement - The Vanguard line initially consisted of three single-cylinder engines and several V-twin engines. The V-twins, made by DBS, had sold very well but the single-cylinder engine models, originally produced at B&S's Menomonee Falls plant, didn't fare so well. B&S needed to solve this problem, so, following discussions with several Japanese engine manufacturers, entered into an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. B&S produced only certain parts for the engines, while Mitsubishi was responsible for overall production and shipping. The completed single-cylinder Vanguard engines were shipped directly to customers worldwide. B&S had exclusive marketing rights only in North America, Europe & Australia/New Zealand. MHI had exclusive marketing rights (under their own brand name) in Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea & Japan. In other countries both companies competed with the same product under their own brand names which led to considerable friction, and together with escalating production costs in Japan, caused this otherwise successful relationship to fail. B&S commenced marketing alternative US made single-cylinder engines under the Vanguard brand in early 2007.[6]
- The Komatsu Zenoah Venture - In May 1987, B&S entered into an agreement with yet another Japanese company, executing a 10-year contract with the Komatsu Zenoah Company of Tachikawa, Japan. Under the terms of the contract, Komatsu would manufacture a 2-cycle, 4 hp (3 kW) engine, in which B&S would purchase and distribute in the U.S., Europe & Australia/NZ. Said Fred Stratton, "This venture was not successful, because the rising price of the yen made the engine too expensive in the U.S."[7]
Innovations
- The aluminum engine – This was introduced in 1953 as a means of having a lighter-weight engine for applications such as rotary lawn mowers. It was improved five years later in 1958 with the introduction of the Kool-Bore (all aluminum) and Sleeve-Bore (aluminum, with a cast iron cylinder liner).
- Easy-Spin Starting - This compression release, implemented as an extra hump on the intake lobe of the camshaft, was introduced in 1961 to reduce the effort required to start an engine.[8] In 1982, a new U.S. federal safety regulation required lawnmower blades to stop spinning within three seconds of the operator letting go of the handle. The least costly, most common way of complying with the new regulation was to put a flywheel brake on the mower engine, to stop the engine (and therefore the blade) immediately when the handle was released. Briggs & Stratton engineers found engines with the Easy-Spin camshaft were unacceptably difficult to restart after being braked to a quick stop. The Easy-Spin lobe hump was moved to the exhaust valve, but this reduced engine performance. The intake-side Easy-Spin remained in use on B&S' engines larger than those used on mowers subject to the brake requirement, but was discontinued in 1997 due to tightening emission regulations.[9]
- The Synchro-Balanced Engine - This 1966 innovation was designed to attenuate vibration caused by the reciprocating mass of a single-cylinder engine. The design was a series of counterweights opposing the crankpin.[10]
- The Twin Cylinder Engine - This engine was introduced in 1977 as a means of competing with B&S' rivals, particularly Japanese firms like Honda who were cutting into traditional B&S markets by producing lawn mower engines (and later, complete lawn mowers). These first models were rated 16 hp (11.9 kW) and displaced 40 cubic inches (656 cc), but were joined in 1979 by 42 cubic inch (694 cc) models rated at 18 hp (13.4 kW). The original price for the 16 hp (12 kW) version was $70 lower (at US$228) than their single-cylinder cast-iron version bearing the same HP rating.[11]
- Industrial/Commercial (I/C) - This series of engines, initially ranging from 3 to 18 hp (13 kW), was introduced in 1979 as B&S's answer to high quality commercial-duty engines produced by competitors. These engines include heavy-duty features such as Stellite exhaust valves, upgraded bearings, cast iron sleeved cylinder bores and high-capacity air cleaners.[12]
- Briggs & Stratton HYBRID - In 1980, at the tail end of the energy crisis, Briggs and Stratton developed the first gasoline-electric hybrid automobile. "The Hybrid" was designed by Brooks Stevens and powered by a twin-cylinder 16 hp (11.9 kW) Briggs and Stratton engine and a large electric battery.
- Magnetron Ignition - This solid state ignition system introduced by B&S in 1982[13] eliminated the ages-old points and condenser system, the performance of which steadily degraded between required periodic maintenance service. Magnetron was made available for retrofitment to B&S engines made since 1963. Competitor Tecumseh had made a capacitor discharge ignition setup since 1968 for their cast iron engine models, expanding its availability and making it standard equipment on vertical shaft engines powering lawn mowers in late 1976, five years before the advent of the Briggs Magnetron. And defunct competitor Clinton Engines commercialized a piezo "Spark Pump" ignition without breaker points in the early 1960s.[14]
Logo history
The Briggs & Stratton logo was always a masthead, but it had been changed several times over the course of the company's 80+ years.
- Pre War logos (1931—1943) - This logo started off with a diamond shape and Read Briggs & Stratton and its home city of MILWAUKEE, WIS., U.S.A. below it; in the middle, it had the words 4 CYCLE on the top mast and the words GASOLINE MOTOR and phrase MADE IN U.S.A. on the bottom mast. About 1934 Briggs & Stratton added the more familiar shape of a diamond split across the center with a banner.
- Gold Logo (1948—1963) - This logo had the name BRIGGS & STRATTON and its home city of MILWAUKEE, WIS., U.S.A. below it; in the middle, it had the words 4 CYCLE on the top mast and the words GASOLINE ENGINE and phrase MADE IN U.S.A. on the bottom mast.
- Gold Logo (II) (1963—1976) - Although similar to the last logo, this had differently arranged wording: The name BRIGGS & STRATTON was written in a new logotype, however, this design also included the horsepower rating above the gold logo in the white field, its city of location were in the middle as before, only this time the patent numbers were eliminated (if you look at a decal on a production engine) from the bottom portion of the mast. There were some engines produced until 1977 that used the prior logo from 1948.
- The Red, White and Black Logo (1976—present) - This is the company's current logo. The logo has the name BRIGGS & STRATTON in black letters on the white midsection of the masthead. The words 4 CYCLE ENGINE are on the red top portion of the mast and the city line MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, U.S.A. is written on the black bottom portion of the mast. Although the logo hadn't been changed much since then, the wording on the top and bottom sections of the mast were removed in 1985, although the company continued to use these two sections with the respective wordings ORIGINAL (red section) and SERVICE PARTS (black section) until 1989.
Cast iron models
Aluminum models
- 6B (horizontal shaft) (1955—1958)
- 6BH (vertical shaft) (1953—1958)
- 6BHS (vertical shaft; suction carburetor) (1953—1958)
- 6BS (horizontal shaft; suction carburetor) (1955—1958)
- 8B (horizontal shaft) (1955—1958)
- 8BH (vertical shaft) (1953—1958)
- 60100 (horizontal shaft) (1958—1991)
- 80100 (horizontal shaft) (1958—1977)
- 80200 (horizontal shaft) (1960—1991) (horizontal shaft) and 190700 (vertical shaft) (1969—1997)
- 140000 (horizontal shaft) (1958—1965)
- 252410 (horizontal shaft) and 252700 (vertical shaft) (1977—1991)
Industrial/commercial models
- 81300 and 81400 (horizontal shaft) (1979—1985)
- 82200 (horizontal shaft; Quiet Power) (1982—1994)
- 82300 and 82400 (horizontal shaft; Quiet Power) (1982—1994)
- 114900 (vertical shaft; Quiet Power) (1982—1991)
- 131200 (horizontal shaft) (1979—1985)
- 132200 (horizontal shaft; Quiet Power) (1982—1994)
- 131900 (vertical shaft) (1979—1989)
- 132900 (vertical shaft; Quiet Power) (1982—1995)
- 192700 and 193700 (vertical shaft) (1983—1994)
- 195400 (horizontal shaft) (1979—1994)
- 221400 (horizontal shaft) (1979—1985)
- 255400 (vertical shaft) (1984—1994)
Outboard motors
Recommended reading
- The Legend of Briggs & Stratton - Author: Jeffrey L. Rodengen (published by Write Stuff Syndicate, 1995)
Library of Congress Catalog #: 95-060793; ISBN 0-945903-11-1
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Briggs & Stratton (BGG) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest.
- ^ a b Briggs & Stratton (BGG) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest.
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 12, pages 138-140
- ^ Briggs & Stratton 1980 Update Seminar, form #MS-7865-10/79
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, 1995, Chapter 12, page 149
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, 1995, Chapter 12, pages 149-152
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, 1995, Chapter 12, pages 153-154
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 11, pages 120-121
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 11, page 121
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 11, pages 121-122
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 11, page 127
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 12, pages 140-141
- ^ The Legend of Briggs & Stratton by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, Chapter 12, pages 141-142
- ^ "No coil, no points, no condenser: Spark Pump Fires Engine": Popular Science, July 1961]
External links