Briggs & Stratton Generates a Return to Routine in Haiti

Donated portable generators to provide power and serve as a reserve during hurricane season

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Jun 18, 2010, 01:19 ET

MILWAUKEE, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Briggs & Stratton Corporation has donated nearly 250 Storm Responder 5500-watt, portable generators to grassroots organizations, including clinics, schools and churches, and a number of government agencies in Haiti. The generators will be put to use as electrical services are slowly restored. The generators will also serve as reserve power as hurricane season officially began in the region on June 1.

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According to Laura Timm, Director of Corporate Communications for Briggs & Stratton, who has just returned from Haiti, "Our employees realized that some of the basic services that we take for granted everyday -- a supply of fresh water, a reliable source of power -- were still lacking in Haiti. They made the connection between our generator products and the need in Haiti. Our employees, along with our senior team, knew we had a tremendous opportunity to help; and the donation just felt natural to us. I'm humbled to have been able to travel to Haiti to see the potential impact our Storm Responder generators will have in local clinics, schools and churches. Even today, five months after the earthquake, the devastation left behind is beyond comprehension. Our family of employees is honored to have done a small part in generating a return to some degree of routine for the men, women and children of Haiti."

John Engle, Co-Director of Haiti Partners added, "When we received the call from Briggs & Stratton we were thrilled to know that the situation in Haiti was still top of mind in the states. As a global company, Briggs & Stratton realizes to make a difference in the community it must consider that community the world."

"This donation dovetails into Briggs & Stratton's core value -- to improve the lives of as many people as possible, from our customers to our employees to our communities at large," said Todd Teske, Briggs & Stratton President & CEO. "When our employees voiced the desire to make the donation, we reached out to Haiti Partners and with their guidance, made it happen quickly," he added.

Briggs & Stratton Corporation, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. Its wholly owned subsidiary Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group LLC is North America's number one manufacturer of portable generators and pressure washers, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lawn and garden and turf care through its Simplicity®, Snapper®, Ferris® and Murray® brands. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents.

SOURCE Briggs & Stratton