Briggs & Stratton Provides Generators To Power The Vote

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG) has responded to Hurricane Sandy by providing powerless Long Island, N.Y., residents with hundreds of portable generators to power polling stations on Election Day. The company partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to distribute more than 800 portable generators in the area, which will allow Americans to cast their vote despite not having electricity at polling locations.

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"As an American company, we're proud to help Nassau and Rockland County, N.Y., residents exercise their right to elect our leaders. Voting is so central to our nation's identity, we felt it was our duty to assist Hurricane Sandy victims as best we could, especially as portable generator inventory and gasoline are scarce in the area," said Eric Loferski, director of marketing for Briggs & Stratton's Portable Power division. 

The Department of Homeland Security reached out to a Briggs & Stratton generator dealer in the Long Island area late last week in search of portable generators. Within the next 24 hours, the company's regional sales managers had provided 804 generators transported by the truckload mainly from Briggs & Stratton dealerships in Maryland and Virginia. By late Saturday night, the Homeland Security warehouse in Nassau County, N.Y., was filled with generator inventory ready to be mobilized for powering the polling stations.

Briggs & Stratton sales managers and technicians and 50 National Guard members have been on-site throughout the weekend and will be on-hand throughout the day Monday to organize shipments from the warehouse to polling stations.

"Safety is a huge priority when operating a portable generator," explained Loferski. "Since workers at polling stations may not be aware how to properly operate a generator, we've attached our safety information and operating instructions to each and every generator so they're front and center when poll volunteers receive them. Portable generators should never be operated indoors or in garages or enclosures even when doors or windows are open, or near windows, doors or openings where fumes could accumulate."

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