Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing Inc. Celebrates 30 Years in Swepsonville, N.C.

Editor at Large — Helping People Get Things Done

Honda was engineering engines for outdoor power equipment before it made cars, marine engines, jets or ASIMO robots. Honda began manufacturing small engines for power equipment products way back in 1953. In 1973, Honda introduced Honda generators, tillers and outboards into the U.S. market. Water pumps were added to the power equipment lineup in 1975, followed by lawn mowers in 1979 and Honda snow blowers four years later. Today, Honda Power Equipment offers more than 60 models in six major product families, and those products are growing.

In early August, Honda Power Equipment Mfg. Inc. (HPE) marked the 30th anniversary of operations at its Swepsonville, N.C., facility, and Compact Equipment was there on the spot covering it. HPE announced a new $8.5 million investment in plant operations to innovate production processes and add new products. Among other changes, the plant will add a new line for the production of two-stage snow blowers and prepare for the addition of Honda generators to its production portfolio. The Swepsonville plant currently employs more than 600 “associates” (factory workers). Dressed in white jumpsuits, the associates cheered on a host of presenters at a factory-floor celebration, which included everyone from HPE president Shinji Oketani to North Carolina governor Pat McCrory.

“Honda is well known for our automobiles, and soon we’ll begin the aviation business. We’re making a Honda jet that’s also built right here in North Carolina that will take our customers to the sky,” said Takuji Yamada, Honda COO of North American Regional Operations. “But many people don’t realize that Honda starting selling power equipment more than 60 years ago — just five years after we started motorcycles and 10 years before we started the automobile business. It all began in 1953 with an agricultural engine that was the dream of our founder. He believed we could make people happy through technologies. Now, many years later, Honda is still focusing on unique Honda technologies to help people get things done, and Honda Power Equipment products really represent the core of that Honda philosophy.”

Today, HPE manufactures a variety of commercial and consumer grade equipment. It makes generators from 1,000 to 10,000 watts in models designed for residential, recreational and industrial applications. Its pumps come in general de-watering, multi-purpose, commercial and submersible models with discharge capacities from 37 to 433 gallons per minute (gpm). The company’s snow blowers are configured into wheel drive, track drive and lightweight models, capable of moving 46 to 83 tons of snow per hour. A network of nearly 3,800 independent Honda Power Equipment dealers sells Honda products throughout the United States. And while 2,000 Home Depot stores carry lawn mowers, tillers and snowblowers, nearly 2,000 national rental company outlets offer generators, pumps and other selected products.

“Did you hear the news that was just announced?” asked McCrory to crowds of cheering HPE associates. “$8.5 million of new capital investment right here at this plant. Do you know what that means? Jobs for Alamance County — jobs for North Carolina … And we would not be getting this investment unless you were doing your job, had strong work ethic, have strong love of your company, had strong commitment to each other and believed in the product that you’re building. And I want to thank you because you have talent that I’m envious of.”

North Carolina is definitely Honda country. You could feel it touring the 375,000-sq-ft Swepsonville facility, which houses both Honda power equipment production and R&D operations. It has long served as a major producer of Honda power equipment products for worldwide distribution, with the capacity to produce upwards of two million products each year. In 2013 alone, more than 400,000 North Carolina-made Honda power equipment products were exported to overseas markets, marking a record for the company. Honda’s total investment in its Swepsonville operations is nearly $250 million.

“Manufacturing power products in North Carolina was once only a dream for Honda,” said Oketani. “I am proud that our dream lives on today after 30 years at HPE, as well as our strong desire as a company to make products that help people improve their daily lives.”

HPE is the largest manufacturing operation in Alamance County, which also serves as home to Honda Aero in Burlington, maker of the HondaJet HF120 turbofan engines. Additional Honda operations based in North Carolina include Honda Aircraft Co. in Greensboro, maker of the HondaJet advanced light jet, and American Honda Finance Co. in Charlotte, which provides financing to consumers who buy Honda products. Honda total employment in North Carolina is nearly 3,000. Currently, 155 domestic and international suppliers work with HPE, and 45 of those suppliers are based in North Carolina. The company noted it has purchased nearly $500 million in parts from North Carolina suppliers and will continue to work closely with the local community as the Honda business grows.

Speaking of growing: The $8.5 million investment will include significant upgrades to the Swepsonville facility, while also creating new lines for the production of additional snow blower and generator models. Three new models of two-stage snow blowers will be made at the facility, targeted predominantly to consumers, but also appropriate for some segments of the commercial market. The company was a little more mum on its new generator models, which it is looking to start producing in the next 18 to 36 months.

“We want to bring on a new generator that is a cross-over product,” explained Scott Conner, senior vice president with the Power Equipment Division at American Honda Motor Co. “We look at generators as home, work and play, and we specifically build for home, work and play. And what we really want to build is a product that can cross all three of those lines comfortably. It’s a different concept.”
We’ll keep you updated as we watch Honda Power Equipment continue to grow in the American market and beyond.

Keith Gribbins is managing editor of Compact Equipment, based in Brecksville, Ohio.