Today we visited Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing Inc. in Swepsonville, NC with David Werden. They manufacture “Power Equipment” such as lawn mowers, leaf blowers, go karts and pressure washers. David Werden told us that Honda Power Equipment does not officially have a mission statement, but they believe in always respecting the individual, in fact in all the time Werden has worked there he says he has never seen anyone get yelled at. Werden also told us about HPE’s three joys; buying, selling, and creating. Honda’s principle statement is that they are intent on maintaining a global viewpoint, and dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction. The factory we visited had three sections to it; die casting, machining, and assembly.
Honda Power Equipment’s intended customer is really almost everyone, because they sell lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and other items solely in their own stores, or to Home Depot, while they also sell their high quality engines to their competitors in various fields. HPE customers value a high quality product that will last them for years with no issues, Werden told us that about half of his neighbors have Honda lawn mowers and 3 of them have had the same ones for over 15 years.
HPE has shown impressive results since it was incorporated in August 1983 and began production in August 1984. At the facility we visited, they manufacture about 2 million engines a year. In total, Honda produced 1.5 million vehicles in North America. They have also developed a total of 148 supplier companies worldwide, with 144 of them in the United States, and 211 total supplier locations. North Carolina has the most supplier companies in the United States with 27. They now have locations in Asia, Mexico, Europe, and Russia. Honda’s high quality lawn mower has been given multiple awards in Consumer Reports. The facility we visited today has manufactured about 18-20 million engines over its 11 years of existence, and as Werden said “20 million of anything is impressive.”
When asked about Honda Power Equipment’s plans for the future Werden told us that “Honda always plans to upgrade.” While Honda intends to continue what they have been doing for the most part, because their products are of such high quality already, they are always looking for new, innovative products and advances on current products. One thing Werden told us about was a robotic lawn mower that is currently being produced in Europe and selling for about $2,000. This item is connected to what Werden compared to “an invisible fence” and rolls all around your yard in a random pattern. Another impressive feature of this device is that whenever it senses that its batteries are running low, it finds its way back to its charging point. It is the first device of its kind which is why it is so expensive at this point, but it will surely decrease in price and eventually be available locally in the United States.
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