What's The Real Reason Husqvarna has Shuttering So Many US Plants?

[Scottnc]

If I'm late to the party discussing this, sorry, I only heard about it this weekend. After a quick search I count closures in five states; AR, GA, TN, NE, and SC. I have heard the reason is to reduce costs and that they are discontinuing gas power for electric. I think chainsaws are surviving? Any of you in the small engine power business/industry know the skinny?

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

They told why back in July for AK plant https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jul/20/nashville-officials-scramble-to-prepare-for/

Others were back in 2018 2019 etc etc.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

I want you to remember that they bought up a bunch of smaller competitors before scaling back. We see this trend over and over again with industry consolidation.
Husky has their finger in the wind, and they know they have to reinvent themselves to survive ESG investing and governmental regulation. But this is a two step plan. Everyone sees step one, which is transitioning from gas engines to battery/electric. What they don't tell you is step two, which is where you don't get to own any of that stuff because the power grid and future battery material supplies simply won't support it. Let's say you own two ICE vehicles today. Do you assume that you will eventually swap one or both for electric vehicles in the future? Maybe at first. Then you'll own one, then you'll own none. The same thing will happen with all power equipment.
The "renewable" power grid of the future simply will not accommodate all of us owning electric vehicles. Lithium battery production is horrifically inefficient and environmentally devastating. Listen to the words of the same people who are driving these policies: In the future, you will own nothing. You will rent it, or hire it. It's as true for cars as it is for chainsaws, mowers, etc.

 

[kanga kuta]

I want you to remember that they bought up a bunch of smaller competitors before scaling back. We see this trend over and over again with industry consolidation.
Husky has their finger in the wind, and they know they have to reinvent themselves to survive ESG investing and governmental regulation. But this is a two step plan. Everyone sees step one, which is transitioning from gas engines to battery/electric. What they don't tell you is step two, which is where you don't get to own any of that stuff because the power grid and future battery material supplies simply won't support it. Let's say you own two ICE vehicles today. Do you assume that you will eventually swap one or both for electric vehicles in the future? Maybe at first. Then you'll own one, then you'll own none. The same thing will happen with all power equipment.
The "renewable" power grid of the future simply will not accommodate all of us owning electric vehicles. Lithium battery production is horrifically inefficient and environmentally devastating. Listen to the words of the same people who are driving these policies: In the future, you will own nothing. You will rent it, or hire it. It's as true for cars as it is for chainsaws, mowers, etc.

There is plenty of battery material for the future: eg check Australian & South American "deposits".

 

[MacAttack]

I don't think IC engines are going to disappear as easily as people think, but that's also just my opinion.

 

[cuznguido]

IMO those who are eager to jump on the all-electric wagon richly deserve the ride they will get.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

There is plenty of battery material for the future: eg check Australian & South American "deposits".

That isn't even remotely correct, lol
I suggest you check out the current EV thread and start at the beginning.

 

[Dennisthemenace]

There is some lithium in Australia, mostly owned by the CCP but not much cobalt, or kids to mine it, unlike in those well governed African nations

 

[kanga kuta]

That isn't even remotely correct, lol
I suggest you check out the current EV thread and start at the beginning.

Disagree completely.

 

[Sidecarflip]

I guess even RTW states aren't exempt from plant closures.

 

[HumBurner]

They told why back in July for AK plant https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jul/20/nashville-officials-scramble-to-prepare-for/

Others were back in 2018 2019 etc etc.

Edit: read it wrong.

 

[psmith0803]

LOL at them calling Nashville a "small town"


Even before it became gentrified all over, it wasn't "small" unless you're comparing it to LA/NYC/etc.

It's Nashville, AR population 4600 so ya it's a huge deal to them.

 

[Brushpile]

Lots of manufacturing plants are closing because of astronomical inflation, Loss of customer base, and unsustainable operating costs.

 

[sliceoflife]

Ehh...

Sort of.

There's a lot of question marks here; but if you do broad strokes you can see kind of what contributes to the thinking.


Batteries are horrible to make... and not super recyclable.... but pretty incredible as a product

What's the historic equivalent? Plastic.

What did we do with plastic? Well we didn't care about recycling when it got its foothold... but what do we do now? We recycle a single digit percent of it, and POUR government money into making people THINK we're recycling a lot of it... to essentially subsidize all the economies that rely on it (basically everything).
Then we make a half-hearted effort to sort it in the dumps so that in the future we can "recover and recycle" it.

That's the plan for Batteries... with the exception that batteries actually do have SOME recyclability that's economic (no plastic is economic to recycle without massive gov' funding to incentivize it... yet... but as oil and dumping costs scale up massively in the future... even without technology improvements; eventually it would... however it's MUCH faster to get there if we find a more efficient/better recycling method/technology)

The whole EV fight right now is the guys who are on one side want to lay the groundwork (charging infrastructure, market demand, etc) before they actually have the technology to make EV's as "green" as they like to pretend they are on the assumption that eventually we'll get there.

On the other side... there's sticking with gas vehicles and making the engines more efficient; which has practical upper limits; especially with our demand for large, fast vehicles.


In the end... Oil won't last forever; and reproducible substitutes (ethanol vehicles) have been tried and found to be pretty severely lacking/gimmicky... battery technology is moving fast and to some degree so is recycling technology. It's going to take over unless some new technology supplants it.


The infrastructure concern is the far more overbearing worry that EV's face... and frankly... I think it will work out... but not before we start to look like a third world country with rolling brownouts because there's ZERO chance both parties will come together on an infrastructure upgrade that will cost what a nationwide ground up rebuild of our power grid will cost until opposing it is guaranteed defeat in any election (and it will be when people start losing power on a daily basis).

Tech guys love to talk a big game about making us a renters economy... that's not America, and it never has been. We won't even build (and fund) decent public transit outside of a handful of cities even when the necessity for it is staring us in the face... we will ABSOLUTELY shoehorn in a ludicrously expensive electric charging station infrastructure, and whatever else it takes to avoid it. Uber is a replacement for Taxis (and DD's) in America, Not a replacement for cars. They just love telling their investors they'll replace car ownership because it gives their stock a higher valuation based on some astronomical growth projection IF Americans get rid of their cars and just Uber everywhere.


As for "renewable" power sources... They're possible now in certain areas... issue is largely moving the power in the scales our grid just can't support... and scalability as people won't stop multiplying... I don't even bother looking at the numbers* there; because they're so far off that it's a waste of time. In the future we WILL be creating fusion plants... Likely the instant they can create a controllable and self sustaining reaction and get a desperate enough nuclear power to sign off on the first plant.

When is that? Well in order to keep their funding; they tell us they're years away; and repeat that claim every decade they don't get there.... but I'd hazard a guess it'll be in my lifetime... and I'm not that young.

*The numbers being related to solar/wind sustaining a national grid for the foreseeable future.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Disagree completely.

I’m sure you do. However, the actual data proves you quite wrong.

 

[HarleyT]

This was an article from 9 years back.

https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/en/p...od-index-and-stoxx-global-esg-leaders-1333185

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

LOL at them calling Nashville a "small town"


Even before it became gentrified all over, it wasn't "small" unless you're comparing it to LA/NYC/etc.

I've flown there from Shreveport LA. It wasn't very big from the air.

 

[Sidecarflip]

All I know is, there will NEVER be a Husky remote controlled lawn mower here.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Lots of manufacturing plants are closing because of astronomical inflation, Loss of customer base, and unsustainable operating costs.

Mostly unsustainable operating costs, especially for raw materials

 

[Sidecarflip]

On the past year and a half, I've taken no less that 4 price increases on hot rolled sheet and 3 on structural, all of them substantial too. I've pulled the published prices off my website and replaced them with a 'Call for price' What used to be a cheap date for me isn't any longer and then there is the issue of just getting it. Some of my customer (especially the ones off shore) as I sell to the EU and Japan are quite taken back by shipping cost. it is what it is, nothing I can do about it and I'm sure as hell not giving my stuff away either.

If it keeps going, I'll close up shop and just farm and fiddle.

Transportation companies as well want more compensation and that directly impacts shipping cost. Viscous circle.