AZIGG - January, 2010: Phil Clouse and Stanton Knight of MTD
(Note:  Click on images below for larger view)

On January 11th at AZIGG, President Phil Clouse and Director of Manufacturing Stanton Knight of MTD Products discussed how they successfully put together a business case for manufacturing outdoor power equipment in their plants here instead of in China. Many of those success factors can be translated to other manufacturers in Arizona looking to compete and win in the global marketplace.

Phil Clouse presented detailed data that shows the viability of manufacturing and supporting manufacturing in Arizona.  Please click on the link below for his presentation.

Phil Clouse's Jan 2010 Presentation

MTD Consumer Products is a global manufacturer of outdoor power equipment that maintains their headquarters for handheld products in Chandler, Arizona. The MTD brands includes Cub Cadet, Cub Cadet Yanmar, Troy-Bilt, White Outdoor, Yard-Man, Yard Machines, Bolens, Arnold, GardenWay and MTD Pro.

Phil Clouse has 20 years of diverse manufacturing and management experience with multi-site, multi-functional and P&L oversight in sophisticated, global operations. He has a CPIM certification and an MBA from the University of Akron. Before MTD, Phil held senior executive roles at Newell Rubbermaid and The Little Tikes Company.

Stanton Knight is a global driver of continuous improvement utilizing LEAN Principles. Until recently Stanton was General Manager of the Nogales facility for MTD, developing a successful international team. He has many overseas trips including extensive work experience in China, Hungary and Germany. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a BS in Business Administration.

For pictures of the event and other AZIGG events, please see the pictures below.  You may also visit www.facebook.com/doug.bruhnke for a complete set of pictures from this and other AZIGG events.

Thanks to Bart Butler for helping with the event.  Check out the pictures from our group photographer Laird Brown (www.smallbusinessphoto.com) coming soon.