The History of Briggs & Stratton

POWERING THE WORLD (1960-1980)With the market for lawn and garden equipment growingtremendously because of the growth of suburbia, Briggs &Stratton engines were perfectly suited for the lawn mowersthat would become an integral part of suburban life.During the 1960s Briggs & Stratton expanded production inits Milwaukee Plants due to the exploding demands for itsproduct. Briggs & Stratton focused on two goals: improvingthe small engine and finding ways to produce as manyengines as possible.Leading the expansionand continuous productimprovement effortduring this periodwas Chairman FredStratton and CEOVince Shiely. Someof these improvementsincludedEasy-Spin ® starting,lo-tone mufflers andan automatic choke andstarter. Briggs & Stratton also introducedmany new product lines tomeet the needs of the growingmarketplace. These lines includedthe Quiet Power ® engine, theopposed twin engine and the I/C ® familyof engines. The fuel shortage of the 1970s combined withincreasing environmental concerns prompted Briggs & Strattonto look into the development of electric motors for use on lawnand garden equipment.With the onset of the mid-seventies,Briggs & Strattonfaced its first seriouschallenge to its leadershipposition inthe air cooledengine marketwhen Japaneseengine manufacturers,encouraged by the weak yen,began competing in thesmall engine industry.In 1980 Briggs & Strattondeveloped an unusual prototypevehicle, the Gasoline/Electric Hybrid automobile.This electric car wasequipped with a small, twincylinder,4-cycle engine. Thetwo power sources could beused independently or intandem according to theneeds of the user.From top: Burleigh Plant was expanded in 1967; Chairman Fred Stratton Sr. and CEO Vince ShielySr.; Riding mower powered by opposed-twin engine; Walk-behind mower powered by Quantum ®engine; Gasoline/Electric Hybrid developed by Briggs & Stratton; Industrial/Commercial enginesintroduced in 1979