The OPEI, a non-profit trade association that represents manufacturers and their suppliers of consumer and commercial outdoor power equipment, has announced the development and regulatory initiatives for battery/electric products.

Last October, during the GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Kentucky many battery/electric powered products were on display. Kris Kiser, president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute said, "This year we saw more battery/electric manufacturers and a broader range of products in this category, including some first time UTV exhibitors. It is clearly a growing segment in OPE and as battery technology improves, there will be broader applications."

As such, OPEI has announced that it is ramping up its regulatory standards, market reporting, and statistics efforts to meet the unique needs of the corded electric and battery product segments. John Cunningham, president of the Consumer Products Group at Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. was recently welcomed to the OPEI 2013-2014 board of directors. OPEI has also added several new battery/electric companies to its membership, including, iRobot, Positec, Stanley Black & Decker and Sunrise Global Marketing.

To help the industry have a voice in regulatory and standards development, OPEI has formed an Electric Products Committee, currently led by representatives from Stanley Black & Decker and Techtronic Industries, N.A.

The OPEI Electric Products Committee is tasked with coordinating with the International Electrotechnical Commission on standards for battery/electric products for international markets, as well as regional adoptions for the North American market.

The committee members are given an opportunity to participate, review and give input in the development of product standards. The first order of business has been the development of the first ever OPEI/ANSI standard for an electric robotic mower. Fourteen member company representatives are currently reviewing IEC standards for electric robotic mowers and identifying modifications for the North American market.

Projects are underway to develop standards for battery/electric chain saws, lawn hedge trimmers and lawn trimmers. "The formation of our Electric Products Committee not only addresses the unique needs of battery/electric products, but it also allows us to harmonize requirements between fuel powered, corded and battery products on a global basis," said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI.

For more information about the OPEI, please visit opei.org.

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