Briggs & Stratton and Wakefield, Massachusetts: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox City

'''{{Infobox_Company |

|official_name = Wakefield, Massachusetts

company_name = Briggs & Stratton|

|nickname =

company_logo = [[Image:Briggs_and_Stratton_Logo.png|200px]] |

|motto =

company_type = [[Public company|Public]] {{nyse|BGG}} |

|image_skyline =

company_founded = 1908 |

|image_caption =

company_slogan = |

|image_seal foundation = | =

|image_flag ___location = [[Wauwatosa, WI]], [[USA]]| =

|image_map = Wakefield_ma_highlight.png

key_people = [[John Shiely]], CEO.|

|map_caption = Location in Massachusetts

num_employees = 9,063|

industry|subdivision_type = |Country

products|subdivision_name = [[United | States]]

revenue |subdivision_type1 = |State

|subdivision_name1 = [[Massachusetts]]

operating profit = |

homepage |subdivision_type2 = |County

|subdivision_name2 = [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]]

}}

|established_title = Settled

|established_date = 1639

|established_title2 = Incorporated

|established_date2 = 1812

|established_title3 =

|established_date3 =

|government_type = [[Open town meeting]]

|leader_title = <!--[[Town Administrator|Town<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Administrator]]-->

|leader_name =

|leader_title1 = <!--Board of <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Selectmen-->

|leader_name1 =

|area_total = 20.5

|TotalArea_sq_mi = 7.9

|area_land = 19.3

|LandArea_sq_mi = 7.5

|area_water = 1.1

|WaterArea_sq_mi = 0.4

|population_as_of = 2000

|settlement_type = [[New England town|Town]]

|population_total = 24804

|population_density = 1282.5

|population_density_mi2 = 3321.6

|elevation = 30

|elevation_ft = 100

|timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]

|utc_offset = -5

|timezone_DST = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]

|utc_offset_DST = -4

|latd=42 |latm=30 |lats=23 |latNS=N

|longd=71 |longm=04 |longs=24 |longEW=W

|website = http://www.wakefield.ma.us/

|postal_code_type = ZIP code

|postal_code = 01880

|area_code = [[Area code 339|339]] / [[Area code 781|781]]

|footnotes =

}}

'''Wakefield''' is a town in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]] located ten miles northeast of [[Boston]]. The population was 24,804 at the 2000 census.

==History==

'''Briggs & Stratton''' is the world's largest manufacturer of [[air-cooled]] [[gasoline engine]]s for primarily outdoor power equipment.

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Wakefield was first settled in [[1639]] and was officially incorporated in [[1812]]. Wakefield is made up of various parts including Greenwood, Montrose, and Westside. Originally part of Reading, it was set off as a separate community and originally known as South Reading until Cyrus Wakefield donated land for the construction of Town Hall and a grateful population renamed their community in his honor.

One of the oldest and largest manufacturers of flying [[model airplane]] toys in the world, [[Paul K. Guillow, Inc.]] is located in Wakefield. The company is particularly notable for it's extensive line of [[balsa wood]] model airplane kits.

The company was founded in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] in [[1908]] and today is based in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Briggs and Stratton engines are very commonly used on [[lawnmower]]s, as well as [[kart]]s, [[pressure washer]]s, [[wood chipper]]s, [[electrical generator]]s, etc. Their engines are known for their durability and low [[repair and maintenance|maintenance]] requirements.

Wakefield gained media attention on December 26, 2000, when [[Wakefield Massacre|Michael McDermott]], an employee at Edgewater Technology, fatally shot seven of his co-workers.

The company started in [[1908]] as an informal partnership between [[Stephen Foster Briggs]] and [[Harold M. Stratton]]. The original intent of the founders was to produce automobiles. In [[1922]] the company set a record in the [[automotive industry]], selling the lowest-priced car ever, the [[Briggs & Stratton Flyer]] (also called the "Red Bug"), at only US$125-US$150.

==Geography==

Eventually the company settled on automotive components and small [[gasoline engine]]s. Briggs purchased an engine patent from [[AO Smith Company]] and began powering early washing machines and refrigerators. The company went public on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] in 1928.

Wakefield is located at {{coor dms|42|30|4|N|71|4|16|W|city}} (42.501345, -71.071324){{GR|1}}

[[Reading, Massachusetts]] (West), [[Melrose, Massachusetts]] (South), [[Stoneham, Massachusetts]] (Southwest), [[Lynnfield, Massachusetts]] (North), and [[Saugus, Massachusetts]] (East) border Wakefield.

During World War II, Briggs and Stratton produced generators for the war effort. The generators and the engines were made with aluminum, a major advancement for small engines. This development, along with the post-war growth of 1950s [[suburbs]] (and lawns), helped secure Briggs and Stratton's successful growth in the 1950s and 1960s.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 20.5 [[km²]] (7.9 [[square mile|mi²]]). 19.3 km² (7.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (5.56%) is water.

Stephen Briggs went on to purchase [[Evinrude]] and [[Johnson Outboards]] and start the [[Outboard Marine Corporation]]. Harry Stratton served as Chairman until his death in 1962.

Wakefield has two lakes: Crystal Lake and [[Lake Quannapowitt]]. Crystal Lake is used as a reservoir for some of the town's drinking water. Lake Quannapowitt is used for a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, windsurfing and fishing.

In 1995, Briggs & Stratton spun out the automotive component business. The resulting company is [[Strattec Security Corporation]].

In 1847, Lake Quannapowitt was named for the Indian, James Quannapowitt, one of the signers of the old Indian Deed of 1686. The earliest settlers referred to the lake simply as the "Greate Pond" or "Reading Pond."

In 2003, the company acquired the consumer generator business from the Beacon Group and formed Briggs & Stratton Power Products. The Beacon Group had previously purchased the Consumer Products Division of Generac Corporation (now [[Generac Power Systems]])in 1998. In 2005, the company added [[Simplicity Manufacturing Inc]], [[Snapper, Inc]], and [[Murray, Inc]] to the Briggs & Stratton Power Products line.

Long regarded as "Wakefield's greatest natural resource," [[Lake Quannapowitt]] covers an area of 247 acres. Its outlet is the [[Saugus River]] to the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Wakefield Common sits to the south of the lake, and is the site of many recreational activities and events throughout the year.

==Briggs & Stratton innovations==

*'''The Aluminum Engine''' - This was introduced in [[1953]] as a means of having a lighter-weight engine for applications such as [[lawn mower]]s or [[string trimmer]]s. It was improved five years later in [[1958]] with the introduction of the [[Kool-Bore]] (all aluminum) and [[Sleeve-Bore]] (aluminum, with a [[cast iron]] cylinder liner).

In 1991, a group of local citizens formed "The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt" to advocate for the lake and to educate the public about this natural resource. The group has also raises money for projects that benefit the lake and the surrounding areas.

*'''Easy-Spin Starting''' - This was introduced in [[1961]] as a means of cutting in half the effort of manually starting an engine. This had replaced all means of starting on all B&S engines except for [[Automobile self starter|electric start]] systems.

==Demographics==

But in [[1982]], as new [[federal safety regulations]] required every small engine manufacturer to add emergency shut-off switches to lawn mower applications, company engineers discovered that engines with the Easy-Spin intake were unacceptably difficult to restart. The Easy-Spin was moved to the exhaust valve, but this move presented mediocre horsepower ratings. Where that was an issue, a mechanical [[compression release]] was used. The intake valve Easy-Spin had continued to be used on B&S's larger engines, but was shelved in [[1997]] due to new [[Automobile emissions control|emission regulations]].

As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000, there were 24,804 people, 9,747 households, and 6,608 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 1,282.0/km² (3,321.6/mi²). There were 9,937 housing units at an average density of 513.6/km² (1,330.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.94% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.45% [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.08% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.43% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.01% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.20% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.90% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 9,747 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.

Their engines now are usually fitted with a [[dead man's switch]] to halt power immediately in the case of the operator getting injured by the tool. On Briggs and Stratton engines, this works by the principle of [[engine braking]], with the engines default state as braked. The operator must hold a handle to remove the engine brake, with any release of this handle causing the engine to brake again.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

*'''The Sno/Gard Engine''' - Introduced in [[1966]], this innovation was exclusively designed for engines powering [[snow blower]]s. Prior to 1966, customers of the snowblower had complaints about protection of the engine from the elements of winter. B&S met the needs of these customers by designing special features for this engine such as an air-intake shield, a starter clutch shield and a specially-designed housing to cover the spark plug and carburetor, as well as providing heat for the latter.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,117, and the median income for a family was $77,834. Males had a median income of $51,591 versus $39,327 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $30,369. About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

*'''The Synchro-Balanced Engine''' - Also introduced in 1966, this innovation was designed as a means to curb vibrations caused by the high RPM and torque of lawn mower engines, especially in riding lawn mowers. The design was a series of [[counterweight]]s placed along the engine's [[crankshaft]].

*'''The Twin Cylinder Engine''' - This engine was introduced in [[1977]] as a means of competing with B&S's rivals, particularly Japanese firms like [[Honda]] who were cutting into traditional B&S fare by producing lawn mower engines (and later, complete lawn mowers). These first models were rated 16 HP and displaced 40 cubic inches, but were joined in [[1979]] by 42 cubic inch models rated at 18 HP.

==Government==

*'''Briggs & Stratton HYBRID''' - In 1980, at the tail end of the [[energy crisis]], Briggs and Stratton developed the first gasoline-electric hybrid automobile. "The Hybrid" was designed by [[Brooks Stevens]] and powered by a twin cyclinder 16hp Briggs and Stratton engine and a large electric battery.

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==Education==

*'''MAGNETRON Electronic Ignition''' - This [[Ignition system#Electronic ignition|solid state ignition]] system, introduced by B&S in [[1981]], eliminated the age-old [[Contact breaker|points]] and [[Capacitor|condenser]] setup that had plagued many customers who had used a gasoline engine for years. This setup is also available in [[wiktionary:retrofit|retrofit]] kits, but these are only compatible with B&S's [[external ignition]] engines produced since January, [[1963]]. However, its rival [[Tecumseh Products Company|Tecumseh]] had made a [[capacitor discharge ignition]] setup since [[1968]], for their [[cast iron]] engine models, expanding it to vertical shaft engines powering lawn mowers in late [[1976]] before the setup came full circle in August, [[1984]] for all of their engine lines.

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Contains three High Schools: [[Wakefield High School]], Northeast Vocational, Our Lady of Nazareth

In 1997, the boys' and girls' basketball teams from Wakefield High School won Division II state championships on the same night.

==Briggs & Stratton logo history==

The Briggs & Stratton [[logo]] was always a masthead, but it had been changed several times over the course of the company's 80+ years.

==Transportation==

*'''Gold Logo''' ([[1948]]---[[1964]]) - This logo had the name BRIGGS & STRATTON and its home city of MILWAUKEE, WIS., U.S.A. below it; in the middle, it had the words 4 CYCLE on the top mast and the words GASOLINE ENGINE and phrase MADE IN U.S.A. on the bottom mast.

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==Media==

*'''Gold Logo (II)''' (1964---1976) - Although similar to the last logo, this had differently arranged wording: The name BRIGGS & STRATTON was written in a new logotype, however, its city of ___location were in the middle as before, only this time the patent numbers were eliminated (if you look at a [[decal]] on a production engine) from the bottom portion of the mast. There were some engines produced until 1977 that used the prior logo from 1948.

* The town is covered by two daily newspapers, the locally owned ''[[The Wakefield Daily Item|Daily Item]]'' and an edition of the ''[[Daily Times Chronicle]]''; and by one weekly newspaper, the [[Wakefield Observer]].

==Points of interest==

*'''The Red, White and Black Logo''' (1976---present) - This is the company's current logo. The logo has the name BRIGGS & STRATTON in black letters on the white midsection of the masthead. The words 4 CYCLE ENGINE are on the red top portion of the mast and the city line MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, U.S.A. is written on the black bottom portion of the mast. Although the logo hadn't been changed much since then, the wording on the top and bottom sections of the mast were removed in [[1985]], although the company continued to use these two sections with the respective wordings ORIGINAL (red section) and SERVICE PARTS (black section) until [[1989]].

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[[Lake Quannapowitt]] is popular amongst the old and the young in terms of running/walking around the 3 mile body of water.

==Annual events==

==Briggs & Stratton Cast Iron Model History==

* Town Day

* 5 (cast iron) ([[1950]]---[[1957]])

* [[Independence Day]] Parade

* 5S (cast iron; suction carburetor) ([[1949]]---1957)

* Homecoming Celebration in [[Autumn]]

* 6 (cast iron) ([[1952]]---1957)

* Concerts on the Common ([[Summer]])

* 6S (cast iron; suction carburetor) (1949---1957)

* 8 (cast iron) (1949---1957)

* 9 (cast iron) (1949---[[1962]])

* 14 (cast iron) (1948---1963)

* 19 (cast iron) (1957---[[1965]])

* 19D (cast iron) (1963---1965)

* 23 (cast iron) (1949---1957)

* 23A (cast iron) ([[1956]]---1965)

* 23C (cast iron) ([[1961]]---1963)

* 23D (cast iron) (1963---1965)

* 191400 and 193400 (cast iron) (1965---1966)

* 200400 (cast iron) (1966---[[1974]])

* 231400 (cast iron) (1965---1966)

* 233400 (cast iron) (1965---[[1991]])

* 243400 (cast iron) (1965---1991)

* 300420 (cast iron) (1966---[[1971]])

* 301430 (cast iron) (1971---[[1972]])

* 302430 (cast iron) (1972---1977)

* 320420 (cast iron) ([[1969]]---1971)

* 325430 (cast iron) (1971---1972)

* 326430 (cast iron) (1972---1991)

==Notable residents==

==Popular Briggs & Stratton Aluminum Models==

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* 60100 (horizontal shaft) (1958---1991)

* 80200 (horizontal shaft) (1960---1991)

* 80300 and 80400 (horizontal shaft) (1958---1991)

* 92500 and 92900 (vertical shaft) (1965---1991)

* 94500 and 94900 (vertical shaft; [[Quiet Power]]) (1979---1985)

* 110900 (vertical shaft) ([[1973]]---1991)

* 130200 (horizontal shaft) and 130900 (vertical shaft) (1966---1991)

* 170400 (horizontal shaft) and 170700 (vertical shaft) (1966---1991)

* 190400 (horizontal shaft) and 190700 (vertical shaft) (1969---1997)

* 252410 (horizontal shaft) and 252700 (vertical shaft) (1977---1991)

==External linksReferences==

<references />

*[http://www.briggsandstratton.com Briggs and Stratton Company Website]

*[http://www.generatorfacts.com/briggs.htm Briggs and Stratton Generators]

* [[Eshelman]]

==ReferencesExternal links==

*[http://www.classic-engines.com/eng_bri_07.shtml Briggs & Stratton Decals at Classic-Engines.com]

{{Massachusetts}}

==Recommended reading==

*The Legend of Briggs & Stratton - Author: [[Jeffrey L. Rodengen]] (published by Write Stuff Syndicate, 1995)

Library of Congress Catalog #: 95-060793; ISBN No. 0-945903-11-1

[[Category:Companies basedTowns in WisconsinMassachusetts]]

[[Category:EngineMiddlesex manufacturersCounty, Massachusetts]]

[[Category:FortunePuritanism|Watertown, 1000Massachusetts]]

[[Category:Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]

[[fr:Wakefield (Massachusetts)]]

[[nl:Briggs & Stratton]]

[[lmo:Wakefield, Massachusetts]]