OPEI celebrates new headquarters

Above: Lucky the TurfMutt makes an appearance at OPEI's new headquarters.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Now that the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute has officially moved into its new headquarters in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, Kris Kiser, president and CEO, says the new building will better serve its growing membership.

Kiser said the old location, which was also in Alexandria, Virginia, didn’t have enough space to accommodate OPEI’s committee meetings. 

As the organization has grown, meetings usually had to go offsite. Now the group can have more constructive meetings, which will benefit equipment manufacturing and the industry as a whole.  

“It’s member engagement – just the ability to get together,” Kiser said.

More than 100 people helped OPEI celebrate its new location with a ribbon cutting on May 7.

The new building sits one block from the D.C. Metro, and just 4 miles from Reagan National Airport.

Along with Kiser, Dan Ariens, president and CEO of Ariens Co. and board chairman of OPEI, Tom Cromwell, group president of Kohler Power and vice chair of OPEI, Bjoern Fischer, president of STIHL and OPEI board secretary/treasurer, and Tom Duncan, president and CEO of Positec USA and director of OPEI’s board, were present to cut the ribbon.

Pictured from left: Bjoern Fischer, Kris Kiser, Dan Ariens, Tom Cromwell, and Tom Duncan

The new OPEI headquarters includes a conference center that can seat 50 people for in-person and virtual meetings. The building has three stories and a rooftop deck.

Prominent in the building are paintings of OPEI’s TurfMutt, a campaign launched in 2009 to reach and influence consumers about lawns, landscapes and other green spaces. The campaign continues to grow as does OPEI’s membership, which Kiser says has reached record levels.

“Evidencing the shift away from out-of-house meeting spaces, our Engine and Fuels and Handheld Products committees met here this week, debuting our new conference center,” Kiser said. “We’re excited to begin the next phase of our growth in our continued service of the outdoor power equipment industry."