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Murray Small Engine Plant Celebrates 70 Million Engines

The Briggs & Stratton plant in Murray has produced 70 million small engines since it opened in 1985; an average of nearly 2.6 million engines a year. At a press conference today Engine Products Group President Joseph Wright said the demand for quality engines allows them to keep that production domestic.

“We have to stay a step ahead of our competition. A lot of what you see coming from low cost countries are copies of other engines. And what we do is we focus in, as I mentioned earlier, is making sure we have the right product for the right application,” said Wright.

The Murray facility employs about 1,100 people, and is one of four small engine plants in the U.S.

Shelly Baskin works in MSU's Office of Regional Outreach and is a graduate student in Occupational Safety and Health. A roustabout from Memphis, Tennessee, Shelly first found his way into WKMS through the newsroom back in 2011 through luck, charm and force of will. Though he left news for another position, he still enjoys working on independent radio projects and volunteering for the station. He’s an avid disc golfer and occasional real golfer and is terrible at both. A lover of all things musical, Shelly is always ready to hear something new and unique.
Chad Lampe, a Poplar Bluff, Missouri native, was raised on radio. He credits his father, a broadcast engineer, for his technical knowledge, and his mother for the gift of gab. At ten years old he broke all bonds of the FCC and built his own one watt pirate radio station. His childhood afternoons were spent playing music and interviewing classmates for all his friends to hear. At fourteen he began working for the local radio stations, until he graduated high school. He earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Murray State, and a Masters Degree in Mass Communication. In November, 2011, Chad was named Station Manager in 2016.
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