WAUKESHA, Wisc. — Generac Power Systems is seeing an increase in sales of its home standby generators in overseas markets, including Russia and Ukraine, according to our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Generac president and CEO Aaron Jagdfeld told theMilwaukee Business Journal, the company previously noticed a similar pattern of sales to war zones including Afghanistan.
“We’re seeing interest in Russia and Ukraine which arguably might be related to some of the security concerns short term,” Jagdfeld told analysts, the Milwaukee Business Journal reports.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the company typically sees sales spikes in areas where homeowners sustained power outages from weather events, forest fires and other disasters.
The company has a sales office outside Moscow that handles sales in the Russian market, as well as sales offices in Germany and Poland that can serve Ukraine.
Generac exports home standby generators to Europe and other regions from its plants in Wisconsin and South Carolina, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Jagdfeld said the company has sold its home standby generators in Russia for years, but not Ukraine. The two countries have shown a "higher degree of interest" in the past six months.
“Ukraine was never on our screen, so I think it’s clearly tied to some of the overarching security concerns in the country there when you get into areas of the world where you have potential security issues or potential wars or areas of conflict,” Jagdfeld told the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Jagdfeld said those ordering the generators can install the units as long as they have access to natural gas or propane.
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is ordering forces to maintain peace in eastern Ukraine. But it is not immediately clear whether or when troops would enter the country.
On Monday, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered the Russian military to “maintain peace” in the disputed areas. In response, both President Joe Biden and European Union leaders said they would move ahead with new sanctions.
Heavy shelling continues in Ukraine’s east. The White House says Biden agreed “in principle” to meet Putin if he refrains from launching an assault on his neighbor that U.S. officials say appears increasingly likely.
Putin's decrees only further inflame tensions with the West.
