Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/511164
www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • May 25, 2015 • 7 Küryakyn president Holger Mohr stands in the shop portion of the company's Somerset, Wis., headquarters. there wasn't necessarily a good process, and that's now really defined with the Phase Gate approach Amenda implemented. It's an impor- tant tool to take us to the next level." RESHAPING TO SUCCESS Though Küryakyn has no doubt undergone major changes internally and externally since January 2014, the company's efforts are pay- ing off already. Through the first three months of this year, Küryakyn completed what Mohr called "the best first quarter we've ever had." "We continue to get great feedback from our dealers on our products, as well as our new brands, and the team provides great feedback as to the direction Küryakyn is heading. The fact that the first three months of 2015 mark best first quarter in the history of the company, combined with this acknowledgement from Powersports Business, really shows me that Küryakyn is on the right track," he said. Mohr believes that what the company began building in 2014 and continues to improve upon in 2015 is setting Küryakyn up for even more success. "Probably the biggest challenge was restruc- turing the company, while at the same time meeting the expectations of the employees, your partners, your customers, your sharehold- ers. We play a huge role in the MAG Group, so you have to make sure you meet the expecta- tions of the group and the shareholders there, and we've done a good job of that" Graves agrees that MAG is pleased with the progress and change Mohr has implemented so far. "I think extremely highly of Holger. He does an outstanding job of motivating his employees, setting a clear vision for where they want to go as a company and motivating employees to seek that vision, and I think he also has been an exceptional user of the broad capabilities that the MAG Group has and in partnering with Vance & Hines or other of our businesses to use their expertise and their capabilities to help further Küryakyn. He's done an excellent job at col- laborating with his peers using those resources," Graves said. "I think it's a combination of mak- ing the most of the team he has at Küryakyn, attracting, developing and retaining some of the best folks and collaborating with his peers across the broader MAG Group that's enabled a lot of the success that they've had at Küryakyn." As Küryakyn began its 26th year in 2015 and looks toward the future, it is truly building itself for the long haul, or the NXT 25, as the company calls it. "The Küryakyn of the past was very suc- cessful. It's always been a huge piece of the industry, a very successful piece, but we very much operated in silos, and as the industry progresses, if we want to continue to build on that success, I think you have to be more diverse with the way you manage your port- folio, brands and obviously your staff. Things continue to evolve, and you've got to go with it," Mohr said. "We are making sure that we're set up for that NXT 25. It's not just a phrase; we use it quite a bit internally, not just in recruiting talent, but also when we're planning where we want to go." In the near future, Küryakyn is looking to launch new product at the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, gain ECE approval for more of its products in Europe, implement a new quality management system and provide prod- ucts for more motorcycles. "You'll see us getting deeper into the Vic- tory and Indian brands when it comes to our product offerings," Mohr said. "We also want to continue to be first with a full collection of products when bikes come out of Milwaukee. We've identified new product development initiatives with the introduction of these new models to the market. With an already solid portfolio, the ability to continuously adapt our products across a number of segments will be one of the keys to our future success. We'll continue coming out with additional perfor- mance products under the Crusher umbrella, and the Bahn line will also see a significant increase in offerings for 2015." A 2016-17 initiative also includes branching out to motorcycle brands Küryakyn has previ- ously not provided product for. As time progresses, Küryakyn will remain focused on that vision and mission its team developed to keep a sharp eye on the future. Mohr said, "We want to be that global leader in powersports innovations and be the first choice for our partners — the customers obvi- ously first, but equally employees, other part- ners and shareholders." PSB MOHR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6