PowerSports Business

PowerSports Business - June 15, 2015

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FOCUS PSB Tire & Wheel 20 • June 15, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com BY KATE SWANSON ASSISTANT EDITOR Fresh off its first U.S. corporate sponsorship of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, tire manufacturer CST has secured a position in the powersports world with dedication to its customers' needs and variety of products. "With the new products that we have com- ing out, I think we're building," said Nate Ham- ilton, a marketing specialist with CST. "The sponsorships that we have are creating a lot of exposure. We're starting to be thought of as a major player in that division." Among CST's sponsorships are GNCC racing teams like William Yokley and Scott Kilger from Yokley Racing. "We also sponsor Adam McGill in the GNCC series," said Hamilton. "He's done really well for us, and he's actually the GNCC point leader right now. He rides our Pulse tire." Hamilton says that these sponsorships have helped to put CST on the map and reinforce its accountability in the powersports world. In addition to this widespread support, CST strives to prove its commitment to its custom- ers with new product offerings. In the past two years, CST released its first 8-ply tire, the Behe- moth, which can be used for all-around terrain from hard-packed to loose and muddy condi- tions for side-by-sides. The side-by-side market is what CST has been focusing on the most for growth. CST also offers a mud-specific tire, the Wild Thang, designed for both ATVs and side- by-sides alike with its "aggressive" bearings. CST's newest product is the Lobo tire, built specifically for durability and for the heavier loads of larger side-by-sides. "Probably the most exciting product is the Lobo. It's a light truck-style tire, 8-ply rated, so it rolls really fast on the hard pack out west," said Hamilton. The tires are equipped with aggressive shoulder knobs for exceptional straight-line stability, predictable sliding and a better cornering grip. In the ATV and side-by-side segments, CST has seen an increase in consumer popularity and has strived to meet the demand. "We've got to keep up with where the market's going and create new products and sizes," said Hamilton. "The important thing is making sure we have the right sizes and the tread pattern to match those sizes that our customers want. We're slowly and surely getting there." To accommodate the changing market, CST has turned to developing new sizes and ply rat- ings for its future tire products. "As the machines evolve, we've had to evolve with them," said Hamilton. "As the machines become more capa- ble, more powerful and faster, we've had to build tires that can match their performance." Hamilton said CST has a clear focus: "It's really about creating the mold, making sure we have the tread patterns to meet our customer's demands and phasing out old tread patterns and focusing on new ones." PSB CST adapts to changing ATV, side-by-side markets Moose expands tire, wheel line BY KATE SWANSON ASSISTANT EDITOR For Moose Racing, a Parts Unlimited house brand known for its continued product innova- tion, 2015 could be the year of the wheel. Shane Myers, a moto product developer for Moose Racing, gave Powersports Business an update on how business has changed this year. "We've seen a lot of growth in a lot of seg- ments, especially the adventure touring and dual-sport market," said Myers. "The OEMs are coming out with new machines every year, so we are definitely trying to come out with all the parts every year for them, and we see a lot of opportunity within the market." Moose Racing's tire and wheel segment makes up a big part of the business, says Myers, bringing in consumers from all segments. "We offer stainless steel spoke sets and tires on the ATV side," said Myers. "We've done rims for quite a while, but now we do the hubs, spokes and rims that bring it all together." Moose Rac- ing hopes that by making complete wheel sets, it can cater to the specific consumer demands that are emerging. Moose Racing has seen growth in all segments, including ATV and side-by-side. Myers notes that complete wheel sets and optional individual spoke replacements are becoming more popular. "Complete wheel sets seem to be the fad now. People are no longer just buying rims; they're buying the complete wheels with hubs, spokes and a rim so that seems to be the new trend," he said. "On the bike side we do pretty well with individual rims because a lot of peo- ple want the OEM spoke sets, so they can just use their individual rims with those." Moose Racing has expanded its lineup to include individual wheel spokes as well. "That way people can replace just singles spokes instead of replacing the whole set if they break one. That [trend] seems to be picking up too," he said. To keep things rolling into 2015, Moose Racing is committed to adding to its current offerings. On the bike side of the business, Myers says that Moose has added new rear wheel sizes and colors. "We're adding some new 18-inch rear wheels, catering more to the off- road [riders] because right now we're carrying the 19-inch rims which cater more to the moto- cross [riders]." On the ATV side, Myers notes that new wheel and tire products are in the works as well for Moose. " W e ' r e j u s t excited to con- tinue to add [to our offerings] and for the weather to get a little better, hon- estly. Once it gets better, more people are able to get out there rid- ing, and the mar- ket continues to grow," said Myers. PSB works as well for Moose. " W e ' r e j u s t excited to con- tinue to add [to our offerings] are able to get out there rid- ing, and the mar- Moose Racing's complete XCR Wheel.

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