Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/687402
4 • June 13, 2016 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com www.powersportsbusiness.com Editorial and Sales: 763.383.4400 Subscriber Service: 847.763.9565 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Dave McMahon 763/383-4411 (dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com) MANAGING EDITOR: Liz Keener 763/383-4413 (lkeener@powersportsbusiness.com) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kate Swanson 763/383-4412 (kswanson@powersportsbusiness.com) DIGITAL MARKETING COORDINATOR: Shauna Spencer MANAGING ART DIRECTOR: Dodi Vessels ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Nicole Siewert PRODUCTION ARTIST: Kelsey Houle PRODUCTION MANAGER: Angela Schmieg PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Cherri Perschmann NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Allison Gruhn 763/383-4467 (agruhn@powersportsbusiness.com) NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Mark Rosacker 763/383-4433 (mrosacker@powersportsbusiness.com) NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Michael Kula 763/383-4440 (mkula@powersportsbusiness.com) CEO: Marion Minor SR. VICE PRESIDENT/FINANCE & OPERATIONS: Gerald Winkel SR. VICE PRESIDENT/MARKET DEVELOPMENT: Joanne Juda-Prainito GROUP PUBLISHER/MOTORCYCLE, POWERSPORTS: David J. Voll SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER: Bernadette Wohlman CONTRIBUTORS: COLUMNISTS: Sam Dantzler, Mark Mooney DEALER ADVISORY BOARD: Hooksett Kawasaki-Polaris, Jim Whalley; Hacker's Yamaha & Honda, Rick Hacker; Honda/Polaris of Lubbock, Morris Baker; All Action Water Sports, Ray Leps POWERSPORTS BUSINESS (ISSN #1522-7944) is published 15 times per year – monthly except twice in May and December, the Market Data Book in September – by EPG Media/Specialty Information Media, 10405 6th Avenue North, Suite 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Free to qualified members of the motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile and personal watercraft industries. Annual subscription rate is $56 per year for U.S residents, $76 for Canadian residents and $96 for residents in other countries. All paid subscriptions must be paid in advance and in U.S. funds only. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Powersports Business, P.O. Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Visit www.PowersportsBusiness.com, email customerservice@epgmediallc.com, call (845) 856-2229, fax (845) 856-5822 or write to Powersports Business, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. CANADIAN RETURN ADDRESS: EPG Media & Specialty Information, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J3. Publication Sales Agreement #40012332. EDITORIAL: All manuscripts, materials, photographs and artwork submitted are at mailer's risk and must include self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage for return. Send editorial materials to EPG Media/Specialty Information Media, 10405 6th Avenue North, Suite 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441, 763/383-4400. No responsibility will be assumed for unsolicited materials. Powersports Business is a registered trademark of EPG Media & Specialty Information. Copyright 2016 by EPG Media & Specialty Information. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited unless expressly authorized by publisher. REPRINTS: For more information on e-prints or reprints from Powersports Business, contact Robin Cooper, 763/383-4400 ext. 4491. Printed in U.S.A. "His innovative ideas have helped develop a company that will grow and continue to separate from the pack. Jim also has a passion and commitment to customer service," said Matthew Brown, LotVantage president/CEO. "I am very grateful to have this opportunity to grow in my role at LotVantage. Our soft- ware, dedicated team members and strategic partners are what have helped this company succeed at such a rapid rate. I foresee our rapid growth continuing well into the future," Jabaay said. SPORTECH BUILDING GETS NEW OWNER The Meritex Company in May announced the acquisition of the Sportech building, a 105,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility located in Elk River, Minn. By making a forward commitment to pur- chase the building upon completion, Meritex gained the exclusive right to own a brand new, 105,000-square-foot, 32-foot clear asset. "Our investment strategy focuses on acquiring assets where we can create value and produce consistent cash flows," said Dan Williams, chief investment officer of Meritex. "The property is 100 percent leased to Sport- ech and comes with excess land able to support a 70,000-square-foot Sportech expansion offering growth for both Sportech and Meritex." This acquisition expands Meritex's Min- neapolis portfolio to nearly 2.5 million square feet of real estate owned or under manage- ment. Sportech will directly manage all routine facility operations. "We are excited about the addition of this property to our portfolio in the Minneapolis market," commented Steve Dorff, senior property manager for Meritex in Minneapolis. Sportech designs and thermoforms com- ponents for vehicles, concentrating on power- sports, agriculture, automotive, golf and turf, and other on-and-off road vehicles. It special- izes in vehicle cab enclosures, body panels, windshields and styling accents. The company was started in 1994 in a garage and has grown to an exclusive OEM product development partner. INDUSTRY SUPPLIER BOUGHT BY CHINESE FIRM Ontario, Calif.-based Thermal Dynamics International, a supplier of heat exchangers for the automotive, heavy truck and off-high- way industries, has been acquired by Zhejiang Yinlun Machinery Co. Ltd., based in Tiantai, Zhejiang, China. Zhejiang province is home to a long list of motorcycle manufacturers and suppliers, including CFMOTO, Benda, Jon- way, Lifan and Taotao. Thermal Dynamics manufactures a full range of water- and air-cooled heat exchang- ers, aluminum radiators and charge air coolers as well as stainless steel integral and remote coolers. It will continue operation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of YLSQ Holdings Inc. in Delaware. Previously owned by Evergreen Pacific Partners located in Seattle, Thermal Dynam- ics has its headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Ontario, Calif., as well as three joint- venture production relationships in China. It also has sales and application engineering cen- ters in Farmington Hills, Mich., and Moores- ville, N.C. It has about 100 employees. Thermal Dynamics' customers include Allison Transmission, Daimler Truck North America, Ford, FCA, Harley-Davidson, Osh- kosh, PACCAR and Polaris, as well as auto suppliers such as Faurecia and Valeo. Yinlun board chairman Xu Xiaomin noted that the acquisition is designed to expand Yin- lun's footprint in North America, speed global product development efforts and strengthen relationships with major customers in the NAFTA region. "Thermal Dynamics is a recognized leader in the development and manufacture of inno- vative heat-exchange systems and compo- nents," Xiaomin explained. "Yinlun already has a strong customer base with Caterpillar, Cummins Engine, Ford and John Deere in the U.S., and this acquisi- tion also will allow us to build off of Thermal Dynamics' diverse automotive, heavy-truck and off-highway customer base," he added. "In addition, the company also serves industries new to Yinlun such as high-performance and small-engine manufacturers." Dean Arneson, president and CEO of Thermal Dynamics, will continue in a similar position with the new Yinlun subsidiary. "Combining our resources with Yinlun will create tremendous growth opportunities ben- efiting both companies in the future," Arneson said. "I am enthusiastic that our new company will be very competitive from day one." Zhejiang Yinlun Machinery Co. Ltd. invested $56.65 million to acquire 100 percent of Thermal Dynamics International, which posted sales of $49.5 million in 2015. Yinlun was established in 1958 in Tiantai and has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2007 (YL — 002126). In the last 13 years, Yinlun has been ranked as the No. 1 heat exchanger supplier in the Chinese market. Currently the company has 3,300 employees, the majority at facilities in China. Yinlun also is located in Germany, U.K. and the U.S. RIZOMA MAKES CHANGES TO U.S. OPERATIONS Rizoma, the Italian company known for its innovative design and high-quality aftermar- ket motorcycle components, announced major changes in its U.S. operations. Fred Cerrato has been hired as the new general manager of Rizoma U.S.A., overseeing all dealer and consumer efforts in the U.S. market. Mike Kim has been promoted to account executive and will expand his role in Rizoma's daily operations and dealer develop- ment program. Cerrato brings a wealth of sales, marketing, technology and management experience to the table, and will set his sights on expanding Rizoma's dealer network and enhancing con- sumer awareness of the brand. "Rizoma is well-known and respected in Europe, and we have a loyal following of deal- ers and consumers here in the U.S.," Cerrato said. "The current market reawakening, along with an expansion of Rizoma's product line, make this the ideal time to increase our efforts in the U.S. market." Additionally, Rizoma has hired Vreeke & Associates as its agency of record to help build on the company's success. "We're known for our quality and design, and so is Vreeke & Associates," said Cerrato. "They've created innovative marketing cam- paigns for industry leaders for decades, and we know they're the right partner to help grow our business here in the U.S." Fabrizio Rigolio, Rizoma CEO, added, "We are continuously evolving our business, and we know that the American market is unique and requires a very targeted effort. Devoting more resources there will expose more motorcycle enthusiasts to the passion and technology of the Rizoma brand." BIG APRIL SALES FOR TRIUMPH Based on motorcycle sales in the on-highway and dual-sport categories, Triumph was the top-selling European motorcycle brand in North America during the month of April. April saw the sales of Triumph motor- cycles rise to market-leading growth of 31 percent over April 2015 and also puts Triumph as the top-selling European brand in the on-highway category through the first four months of 2016. "The April sales show the incredible pas- sion and loyalty of the Triumph customer and is a direct result of extraordinary effort all the way from the design and development team to the dealer network that is working to deliver a distinctive, cool, authentic and premium customer experience," said Matt Sheahan, COO of Triumph Motorcycles America. "We couldn't be more excited for the future for our customers, our dealers and our brand." The new Triumph Bonneville motorcycle family consists of the Street Twin, Bonneville T120, Bonneville T120 Black, Thruxton and Thruxton R. These five bikes were developed from the ground up with three new Bonnev- ille engines and all-new chassis and suspen- sions, to provide the optimal modern classic riding experience. MOTOR1.COM ACQUIRES RIDEAPART.COM Miami-based technology and multimedia com- pany Motor1.com, a subsidiary of the Motors- port Network, announced that it has acquired digital media platform RideApart.com. RideApart delivers unique editorial content focusing on the digitally connected, experi- enced influencers and well-informed riders. "We're extremely excited to add RideApart to the growing Motor1 network," said John Neff, editor in chief, Motor1.com. "The site will continue to be a leader in coverage of the motorcycle world, publishing the news, reviews, and motorsports coverage that Ride- Apart readers have come to expect." PSB Industry supplier Sportech, located in Elk River, Minn., has a new owner of its manufacturing plant and warehouse building. Triumph dealers in North America helped the brand become the top-selling European motorcycle brand during the month of April. The Tiger Explorer 1200 is expected to continue the sales push with an early release. HOT NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3