Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/303681
FOCUS PSB FOCUS PSB ATV www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • May 5, 2014 • 21 20 • May 5, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com a belt," he said. "Our number one reason for being there is to support our own customers." EPI brought a record four staffers in 2014, with counterpart Chad Erlandson lending his expertise alongside Supinski as usual. "That was a wise move to do this year. I think it had to be the largest attendance ever," Supinski said. "We'll never go back with just two of us." EPI hauls its own trailer to the event, and stocks it full of additional inventory, including clutch kits and replacement belts. "We do a lot of tie rod ends and ball joints, too," he said. "The folks there come to the event with a pocket full of money and they buy two things. They're looking for a deal on tires, and they put them on and go out that night and then come and see us the next day because they either burn their belt or their machine can't turn the tires." The smiles that EPI staffers see during the event are enough to keep them coming back. "It's our favorite event of the year," Supin - ski said. "What I tell people who haven't been before is that you won't find a better group of people to go hang out with for a week. They're all there to have fun, and anyone who comes to your booth thanks you for being there. They appreciate you being there with parts." A FIRST-TIME SUCCESS Jason Blake and Jeff Meyers, from the sales staff at Millennium Technologies in Wisconsin, were familiar with the stories that come from Mud Nats. But it's quite another thing to experi- ence it firsthand. Blake had worked in the company's shop for 13 years before taking a sales job last year. He wanted to ensure that the riders at Mud Nats had time to get familiar with their big bore kits, pistons and gaskets. "We've been real strong in the snowmobile market for years, and we're growing into the motorcycle racing market, also different dirt bike and street bike applications," he said. "One of the industries we're looking to expand into is the ATV/UTV market to put a little more summer business into the shop." Their debut at Mud Nats was a 10-by-10- foot canopy that featured product samples. A limited supply of product was available for purchase, including RZR 800 and 900 plus-2 and plus-3 millimeter big bore kits. "A lot of people are still under the miscon - ception that every cylinder that's out there has a cast iron sleeve in the middle of it, and in order to repair it you need to push a new sleeve into it, when that's not so much the case with a plated cylinder market," Blake said. "Probably 98 percent of the ATVs and UTVs out there come with a plated cylinder rather than a cast iron sleeve, which to me is antiquated technol- ogy. So yeah, we had a real good reception. We had samples of cylinders that were busted up pretty bad and showed them that we could take that and make it workable." The residuals of exhibiting clearly were pay- ing off in the days following the event. "As you can imagine, there aren't many peo- ple at that event looking to rebuild a 4-stroke motor in the middle of the mud down there," Blake said. "So we didn't have a lot of over-the- counter purchases, but guys are already calling us and telling us they didn't even know we were an option until they saw us down there, replat- ing a cylinder instead of buying a new one. It was very good for us to be there, and definitely a good market. We're looking forward to the Minnesota event in June." On June 6-8, High Lifter will take its sig- nature mud riding event on the road as it heads to Hill City, Minn., for the 2014 High Lifter Quadna Mud Nationals Presented by Polaris. PSB Network expected to reach 50 by year's end BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR In just over one year of production, Gibbs Quadski has amassed 16 dealerships that com- bine for 21 U.S. locations, but Gibbs looks to increase that number significantly in 2014, with a goal of having 50 dealerships under its belt by the end of the year. The company sees 50 as the appropriate number of powersports and marine dealer- ships to be able to service the customers of its $42,000 ATV/PWC amphibian while not inundating the market, which has been deemed unnecessary for such a niche vehicle. "Companies like Yamaha, Sea-Doo provide powersports products and have hundreds or thousands of dealers, but we have much higher standards in terms of technical expertise, cus- tomer service, abilities of the company, than the larger OEMs because we have a specialty product," Graham Jenkins, manager of com- munications, marketing and PR told Power- sports Business during a February visit to the company's Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters. "When we're comparing the number that we're looking at, we're comparing ourselves more to Lamborghini and Ferrari. Lamborghini has 27, and I think Ferrari has 34 dealerships in the U.S., so we think 50 is about the right scale for us at this point in terms of being able to sell to and service the U.S. market." Though Gibbs has been focusing its dealer network building on the coasts and the Great Lakes, opportunities are also available for inland dealers that have the right clientele for the Quadski. "It hasn't been as big of a focus because the market isn't is as big say in Colorado as it is in Florida, so that's just a fact. At the same time, though, there is a market there that has the ability to be served, so we're looking for pretty much coverage in most states by the end of the year," Jenkins said, adding that the most Quadskis have been sold in Florida and California so far. HIGH-QUALITY DEALERS Already Gibbs' dealer list includes top-notch coastal powersports stores such as 2013 Pow- ersports Business Power 50 dealers Bert's Mega Mall in Covina, Calif., and RIVA Motorsports & Marine in Pompano Beach, Fla. Grace Perfor- mance in Kimball, Mich., also recently joined the roster, and the Quadski will be carried by Super Yacht Toy Store. What each store has in common is a solid reputation for providing high-quality service throughout the buying Gibbs continues to add Quadski dealers See Quadski, Page 24 A group of Gibbs employees runs quality checks on a Quadski at the company's Auburn Hills, Mich., facility, where it employs a staff of about 150. Graham Jenkins, manager of communications, marketing and PR at Gibbs Sports Amphibians, describes the production of the Gibbs Quadski at the company's factory. P16x29-PSB6-Focus.indd 21 4/23/14 10:16 AM