Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/422004
6 • December 1, 2014 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com conceived of in March, just two months after Mohr, the former VP of Business Develop- ment for Küryakyn parent Motorsports After- market Group (MAG), was named president of Küryakyn. "We've always had success with performance products, despite the fact that the presentation consisted of a few pages at the of the Küryakyn catalog and a table at the rallies. In addition, I don't think a lot of consumers necessarily associ- ate Küryakyn with performance products, but that has clearly changed," Mohr said. Despite the lack of emphasis on the perfor- mance products, they were still doing well, but Mohr was convinced they could be moving even better. "I think when you have that one-on-one conversation, and people figure out that the quality and performance of our product is outstanding, we've been very successful. So we were trying to figure out how we can take that to the next level, how to give it its own iden- tity. From this soul searching, we formed the Crusher Performance division and designed some brand new, really cool new product." With only about five months between the birth of the performance division and the Stur- gis unveil, Mohr said the marketing and prod- uct development teams worked extremely hard to perfect the release. And fortunately those efforts were met with a positive response. "The feedback we got is people love it. It looks different, something new. It sounds and performs great, and the style is outstanding," Mohr said. Though the Crusher team will work along- side other Küryakyn employees in Somerset, from the outside, the Crusher division will have its own identity and its own catalog. Mohr deemed that necessary, as the performance shopper is looking for something different than Küryakyn's typical chrome accessory buyer. Crusher was launched with a number of Küryakyn's previous performance products, along with a new line of Maverick exhausts. Better-performing air cleaners and other prod- ucts are also on tap to fill out the Crusher portfolio. But that lineup will also grow, as the Crusher team continues to focus its efforts. "Crusher really just got started. We're obviously going to expand the line and look at different designs that live up to our creed of 'Defining Style Within Performance.' Like Küryakyn's portfolio, I doubt that Crusher will be limited to the Harley platform," Mohr said. "We just launched it, so we're getting a lot of good feedback; feedback that's going to help us define the direction and long-term strat- egy. Küryakyn and Crusher both take pride in listening to the market, something that will continue under my leadership." PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT The creation of the Crusher line is just one of the ways Küryakyn has changed since industry- veteran Mohr came on board. With Küryakyn celebrating its 25th anniver- sary in 2014, a NXT 25 initiative was launched, aimed at securing the company's future for the next 25 years and beyond. That initiative has focused on hiring new employees and reener- gizing the business as a whole. "It's a huge opportunity for Küryakyn to go to the next level. We need the right team. We've got great people, but we definitely need to improve capacity, especially around product development and design, engineering," Mohr said. "We want to obviously grow our core market, but part of the NXT 25 is to add addi- tional brands that complement or complete our product portfolio. We will always cater to the loyal Küryakyn customer, but there are numer- ous customers with a different product desire, and we want to cater to them as well." Though Küryakyn has always been known for its innovation, Mohr said the number of new products the company had developed over the past few years had begun to slow, so with the NXT 25, he hopes to give a new boost to product development. "Küryakyn has great employees and a good structure. My primary focus is to reenergize the organization and improve processes and procedures, especially around the new product development. We're great at it; we're usually the first to market; we just need to do a lot more, and I know we can do so with impactful projects," Mohr said. To that end, Küryakyn has been on a hir- ing spree. Notable hires include Pete Amenda, another industry veteran with different leader- ship positions at Harley-Davidson Motor Co. KÜRYAKYN CONTINUED FROM COVER See Küryakyn, Page 7 Patents adorn the walls of the newly renovated offices at Küryakyn in Somerset, Wis.