Polaris Industries

Polaris Industries
Public
Traded as NYSE: PII
Industry Automotive
Defense
Founded 1954
Founders Edgar Hetteen
Allen Hetteen
David Johnson
Headquarters Medina, Minnesota, U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide (except Cuba, Iran, Syria, and North Korea)
Key people
 Gregory Palen
(Chairman)
Scott W. Wine
(CEO)
Bennett JP. Morgan
(President & COO)
Products Automobiles
Commercial vehicles
Automobile parts
All-terrain vehicles
Snowmobiles
Motorcycles
Revenue Increase US$ 1.991 billion (2010)[1]
Increase US$ 220.7 million (2010)[1]
Increase US$ 147.1 million (2010)[1]
Total assets Increase US$ 1.062 billion (2010)[1]
Total equity Increase US$ 371.0 million (2010)[1]
Number of employees
 3,000 (December 2010)[1]
Divisions Polaris Defense
Polaris Commercial
Subsidiaries
Website Polaris.com

Polaris Industries is an American manufacturer of snowmobiles, ATV, and neighborhood electric vehicles. Polaris is based in the Minneapolis exurb of Medina, Minnesota, USA. The company also manufactures motorcycles through its Victory Motorcycles subsidiary and through the Indian Motorcycle subsidiary which it purchased in April 2011.[2] Polaris no longer produces watercraft.

Robin (a subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, which is the owner of Subaru) previously developed and supplied all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and snowmobile engines for Polaris Industries Inc. Starting in 1995 with the Polaris Magnum 425 4-stroke atv and in 1997, with the introduction of the "twin 700" snowmobile engine Polaris started the development and production of in-house produced power plants, known as the "Liberty" line of engines, now found in many models across their current production lines. This production makes some Polaris products 100% American made. Since that time Polaris has continued to develop their in-house engine production capacity, now designing and manufacturing all of their own power plants.

In 2010 Polaris relocated a portion of its utility and sport vehicle assembly to Mexico. Polaris snowmobiles are still 100% American made with the powertrain components manufactured in Osceola, WI and the vehicle assembly in Roseau, MN. The vast majority of powertrain and vehicles for the off-road line are manufactured in the Osceola and Roseau facilities, respectively. Both the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands are American made with complete powertrains and vehicle assembly located in Osceola, WI and Spirit Lake, IA, respectively.

History

Polaris Sno Traveler (1965)
Polaris Ranger ATV used by firefighters in the Kaibab National Forest.

Edgar Hetteen, who was described by the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wisconsin as the father of the snowmobile, and Allan Hetteen were partners in Hetteen Hoist and Derrick Shop in Roseau, Minnesota. Edgar had dropped out of school after the eighth grade in 1934. Their employees, David Johnson, partnered with Paul Knochenmus, and Orlen Johnson, who was the first person ever to ride a Polaris, decided to create a vehicle that could travel through snow. These vehicles' primary use was to make hunting locations more accessible. The employees worked overtime to finish their concept model in 1954. After creating it using a grain silo conveyor belt as a track and an old Chevy bumper for skis, they had the first snow machine. After returning from a trip, Edgar was shown the machine, but was skeptical of its value.[3] and was disappointed that the group had spent company time and materials on the machine. The No 1 sled was soon sold to Roseau lumberyard owner "Silver Pete" H.F. Peterson for $465 in order to meet company payroll.[4]

However, the employees continued to be focused on building snowmobiles and soon a second model was created, called the Polaris Sno Traveler. The first production model rolled off the assembly line in Minnesota in 1956. The original models weighed close to 1,000 lb (450 kg) and moved at a speed of about 20 mph (32 km/h). They came in a two-tone paint job (white below blue with a strip or chrome trim dividing them). In order to publicize the new snowmobile and show their reliability and usefulness, in 1960 Edgar led three snowmobiles on a 1200-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness, starting from Bethel, Alaska. The trip took three weeks, and much of the time, Edgar struggled to maintain 10 mph over the snow.[3][5] The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner put them on its front page. However, his absence caused problems for him with the company's board of directors. Soon after completing the trip, Edgar left the company in June and started a competing company called Polar Manufacturing in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company name later changed to Arctic Enterprises; in the mid-1980s it filed for bankruptcy amid fierce competition as snowmobiles became popular and other manufacturers jumped into the market. The company emerged from bankruptcy and continues on today as Arctic Cat.

Polaris began developing a smaller consumer-sized, front engine snowmobile to compete with the SkiDoo in the early 1960s. In 1964, Polaris released the Comet. However, the Comet soon ran into problems as it could not travel in all types of snow conditions. Polaris then recalled the sleds and quickly developed a new prototype to avoid bankruptcy. The new model, the 1965 Mustang, became a hit as a family snowmobile and boosted Polaris sales. Polaris continued to develop snowmobiles similar to this model throughout the 1960s-1970s, and went on to become one of the leaders in the snowmobile industry.[4][6]

In the early 1980s, Polaris started creating an Indy style snowmobile with IFS and a wider stance. They continued with the Indy style sled in the 90's with the Storm, Ultra, and Trail lines, within the last few years Polaris has re released the Indy. In 1985, Polaris introduced the Trailboss, which is considered to be the first American-made all-terrain vehicles (ATV). Today, Polaris is one of the top selling brands of ATV's. In the late 1990s, Polaris introduced the Polaris Rocky Mountain King (RMK)- a snowmobile specific for mountain terrain. In May 2009, Polaris announced the creation of an On-Road Vehicle Division. The new division will be devoted to the growth of Victory motorcycles and other on-road products and brands.[7] In 2010, Polaris introduced the Polaris Rush snowmobile which had a new suspension system and better trail handling capabilities. This snowmobile is also available with retro graphics on the Rush and Iq models. In late 2005, Polaris Industries announced that it would purchase a portion of KTM Motorcycles. Through this venture KTM has developed their own ATV and Polaris has developed Sport ATVs which utilize the KTM 525 and 450 powerplants that have seen great success on the ATV racing circuit.

A Polaris Ranger modified as an Ambulance.

On May 21, 2010, Polaris announced that it was opening a new manufacturing plant in Mexico. The sister facility in Osceola, WI still remains in full operation. The opening of the Monterrey, Mexico facility is anticipated to save the company $30 million annually, with most of that savings coming from lower wages.[8] The Monterrey facility has 3 assembly lines devoted to production of Ranger side-by-sides for global markets. The original intent of the Monterrey facility was to serve markets in the Southern US plus Mexico and South America. The announcement of the Huntsville, AL factory (which comes online in 2016) indicates that the Monterrey facility will primarily serve non-US markets.

In October 2011, Polaris announced an investment in Brammo, Inc., an electric vehicle company based in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Its first production electric motorcycle, the Brammo Enertia, is assembled in Ashland and sold at dealerships.[9] Polaris continued its investment in Brammo when it participated in the $13 million opening tranche of Brammo's Series C funding round in July 2012.[10] Polaris had been showing interest in electric propulsion, producing an electric version of its Ranger Side-by-Side and more recently buying Global Electric Motorcars (GEM). As one publication put it, "This latest move likely signals the addition of clean and quiet drivetrains to ATVs and motorcycles under the global giant's brand umbrella – snowmobiles may have to wait on battery breakthroughs before they become commercially feasible."[11] On January 15, 2015, Polaris announced that it had purchased the entire electric motorcycle business from Brammo. Production of electric motorcycles was slated to commence at Polaris' factory in Spirit Lake, IA during the second half of 2015.[12] Polaris also manufactures Victory and Indian motorcycles at the Spirit Lake factory.

In 2012, production restarted on the Indy-named sleds (stopped in 2004 with the Indy 500) with the release of the 2013 Indy 600 and Indy 600 SP. For 2014, Polaris will expand the Indy name and provide model variants for nearly all categories (the one exception being the "Mountain" class).

On April 11, 2013, Polaris announced that it acquired Aixam-Mega, a French quadricycle manufacturer. [13]

On January 9, 2015, Polaris announced it will be opening a new 600,000-square-foot facility in Huntsville, Alabama that will employ at least 1,700 workers. Construction on the new manufacturing plant is set to start in early 2015 and should be opened by the spring of 2016. The plant will support several core processes including, vehicle assembly, chassis and body painting, welding, fabrication and injection molding.[14]

Racing

Polaris Racing is one of the big four factory racing teams on the World Power Sports Association (WPSA) Snocross circuit. With 44 signed riders they also run in HillCross, Oval Track Racing, and Cross Country Racing. The Polaris Racing Team won 8 different Championships in the 2006-2007 season. Arnar Gunnarsson (#26) won the Pro Open, Gústi (#10) won Pro Stock, Klara Björk (#89) won pro women at Iceland, T. J. Gulla (#44) won the WPSA Pro Stock Championship, Ross Martin (#837) won the WPSA Pro Open Championship, and Kylie Abramson (#87) won the WPSA Pro Women's Championship. Gabe Bunke (#74) has won the USCC Pro 600 Class Championship and the USCC Pro Open Class. Dustin Wahl (#74) won the Pro Ice 440 Championship, the Pro Ice Formula Championship, and the Millennium 600 Open championship, and John Cyr III (#99) won the 2004 USCC Pro 700 Class Championship. Most all of the Polaris Racing riders drive the IQR 440, 600 or 700 Racer, depending on the class and the event. Polaris holds the most number of wins in the World's Longest Toughtest Snowmobile Race, the Iron Dog a 2,000 miles race across Alaska.[15]

Polaris Defense

Polaris Defense, a division of Polaris Industries, produces the MRZR platform and the Dagor.

Dagor (Deployable Advanced Ground Off-road)

DAGOR is a purpose-built, ultra-light combat vehicle designed and built by Polaris Defense to meet the light-mobility needs of light infantry and special operations forces incorporating military commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and driveline system.[16]

Dagor [17]
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service -
Used by United States Special Operations Command
Production history
Designed 2012
Produced 2014
Specifications
Weight Curb weight: 2,041 kg (4,499.6 lb)
Length Overall: 1,780 mm (5 ft 10.1 in)
Width Overall: 2,110 mm (6 ft 11.1 in)
Height Top of roll cage: 1,900 mm (6 ft 2.8 in)
Crew 9
Engine Diesel/JP8
Payload capacity 1,474 kg (3,249.6 lb)
Operational
range
 805 km (500 mi)
Speed 110 km/h (68 mph)

The DAGOR was developed under contract from elements of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and international Special Operations Forces (SOF) customers.[16] The design using (COTS) components enables procurement of spares worldwide. The vehicle is produced by Michigan-based Roush Industries with deliveries commencing in November 2014 with fifteen vehicles for use by the United States Special Operations Command, in January 2015 with five vehicles for the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) to trial and deliveries were scheduled for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April 2015.[18][19][20][21][22][23] [24][25][26]

The vehicle can be configured in up to 48 weapon different configurations using the weapons ring and multiple pintle mounts. The vehicle is powered by a light weight, commercial off-the-shelf turbo diesel / JP8 engine located at the front section. The vehicle can transport a maximum payload of more than 1,400 kg or up to nine infantrymen in support of expeditionary missions. It offers high mobility and higher speeds over rough terrains. The vehicle is certified for air drop and internal air transport by CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, and sling load under UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters. The vehicle supports low velocity air drop (LVAD) method.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2010 Form 10-K, Polaris Industries Inc.". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ↑ Shunk, Chris (20 April 2011). "Polaris purchases Indian Motorcycles, will complement Victory brand". AOL, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  3. 1 2 ["Snowmobile Pioneer Cut A Fast Trail for the Sport, Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2011, p.A5]
  4. 1 2 http://www.polarisindustries.com/en-us/OurCompany/AboutPolaris/Pages/HistoryHeritage.aspx
  5. ↑ St. Anthony, Neal (February 14, 2011). "'Godfather' of snowmobile industry". StarTribune.
  6. ↑ http://www.snowmobile.com/news/polaris-history-and-heroes-593.html
  7. ↑ http://newsticker.welt.de/?module=smarthouse&id=890793
  8. ↑ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/05/21/polaris-folo/
  9. ↑ "Company Background". Brammo, Inc. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  10. ↑ Williams, Christina. "Brammo closes on $13M, signs with GE Capital". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Yoney, Domenick (26 October 2011). "Polaris bets big on Brammo, could deal bring electric Indians?". AOL/Time Warner. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  12. ↑ http://www.polaris.com/en-us/company/news-item.aspx?articleID=315
  13. ↑ Black, Sam (11 April 2013). "Polaris buys Aixam Mega, quadricycles maker". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
  14. ↑ Berry, Lucy (9 January 2015). "Polaris will launch new manufacturing operation employing at least 1,700 in Huntsville area". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  15. ↑ http://www.irondog.org/iron-dog-winners/
  16. 1 2 3 "Polaris DAGOR Ultra-Light Combat Vehicle". Army Technology. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dagor Specifications". Polaris Defense. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "SOCOM, Allies Buy Lightweight DAGOR Truck; Debuts At AUSA". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Polaris Dagor, ready for action". BBC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "2015 Polaris Dagor Ultralight Vehicle". TopSpeed. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Polaris DAGOR ultra-light truck ready for combat". Fox News. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Polaris DAGOR Could Meet Army’s Ultra-Light Vehicle Need". Defense Tech. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "IDEX 2015: Dagor set for UAE service". IHS Jane's 360. Jane's. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Ultralight Vehicle Makers Seek Mideast Buyers". DefenseNews. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "SOCOMD Rough Terrain Vehicles". Australian & NZ Defender Magazine (92). Summer 2015.
  26. ↑ "Polaris delivers All Terrain Vehicles to ADF". Australian Defence Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2015.

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