Feb. 12, 2007 – Aftermarket Digest

World of Powersports Outsources Distribution
World of Powersports is outsourcing its parts distribution to B1 Logistics, a third-party logistics provider that has inventory warehousing, order fulfillment, dealer development and call center operations services for domestic and international companies.
World of Powersports will then redirect some of its efforts to pursue additional product lines and Internet opportunities.
B1 has invested more than $1 million in warehousing technology to bring wireless order picking, full Web interface and information throughout the supply chain and RFID encoding to its operations.
As part of the agreement, B1 Logistics will hire Mike Jackson as its president and CEO. Jackson has an MBA from the University of Illinois and for the past 13 years has served as World of Powersports’ accountant, chief financial officer and most recently its manager of parts and Internet operations. Under Jackson’s management, World of Powersports grew its parts division from bringing in $65,000 a year in 1994 to more than $20 million in 2006, making it the largest OEM parts dealer in the country for many of the franchises it carries. The new distribution agreement will allow World of Powersports to take on a number of growth opportunities in 2007.
PowerMadd Hires New Director of Sales
Tom Kingsland, a former brand manager for Parts Unlimited’s Z1R Helmets division, has been hired as the new director of sales and marketing at PowerMadd.
PowerMadd, based in Burnsville, Minn., manufacturers aftermarket accessories for the motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV and watercraft markets.
Kingsland, who has more than 13 years of experience in the motorsports industry, will oversee distributor sales, catalogs, advertising and some product development duties. He currently lives in southern Wisconsin and will share his time between his home office and PowerMadd’s headquarters in Minnesota.
“We are very excited to have Tom onboard at PowerMadd,” said Randy Shimanski, president of PowerMadd. “He brings a whole new level of understanding for the industry.”
VP Racing Fuels Bolsters Tech Support
VP Racing Fuels Inc., an industry leader in the production and distribution of racing fuels and other performance products, has created a technical director position.
Steve Burns, VP’s president and CEO, describes the position as “critical not only to our effort to stay on the leading edge of race fuel technology, but also to ensure our customer support remains unsurpassed.
“While I will still lead VP’s R&D efforts, the primary role of this new position will be to oversee the introduction and support of our new and existing technology in the marketplace. This will be achieved via hands-on applications testing of new technology and maintenance of a database of technical product information.
“The importance of the technical support this makes available to our customers can’t be overemphasized,” Burns said.
Named to the new technical director position is Jay Farnsworth, previously VP’s regional manager for its Midwest Region. According to Burns, Farnsworth has been actively involved in VP’s R&D efforts for many years — not only for racing fuels but also VP’s traction adhesives. “Like most of us at VP, Jay was first a racer, not to mention years of experience with automotive and aftermarket parts prior to joining the company,” he said.
Hallcraft Industries Introduces Spoke Line
Known as one of the oldest brands in the industry for its high-end wire wheels, Hallcraft Industries has introduced the latest in spoke wheel technology with an entire line of high-end wire wheels starting with the 60 (.192″) diameter), 80 (.19″) and 100 (.156″) Spoke Classic Wire Wheels. All wheels are chromed and include sealed roller bearings (2,000 and up), spacers and valve stems.
HJC America Hires G-Force Marketing
G-Force Strategic Marketing has been hired to provide marketing, advertising and public relations services for HJC America.
“HJC and its U.S. distributors are very pleased to have G-Force as our marketing partner,” said George Hong, HJC America president. “They are highly experienced in the powersports industry, do outstanding creative work and, most important, they know how to grow and nurture a brand.”
Based in San Clemente, Calif., G-Force is led by motorcycle industry veteran Scott Goodwin and Creative Director Cory Savage.
KLEMPF’S Acquires New Inventory
Klempf’s British Parts recently acquired the remaining new inventory, Web site and catalog from Moore’s Cycle Supply and J&P Cycle Distributors in Connecticut.
Mitch Klempf of Klempf’s British Parts said “we will have more stock and a better Web site, in order to strengthen our commitment to keep the Vintage British Motorcycles alive.” psb