Innovative Off Road expands in Tennessee
Zierden takes over regional UTV distributor
Innovative Off Road, an aftermarket distributor that specializes in UTV products, has opened a distribution center in Franklin, Tenn.
IOR will be able to serve its customers in middle Tennessee and surrounding areas more efficiently.
IOR entered the industry in 2011 with a distribution agreement with Fortress Cab Systems, based in Waco, Texas. Dealers in Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi were some of the first to start carrying the Fortress Cab product line, which is a comprehensive steel enclosure system for Polaris Ranger and Kawasaki Mule UTVs.
A change of ownership in January 2012 brought the addition of industry veteran Nick Zierden as principal partner.
“There is a significant amount of stored potential in this business model, and what brought me to IOR was a recognized need for a regional distributorship which is small, highly flexible and focused on a specific product segment,” Zierden said.
Zierden’s background includes more than 15 years in the industry, including both OEM and aftermarket sales experience.
IOR recently established warehousing in Franklin, Tenn. This move copies strategies from mainstream logistics companies such as FedEx and UPS.
“Tennessee enjoys a geographical advantage when it comes to logistics. You can reach out to 80 percent of the retail population in the U.S. in one day by truck transport,” Zierden said. “Also, a significant proportion of UTVs retailed in the U.S. are in the Southeastern region. Add to this a large number of the highest volume ATV and UTV retailers are in the Southeast, and you have a tri-level rationale for establishing the business here. As I like to tell my dealers, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’”
IOR currently carries products from Fortress, KFI, Vision Wheel and Tire, Extreme Metal Products, Vision X Global Lighting, Vee Rubber and Blingstar.
