Given the area's climate, the seasonal nature of the original business, and the fact that the founders were avid outdoorsmen, it was perhaps inevitable that the idea of snowmobile production would eventually transform the company.
#Polaris industries portable
The company produced farm equipment, including straw choppers, portable grain elevators, and sprayers, but also depended on welding, grinding, and general repair work in the off-season. Close friend David Johnson bought into the company while he was still serving in the navy, and Edgar's brother Allan Hetteen became a partner in the early 1950s. Metal supply was at a premium at the end of World War II, and Edgar Hetteen was a skilled and inventive metal worker who could help people make do with what they had. Hetteen Hoist & Derrick, the forerunner of Polaris, was established in 1945 not for the manufacture of snowmobiles, however, but as a problem-solving job shop that became known for its fabrication of one-of-a-kind machinery for farmers in the region. This relatively remote area, located closer to Winnipeg, Manitoba, than to Minneapolis, inspired a climate of persistent innovation. Polaris Industries was born in Roseau, a small community within a few miles of the northernmost point in the contiguous 48 states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Polaris operated manufacturing facilities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa it sold its products through approximately 2,000 North American dealers and a network of international distributors that marketed Polaris products in 116 countries around the world.
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A decade later, on December 23, 1994, Polaris completed its transformation from a limited partnership to a corporation. A mid-1981 leveraged buyout that took the form of a limited partnership prevented an otherwise imminent plant shutdown, but it was several years before Polaris was again running smoothly, this time as a revitalized company uniquely situated in a far leaner industry. During the late 1970s and early 1980s-a period of flagging sales and sell-offs that shook the industry as a whole-Polaris's future looked just as grim. In 1964 it nearly went bankrupt with the failure of the Comet, its first front-engine sled. The snowmobile industry leader has had its share of troubles during its history, however. In 1989, for instance, the "MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour" called Polaris America's version of Mercedes-Benz. snowmobile industry, Polaris has since its inception enjoyed a strong reputation for quality and innovation. It introduced a line of motorcycles in 1998.
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is the largest manufacturer of snowmobiles in the world and a major competitor in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and personal watercraft (PWC). make promotional snowmobile trip across Alaska.ġ981: Management buys out the company after a couple of brown winters dry up sales.ġ992: Polaris introduces its personal watercraft. It's been a fun ride, but then, after all these years, that's what we're all about.ġ954: A small Minnesota machine shop sells its first "powered sled."ġ960: Edgar Hetteen et al.
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Today, we have over $1 billion in sales worldwide, with engineering, manufacturing and distribution facilities all across the Midwest, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We even offer financial services to make getting on our machines, and out into the open, easier than ever.
#Polaris industries full
So we also make parts and accessories designed to match our machines better than anything off the shelf, and a full line of garments and collectibles to stylishly capture the spirit of Polaris. In 1998 we introduced Victory motorcycles and Cycle World named them "Best Cruiser" in 1999 Motorcycle Cruiser named them "Cruiser of the Year." Of course, there's more to having a great time than just a great ride. Then in 1997, the Polaris RANGER was born, creating a whole new class of off-road utility vehicles. 1992 saw the arrival of our personal watercraft and their unprecedented combination of power and comfort. All-terrain vehicles followed in 1985, and since their introduction have set the standard for performance and innovation.
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Snowmobiles came first in 1954 and quickly established a track record for advanced engineering. NAIC: 336322 Other Motor Vehicle Electrical and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing 336612 Boat Building 336991 Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Parts Manufacturing 336999 All Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing 315228 Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Other Outerwear Manufacturing 315239 Women's & Girls' Cut and Sew Other Outerwear Manufacturingįor almost 50 years, Polaris has been making machines that not only take you out there, they offer you a way out. Incorporated: 1954 as Hetteen Hoist & Derrick