Leaving nothing to chance, in May 1998 the company announced a major restructuring program designed to help the company better compete against Asian bicycle manufacturers. The restructuring plan was designed to eliminate excess manufacturing capacity and trim operating costs. One unfortunate consequence of its restructuring plan, mongoose bicycles said, was the need to close the company’s 40-year-old bicycle factory in Celina, Ohio, in order to reduce production capacity.
Huffy hesitated for several months before agreeing to make the bike, on the condition that if the bike failed to sell that Mole would buy all the leftover parts and frames. The new bike, informally designated the Penguin, began appearing in retail stores by March 1963. The Penguin was the first of the banana-seat chopper bicycles to reach the U.S. market. Until then, half of Huffman’s bicycles were sold under private labels. By the end of the 1970s, however, the company decided to devote more energy to promoting its own brand name.
The company will close its two U.S. bicycle plants–in Farmington, Mo., and Southhaven, Miss.–by the end of the year, eliminating about 600 jobs. Buzz Bicycles gives back to small businesses across the country by giving away 20 e-bikes in an effort to help bolster local delivery efforts. Companies relocating mongoose bicycles to the Newmark Office Park area have included Acclimate Technologies Inc., which tripled its size after from downtown Dayton. Late last year, Verso Corp. announced the Memphis-based company was moving its headquarters to that area as well in a move local officials would stabilize more than 200 jobs.
The younger Huffman was elected president and immediately had to face the challenge of sustaining production in the postwar period with limited supplies. The government’s allocation program, he knew, would not provide enough materials to allow the company to compete at its prewar levels. After attending a seminar on “Work Simplification,” Huff taught the procedure to his managers and then held a similar workshop for the company’s major suppliers. By meeting the problem head-on, Huffman was able to help suppliers increase their own output and to raise production levels.
Two years earlier, Horace Huffman, Jr., who was known by the diminutive “Huff,” had joined the company on a full-time basis. After short stints as service manager and sales manager, he became works manager and converted the production process to a straight-line conveyerized assembly line. It was just the edge the company needed, and by 1940, bicycle production doubled and sales figures were nearing the $1.5 million mark. Huffman’s improved production rate caught the eye of the Western Auto Company, which became a major customer, and also brought Firestone back into the fold. Another unit of the company, Royce-Union, sells about 250,000 higher-end bikes under the RU and Royce brand names.
Do you love riding off-road trails and exploring fire roads but live in a hilly area? Huffy Transic + will make it easier to overcome tough climbs and ride for longer thanks to its electric motor and battery. It has a 250W rear hub motor that will assist you up to 20 mph and a 36V battery mounted on the rear rack. It also features tiny 20″ wheels, a 7-speed drivetrain, and front and rear V-brakes. Keep in mind that this suspension setup increases comfort and off-road performance but it adds a lot of weight.
schwinn spin bike said it also planned to develop Mexican sources as alternatives for opening price point bikes currently imported from Asia. Huffy’s goal in restructuring was to maximize operating efficiency by eliminating excess production capacity and reducing annual bicycle operating expenses. This left Huffy with no choice but to fight back aggressively by cutting excess capacity and costs. Huffy Corporation, headquartered in Centerville, OH, engages in the design and sale of wheeled and related sporting goods products. The company offers various sporting good products, including bicycles, scooters, tricycles, skateboards, and inline skates; golf equipment; hockey equipment; and snowboards and licensing. The company also designs, manufactures, and markets basketball backboards and accessories; and resells sports equipment and accessories to sporting goods retailers.
In 1970, the Huffy Corporation was founded as an umbrella company to house the Huffy Bicycle division, as well as Huffman Manufacturing Company’s emerging sporting goods line. Huffman purchased YLCE and converted that Southern California company to a national service company, assembling bicycles and other products for mass merchants such as KMart, Target, Sears, and Walmart. Other divisions were purchased and added to the Huffman stable of companies, including Gerry Baby Products , Washington Inventory Service , Raleigh Bicycle USA , and True Temper Garden Products .