polaris ends watercraft division
Amsnow
As of September 2, 2004 Polaris no longer will be supporting a Marine Products division.
Polaris President Tom Tiller broke the news saying, "This was an extremely difficult decision for the board of directors of Polaris because our people are very proud and we have a proven record of succeeding in all we do." All other Polaris divisions will remain unaffected.
Reasons given for the unloading of the marine division include a largely declining PWC market, the small percentage of overall Polaris business held by the watercraft division, lack of commonality of this division with other product lines, escalating production costs, and the fact that this division has never been profitable for Polaris.
Polaris hopes to use the freed-up resources from this division to strengthen Polaris' four other product segments which include snowmobiles, ATV's, utility vehicles, and Victory Motorcycles.
"This decision will ultimately strengthen Polaris' position in the powersports industry as we focus our research and development dollars and other resources on those product lines with greater growth potential."
Although the marine division currently employs 35 full-time employees and 70 seasonal workers, Polaris expects fewer than 20 people to leave the company as a result of the marine products being cut from the Polaris product line-up.
Polaris says it will make this happen by converting the formerly dual production line, which produced both PWC's and ATV's, to focus solely on ATV's.