Amen. Truth brother.
Arctic Cat in Trouble
- Thread starter GoBigParts
- Start date
The only real reason someone would buy is that they see a potential tax or tariff advantage to having a production facility in the US that they may currently not have.
They wanted a mfg plant for SxS. The management in Augusta thought they could sell 10-15k Stampedes a year to compete against the Ranger. They bought 15k machines' worth of parts to reduce initial costs. It had bad profit margin, and Havoc was worse yet. That management bought Weber motors and upper management was not happy to learn they effectively had to design and tool new engines as Weber was rather out-of-date.
Transfer of Stampede up North had the crew from TRF out producing Augusta within a week while working in Augusta.
Bad management led to messing up systems for supply chain, and that never was fixed prior to Covid... then Covid made it worse. The one divisional president had a grand plan for a corner of the factory to be a massive lunch room like Bass Pro had at Tracker Boats (White Water Marine). Gutted lots of offices then was ran out of the business for wildly different financials than he had shown a month or so prior. It became a warehouse.
Inflation didn't do the nail in the coffin. It didn't help, but it has been years in the making this situation sadly. Chris Metz wasn't much better before the sale.
According to textron they had a gross revenue of 13.89 billion dollars and a net profit of 193 million dollars on the last quarter. They are planning a 632 million dollar bell helicopter facility in Irving texas after they liquidate this “segment “ so there you go. That’s not on Biden that’s just good old American capitalism. In fact their margins have increased by 21% percent the last four years. God bless America, except maybe St. Cloud. They’ll be fine they can expect a 3-600 dollar tax break coming soon and a 1500 severance package lol. So be real. No more bs about cat being junk or Biden or anything other than it’s just money for them rguys. They don’t snowmobile man come on. The world need luxury helicopters way more than snowmobiles and they are way more profitable anyway so sour grapes. The bright side is someone in Dallas texas will get a good job working in a factory…bwahaha!
well said. prolly many if not most ac engineers, product specialists, etc have never sledded or care-its just a job.
Companies like Textron typically would have been in discussions with a buyer for Arctic Cat for a number of months already. NDA would prevent either side from saying anything but I bet in the first quarter of 2025 the new buyer is announced. Everything that Textron has done from a business perspective in the last few years has been all about getting AC in a position to sell it. When you have a buyer ready to sign you are going to squeeze every last cent out of it you can to maximize your return, including laying off people and not funding race teams sadly. I hope this is the case because moving on from Textron will be a very good thing for AC long run........Or I am 100% wrong and they are simply going to close the doors and leave me with a trailer full of sleds I cant get parts for or sell in the future
Sad too because the Catalyst is an amazing sled. Loved the 600 all of last year and wish we had snow to ride the 858 this year.
Sad too because the Catalyst is an amazing sled. Loved the 600 all of last year and wish we had snow to ride the 858 this year.
Last edited:
Let's hope not. And if that's the case, from my first '98 Powder Special to my '25 Catalyst 858, and a dozen in between, count me as one of the thousands of faithful who always proudly stood with them...Or I am 100% wrong and they are simply going to close the doors and leave me with a trailer full of sleds I cant get parts for or sell in the future
Last edited:
Think they bought it to bid on a military contract where the 4-wheelers were needed
I could see Polaris acquiring Cat. Probably could get everything for little of nothing with the commitment to honor existing warranties.
BRP has Doo & Lynx. No reason Polaris wouldn't desire a sister brand as well.
Does Cat have anything desirable in the SxS or atv line that would be worth continuing?
Has Yamaha 100% closed the door on that relationship? Is that an option?
BRP has Doo & Lynx. No reason Polaris wouldn't desire a sister brand as well.
Does Cat have anything desirable in the SxS or atv line that would be worth continuing?
Has Yamaha 100% closed the door on that relationship? Is that an option?
V
volcano buster
Well-known member
To continue on your train of thought, Polaris is not opposed to buying companies that bring them additional value.
Timbersled, KLIM, KTM (for a while), Trail Tech, and I imagine more that I don't know about.
What would AC bring to the table that Polaris couldn't design on their own? Are there patents that could bring significant added value to the equation?
Timbersled, KLIM, KTM (for a while), Trail Tech, and I imagine more that I don't know about.
What would AC bring to the table that Polaris couldn't design on their own? Are there patents that could bring significant added value to the equation?
V
volcano buster
Well-known member
I'm not all that familiar with Kawasaki on details in the weeds. I do know they worked with Suzuki on the dual sport 400 bikes and possibly other ventures. Do they still have a working agreement with Suzuki on any projects?
Kawasaki would be cool. Bring back the Invader and intruder! That would be cool!!
I worked for Bobcat when Ingersol Rand did a similar stunt. Record profits from Bobcat when the housing market was hot in the early 2000's lined IR's pockets and they didn't invest in the company. The 2008 crash left Bobcat in rough shape and IR dumped them. Bobcat found a better home in Doosan who actually understood the construction market. Hopefully AC can find a suitor who's passionate about the industry. I love my Indian motorcycle but I've never wanted to buy a Polaris sled...
Seems unlikely that someone will buy Cat, when it has less than 15% of the market share and fewer and fewer dealer. Maybe CF Moto - but more likely Cat is done for good.
Last edited:
A big question for me is if they have their 858 turbo designed and ready to go.
Almost feels like they see they aren't going to compete with boosts and turbo r and decided to throw in the towel.
I wouldn't be surprised to see CF Moto acquire it and sell the catalyst for the next 15 years. As the platform ages, they can lower their prices against the competition and become the discount brand in sledding
Almost feels like they see they aren't going to compete with boosts and turbo r and decided to throw in the towel.
I wouldn't be surprised to see CF Moto acquire it and sell the catalyst for the next 15 years. As the platform ages, they can lower their prices against the competition and become the discount brand in sledding
If Cat was to survive that’s what I think would happen. But I doubt any company is interested in getting into the snowmobile business.
