I received the following from one of the classiest IR firms I've yet to come in contact with (hint: Andrew just posted here). I've dealt mostly with Darcy Taylor, his email is darcy@vericom.ca - email him and Veritas will put you on their TMOT "hot list"(gg)
Excerpts from CNNfn Segment "ENTREPRENEURS ONLY", February 17, 1999.
DONALD VAN DE MARK, CNNfn ANCHOR, ENTREPRENEURS ONLY: Patrick Keery
spent 18 tortured months as a management consultant before he realized
he could be practicing what he preached. So Keery turned his own
personal passion, turned to that, motorcycles, and turned it into a
business expected to bring in more than $55 million in sales this year.
But first Patrick had to convince dear old dad. Lauren Thierry takes
a look at the son and father team steering Titan Motorcycles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN THIERRY, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT, ENTREPRENEURS ONLY (voice-over):
What a ride it's been for Patrick Keery. At 29 his lifelong dream is
taking off. Keery builds high-performance motorcycles. Each one
custom-designed, and handcrafted from the ground up.
PATRICK KEERY, PRESIDENT, TITAN MOTORCYCLE: My father gave me the sage
advice of; do something that you love, so that way if you don't make
any money doing it, you're still successful 90 percent of the time. So
I said motorcycles, which he about fell out of his chair. So the one
time I followed his advice, then he wished he hadn't given it.
THIERRY: Today, father and son have joined forces. Patrick Keery is
president of Phoenix based Titan Motorcycles. His father Frank is CEO.
Together they've built a company, which in five short years, has
become a leader in the high-end segment of the motorcycle industry.
PATRICK KEERY: It's a very good combination in that he brings the gray
hair, and I bring the young attitude, so that marrying of the two makes
the financial community comfortable, it makes the bike community
comfortable, and it makes the whole thing mesh together.
THIERRY: But things didn't always mesh so well.
FRANK KEERY, CEO, TITAN MOTORCYCLE: He and I had an interesting
adolescent period and he spent most of his time on motorcycles and I
spent most of my time trying to get him off of motorcycles. So it
would seem kind of ironic that we ended up working together.
THIERRY: Frank Keery's long list of business credentials includes
Investment Banker, and consultant with a specialty in manufacturing
turn-arounds. Independently wealthy, he was between projects when his
son approached him.
FRANK KEERY: The only thing was I was semi-retired at the time. I had
had a career in manufacturing, and various phases of manufacturing, and
he asked me if I wouldn't help him. Was there some way that I could
bring my expertise, my business acumen, some money to his dream.
PATRICK KEERY: He was at the point where mom wouldn't go to lunch with
him anymore. She didn't want to hang out and do matinees, and was
contemplating going to get a job because he was driving her crazy.
FRANK KEERY: And I thought this is a great opportunity to work with my
son.
THIERRY: But long before Frank Keery would put a dime into the
business, Patrick had to prove there was a business. He started out
customizing Harley-Davidson (Company: Harley-Davidson Incorporated;
Ticker: HDI; URL: harley-davidson.com motorcycles in
the back of a garage.
PATRICK KEERY: I was getting paid a lot of money by people who would
want a bike torn totally apart, frame repainted, all new parts added
on, and a whole bunch of stuff was thrown away. Instead of having all
that energy that was wasted, the money that was wasted by taking it
apart, and throwing away parts, we decided that we would start with a
clean piece of paper, and design a bike that integrated all the things
that we saw the customers as wanting.
THEIRRY: Those customers who would spend from $10 to $30 thousand to
customize a Harley-Davidson became Titan's target market. CHARLES
BRADY, ANALYST, CREDIT LYONNAIS: The average Harley buyer adds 50
percent more in value to their bike after their purchase. Now what
Titan is doing is saving them all that effort, and saying how would you
like that customized before you pick it up, rather than after you pick
it up?
THIERRY: The Keery's put together a unique team of mechanics, and
installed to sell manufacturing system. First the V-twin engine is
hand built. The customer chooses custom parts, and paint designs.
Then one person builds the entire motorcycle. Titan's tag line is;
one-man, one-bike.
PATRICK KEERY: One man will put the whole motorcycle together, and
then he'll ride the bike for about 30 miles. So he gets instant
feedback as to; I forgot to tighten this, or that's too loose, or the
fallow-weight on the front end isn't right. So he gets instant
feedback as to things as to things that the next time he builds a
bike, he needs to do differently. So the builders get progressively
better.
ED WALSH, BUILDER, TITAN MOTORCYCLE: What I get out of here is
personal pride, because they let you do the right job. They don't
shortcut, they use all quality parts, and component.
WADE ANDERSON, BUILDER, TITAN MOTORCYCLE: This has been my life dream,
is to build custom motorcycles, and they give you a chance and train
you how they want them done.
TERRY: Titan builds 32 bikes a week. Retailing at $33 thousand with
some as high as $50,000, they are about the most expensive motorcycle
you can buy. About 50 percent more than a Harley-Davidson. Revenues
have doubled every year. The company recently became profitable, and
its stock was upgraded to Nasdaq small-cap. But like any luxury
business the company could suffer in an economic down turn.
BRADY: I think there is a growing market, but I don't think it would
be fair to say it is an extremely stable market. As you see with
motorcycles in general, not just the high-end of the motorcycle
business, as you see with cars and trucks, with the ebbs and flows of
the economy, so you see the ebbs and flows of demand for these kind of
products.
TERRY: Despite global economic instability, international demand has
been strong. Titan has 20 overseas dealerships. They've partnered with
Playboy Enterprises (Company: Playboy Enterprises Inc.; Ticker: PLA;
URL: playboy.com , and Reebok (Company: Reebok
International Ltd ; Ticker: RBK ; URL: reebok.com on
cross-merchandising. This year they'll introduce and entry level model
for $20,000, which will compete directly with Harley, and broaden their
market. For Patrick Kerry the payoff is in the ride.
PATRICK KEERY: There is a term in Japan that my agent sales manager
uses, and its that the ride is tasty. And that is all the elements of
the ride, the vibration, the noise that comes out of the tailpipe, the
feeling of the acceleration, the wind in your hair, the freedom, the
departing from the daily doldrums and into the freedom of it. I think
that what the whole motorcycle experience is all about.
TERRY: For ENTREPRENEURS ONLY, I'm Lauren Thierry, CNN financial news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN DE MARK: Hell's Angels make good. As for personal if not public
endorsements, John Elway and Shaquille O'Neill both own a Titan. As
Lauren mentioned Titan is a publicly traded company based in Phoenix.
Today its stock gained nearly five percent, or 25 cents a share to
close at $4.50 a share. |
