Daily Motorcycle News • Polaris celebrates 60 years of Off Road Vehicle Dominance

@Polaris celebrates 60 years of #OffRoad #Vehicle DominanceIn 1954 a rural farm equipment shop in the small town of Roseau in Minnesota USA discovered that it had the creativity and passion to produce "snow machines." 60 years later Polaris Industries has become the leader in the off-road vehicle industry by continually improving its off-road product offering.In staying true to its 60-year heritage Polaris now a $3.8 billion dollar a year company is celebrating this anniversary milestone today in Minnesota in the best way they know how, with the release of a host of new Model Year 2015 models and updates to the existing range of class leading off-road vehicles. A massive 7000 people comprising Polaris dealers, distributors and subsidiaries from around the globe have all travelled to the United States to celebrate 60 years of Polaris at the company's birthplace in Minnesota this week.In anticipation for the Model Year 2015 product launch and testimony to the growth of the brand, the New York Stock Exchange listed company has increased its stock price by a record 965 percent since 2009 and last week the Polaris stock price rose by a further 9.3 percent to USD $145.52. These figures have seen the brand take a huge lead as the number one off-road vehicle brand both worldwide and in North America (the world's largest market).Polaris Off-Road Division's Vice President. "From first-time users, to recreationalists, to those who rely on their vehicles for work, Polaris offers the most-complete, off-road vehicle lines on the market."Polaris' heritage begins in 1954 where employees of a small shop called Hetteen Hoist & Derrick in Roseau owned by Edgar Hetteen decided to create a vehicle that could travel through snow. The employees worked overtime to finish their concept in 1954 but after completing it Hetteen was skeptical in its value and sold the machine to cover the shops payroll.On July 21st 1954 Hetteen Hoist & Derrick was renamed Polaris Industries Inc. and not being easily deterred the employees David Johnson, Paul Knochenmus and Orlen Johnson continued to explore the concept and built a second snow machine called the "Polaris Sno Traveler." The first production model rolled off the assembly line in Minnesota in 1956.After decades of perfecting the Snow Mobile, Polaris set about to expand their product offerings. In 1984 Polaris produced its first ATV which would be the first ATV made in the United States being the Polaris Trailboss. The Trailboss went to market in 1985 and for the first time Polaris dealers had product to sell year round for warm and cold weather use.In the 90's Polaris introduced three new product lines including RANGER SXS (side-by-side) vehicles, Victory Motorcycles and Polaris Watercraft. 60 years later Polaris boasts product lines including Off Road Vehicles comprising RANGER, RZR and ATV, On Road Vehicles including Victory and Indian Motorcycles and the all-new Polaris Slingshot, Polaris Defense products for military applications and Electric Vehicles with the GEM and Goupil brands.Roseau is proudly still home to Polaris facilities that handle Snowmobile, ATV, RANGER & RZR production, plastics manufacturing, aspects of engineering and product testing. Minnesota has been the birthplace of many ATV and SXS (side-by-side) firsts in the United States including:FIRST ATV Made in the USA FIRST Automatic Transmission (PVT) FIRST Long Travel Suspension FIRST On-demand true All-wheel Drive FIRST All-wheel disc brakes FIRST Independent rear Suspension (IRS) FIRST Electronic throttle control FIRST Sport model with 4-wheel drive FIRST Dual-sensing engine braking system (EBS) FIRST Youth Models with standard safety features FIRST Lifetime limited belt warranty FIRST Domestically built ATV engine (700 twin) FIRST Stainless steel brake lines FIRST Front and back storage box/rack FIRST Rear locking differential FIRST Electronic fuel injected 4X4 FIRST 800,700, 500 EFI Models FIRST Lock & Ride Accessories FIRST VersaTrac Turf Model FIRST 50" SXS FIRST Four seat sport SXS FIRST Six seat SXSThe Model Year 2015 line up being released today will only further increase Polaris' stronghold on the Australian and New Zealand markets and we look forward to bringing you specific information on the models which will be available to our local markets over the coming weeks along with announcing some exciting safety upgrades to our RANGER models.*Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual sales exceeding $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER ® side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles.Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) and Goupil Industrie SA, and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships.Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII", and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.Statistics: Posted by totalmotorcycle - Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:35 pm