Just heard that Yakima has been sold to a Taiwan company. I guess Thule has been pretty hard on them these last few years.
Is this advice, a suggestion, or what?
General help
I appreciate the news;-)
googled it
Looks like they’re planning to grow their retail market to overseas with a company called Kemflo. There is a different market for vehicles outside the US.
Partner acquires Beaverton rack maker, Yakima
By Laura Gunderson, The Oregonian
December 28, 2009, 7:35PM
A Taiwanese manufacturer has agreed to buy Yakima Products, a locally based maker of cargo racks.
Yakima will operate as an independent subsidiary of Kemflo International Co. Ltd. and keep its Beaverton headquarters, where it employs about 55 people, said Jerry Heinlen, Yakima’s chief executive.
Heinlen would not disclose terms of the deal between the privately held companies.
Kemflo, a supply chain partner of Yakima’s since 2000, also manufactures international consumer goods, including a line of water filters sold in Whirlpool products. The company has a work force of 1,900 and is based in Pingtung.
“This means that we will have access to expanded manufacturing, engineering and design capabilities that will still be managed and led from here,” Heinlen said. “We will just pick up extra resources to get those designs moving at a faster pace.”
Yakima also will look to expand more quickly globally, a move it began two years ago. The company sells its bike, boat, ski and other cargo racks and trailers in North America, with recent inroads into Asia and a few European countries.
Part of that growth means designing racks that better fit smaller cars, namely Asia’s famously mini cars as well as the growing domestic fleet of smaller vehicles. The smaller the car, Heinlen pointed out, the more need for additional storage.
Yakima, which was bought eight years ago by private equity firm Arcapita, moved to Oregon in 2005. With Kemflo’s purchase, Heinlen said, Arcapita has exited its investment.
Yakima also has about 200 workers at a factory in Mexico and a national sales staff of a half-dozen.
Laura Gunderson
have you ever been to Yakima?
I’d rather own a Beaverton.
And what were the people in marketing thinking when they came up with the Tacoma?!