Although they say all good things must come to an end, it is a bit bittersweet for the DragonFire team to bid farewell to General Manager Dave Asher. A part-time position that was only going to take a couple of weeks brought the industry veteran out of retirement back in 2012 and quickly evolved into full-time leadership of the aftermarket UTV brand and transformed the way DragonFire does business.
Dave started at DragonFire to empty out a 5,000-square-foot storage facility packed full of obsolete inventory. It was soon realized that DragonFire needed more from Dave than just liquidating overstock. He stepped up to take over daily operations.
Dave transformed DragonFire from a small race shop to where we are today with 40+ employees and a 15,000+ square foot facility. He grew not only the business but the people. Dave stripped the company to its bare essentials and then rebuilt it on a solid foundation. What was a dealer/retail direct job shop became recognized as a leader in the UTV industry expanding not only the dealer base, but partnering with distribution powerhouse Tucker Rocky.
“I have really enjoyed developing a team of wonderful people,” Asher says. “We had 11 employees when I took over and today we have 40 great employees designing and building the best aftermarket products available for the UTV marketplace. I owe a lot of people my ‘thank you’ for all your support and contribution to our success… And now it is time, as I approach my 68th birthday, to say ‘so-long friends’ and to join my wife Pamela and our extended families in enjoying our time together.”
His wife quickly countered with “Looking forward to the new chapter in our lives, but let’s be honest, I give ‘retirement’ 3 months, 4 max! He’s just ‘that’ kind of guy.”
