Polaris Repurposing Iowa Facility; Redistributing Select California Operations

Polaris Industries Inc. has announced it is making two changes to its manufacturing network to consolidate production of like products and better leverage plant capacity. Changes include:

Discontinuing manufacturing at its plant in Milford, Iowa, and transferring Milford production to existing Polaris facilities in Huntsville, Ala.; Roseau, Minn.; and Anaheim, Calif. The Milford location will be repurposed as a storage/warehouse facility to support the nearby Spirit Lake, Iowa, Polaris plant, which will continue to manufacture Indian Motorcycle products.
Transferring metal fabrication operations for its Pro Armor aftermarket products from its facility in Riverside, Calif., to its recently acquired Transamerican Auto Parts facility in Chula Vista, Calif. Pro Armor will maintain its presence in Riverside – including its business operations, R&D, and vehicle up-fit services – but will relocate to a new building.

As a result of these two changes, approximately 390 jobs will be impacted – the majority of which will be relocated within the Polaris manufacturing network throughout 2017. Polaris is offering the opportunity for Milford and Riverside employees to relocate within its network, as well as providing resources including separation pay, assistance with health insurance coverage, and outplacement services.

“Since we opened the Milford facility in 2013, the team has performed admirably. They played a critical role in making the first full year of Slingshot a success and have been instrumental in driving manufacturing improvements across our off-road vehicle products, and we sincerely appreciate their contributions to Polaris,” said Ken Pucel, Executive Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Lean. “We evaluated a number of options to streamline our plant infrastructure. While the decision was difficult because of the impact to jobs, discontinuing manufacturing at Milford – one of our smaller manufacturing facilities – allows us to consolidate the production of similar products and improve utilization of our available capacity across the rest of our U.S. manufacturing network.”

Polaris’ Spirit Lake facility, just a few miles away from Milford, remains a critically important part of Polaris’ manufacturing footprint and will continue to serve as the manufacturing center of excellence for Indian Motorcycle. Polaris is making investments to enhance the Spirit Lake facility, including a new experience center, upgraded employee facilities and additional office space.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently named Marilyn Stemp and Steve Piehl to its board of directors.

Stemp is a pioneering figure in the motorcycle industry, founding IronWorks Magazine with her late husband, Dennis, and becoming the first female editor of a nationally circulated, mainstream motorcycle magazine. She also revived their trade magazine, Iron Trader News; edits the monthly Kiwi Indian News; contributes to several powersports media outlets; and is the founding editor of Sturgis Rider Daily. Stemp is a noted editor and writer of several motorcycle-focused books. Her consistent support for charitable efforts in the industry include the annual Biker Belles Celebration, Las Vegas BikeFest and as campaign chair for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum’s development plan in 2014. She co-founded the Flying Piston charity events taking place in Daytona and Sturgis each year and is a National Ambassador for All Kids Bike. Stemp was inducted into both the Las Vegas Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Museum's Hall of Fame in 2018, and in 2022 she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Powersports by DealerNews.