Cat to begin manufacturing snowmobile engines

mmsports · Jun 10, 2010

This is funny Poo is moving to Mexico and cat is bringing more jobs Home.

NEWS RELEASE

Arctic Cat Announces Plan to Begin Manufacturing
Snowmobile Engines in Minnesota
Arctic Cat to begin manufacturing snowmobile engines in its Sl Cloud facility after 2014 model year
MINNEAPOLIS, June 10, 2010 - Arctie Cat. (NASDAQ: ACAT) today announced that ~ has entered into
an agreement to transition its snowmobile engine manufacturing from Suzuki Motor Corporation. Arctic Cat
will begin manufacturing some of its own snowmobile engines in St. Cloud, Minn" after the 2014 model
year. Currently, Suzuki supplies all engines for Arctic Cat's snowmobiles. Suzuki will continue to supply the
company with engine parts to service existing engines after the 2014 model year.
Commented Arctic Cat's chairman and chief executive officer Christopher A. Twomey: KSuzuki has
been an outstanding engine supply partner for more than 25 years and remains a significant shareholder in
Arctic Cat. However, we are changing our engine strategy in order to gain more control over our products,
and enhance our ability to meet regulatory and performance requirements. This also will enable us to better
utilize our current engine manufacturing capacity, resulting in potentially better costs."
Twomey added: "Our St. Cloud engine facility has been a great addition for the company since we
began manufacturing our ATV engines there in 2007."
The 56,00o-square- foot plant is located on 15 acres and currently employees 41 people. At this
time, the company plans to use existing plant capacity and personnel during the transition. Arctic Cat
expects snowmobile engine production to begin in 8t. Cloud in fiscal 2015.

MOTOPSYCHO909 · Jun 10, 2010

sounds like a good deal to me. Have they had any issues with the 4 wheeler motors they were making there?

smoothdawg · Jun 10, 2010

I am worried about reliability issues with a new engine manufacturer. I hope I am wrong as I have been a long time AC fan. Time will tell. I sure won't be buying the first year engine!

christopher · Jun 10, 2010

Sounds like we might have our self a DOMESTIC SNOWMOBILE for a change?

mmsports · Jun 10, 2010

No problems

The factory is state of the art with lots of manufactures modeling after it.

MOTOPSYCHO909 said:
sounds like a good deal to me. Have they had any issues with the 4 wheeler motors they were making there?

Reg2view · Jun 10, 2010

Polaris is moving sled motor production to Roseau. ATV's are in the Mexico plan. Learn to actually read the words.

Cat has been needing to do this for years, they've been bit in the past with the longest motor development leadtime in the biz, have more design expertise in house than ever, been hosed by customs and HSA in the past, and EPA in the future getting motors certified, and are tired of Suzuki sending over young engineers who only speak Japanese. Will be a welcome move if they execute.

allied1 · Jun 10, 2010

Now all they need to do is quit using $1.09 Chinese bearings on the diamond drives.

snowmobiler · Jun 10, 2010

dont matter to me.i cant give my 12k cat away in the swapmeet

backcountryislife · Jun 10, 2010

looks like 2014 will be my last year on a cat!!

AaronBND · Jun 10, 2010

backcountryislife said:
looks like 2014 will be my last year on a cat!!

I could not agree more! Exact reason I just went back to a rice-burner from a Harley. The Japs have the sh*t down on engines. I love to support domestic, but throw that import engine in it and it will last twice as long and be more reliable!

Aaron

Woody67 · Jun 10, 2010

as Kevin said Arctic Cat's engine facility is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. They build 5 different motors for the ATV/UTVs right now including the 950 V-Twin which absolutely rips. The motors have been very dependable since the first introduction in the 2005 model year.

Here is a link to a good article on the facility. The snowmobile engine transition will be a well planned and executed move imo.

http://www.atvriders.com/articles/arctic-cat-2009-atv-utv-st-cloud-mn-engine-facility.html

samiams2 · Jun 11, 2010

thats my first reaction

backcountryislife said:
looks like 2014 will be my last year on a cat!!

same reason i buy Toyota/Nissan/Honda not Ford etc etc.

I hope I'm wrong. Seems like something we might look back on as a turning point, could be good(same reliable product, possibly better but probably not, with a more affordable price) could be bad(ski-doo type motor reliability). At least it would make my late model cat worth more

Lets pray for the best!

samiam

mmsports · Jun 11, 2010

Read ??

Reg2view said:
Polaris is moving sled motor production to Roseau. ATV's are in the Mexico plan. Learn to actually read the words.

Yep I did not say what they was moving to Mexico just that they were moving to Mexico.It could have been Corporate offices the point was bringing more jobs to USA.

JoeySlushr · Jun 11, 2010

its good to see cat has some real good followers....along with some real good americans that buy out of country to help support our own economy.wtf? i dont disagree that the japs build some awesome products but there is a lot of high quality stuff built here and its good to see cat trying to bring more products in house.

digger18 · Jun 11, 2010

JoeySlushr said:
its good to see cat has some real good followers....along with some real good americans that buy out of country to help support our own economy.wtf? i dont disagree that the japs build some awesome products but there is a lot of high quality stuff built here and its good to see cat trying to bring more products in house.

Amen

backcountryislife · Jun 11, 2010

MBMS said:
as Kevin said Arctic Cat's engine facility is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. They build 5 different motors for the ATV/UTVs right now including the 950 V-Twin which absolutely rips. The motors have been very dependable since the first introduction in the 2005 model year.l[/url]

...and how many of those are two strokes...?

Apples to oranges.

Considering the lifespan of a 4 stroke is, let's say 100k miles, and the life span of a 2 stroke is about 1/20th of that (both are just examples), even a minute difference in reliability rears it's head much more rapidly in the 2 stroke.

I guess another question that begs asking, will we still have 2 strokes in 2015?? Maybe this is a moot point?

Another factor, nobody cares what those tanks they call quads weigh, so they're not working on engine weight, I wonder how they will compare. The AC quads in particular are outrageously heavy & large compared to most others on the market that I've seen (not a quad guy, and if I was it wouldn't be an AC).

Personally, I love the fact that the chassis is built in America, but as far as motors go, I'd rather have reliable than pay some gringo to build me an overpriced motor. I think Harley is the perfect example.

Funoutfitters.com · Jun 11, 2010

I think this will be a huge deal for Arctic Cat. In my opinion they have some of the best engine engineers in the industry. There engine manufacturing plant in St. Cloud MN is one of the most state of the art facilities in North America. I believe with the depth of knowledge there engineers posses they will produce engines with the torque and power we are all used to.

Jeff @ Funoutfitters.com

https://www.funoutfitters.com/Articles.asp?ID=154

AaronBND · Jun 11, 2010

JoeySlushr said:
I dont disagree that the japs build some awesome products but there is a lot of high quality stuff built here and its good to see cat trying to bring more products in house.

Don't get me wrong, I'm about as patriotic as a person can be to America, but show me one American engine manufacturer that can build an engine to run around a race track all day long for days at 10-12,000 rpm's like all the superbikes do. Let's face it, it is what it is. And if there was one, the engine alone would cost $15,000 by itself because the union would be paying the guy $40/hr to build it, which in the end result we pay for. Let's not turn this into a "political patriotism" thread. It's reality!

Aaron

backcountryislife · Jun 11, 2010

Funoutfitters.com said:
I believe with the depth of knowledge there engineers posses they will produce engines with the torque and power we are all used to.[/url]

I don't think it's the power that we're worried about, it's the reliability.

You guys want to think that a brand new 2 stroke engine mfg will be equal to a company like Suzuki?? Seriously, think about that for a second.

Like Aaron said, there isn't a SINGLE american bike or motor that compares. If there was, I would feel a bit more reassured. I buy cat because they're the most reliable sled on the market that doesn't come with a 100 lb weight penalty. If that goes away, I might as well buy a Poo, they handle better anyhow.
Speaking of poo, they've been building basically the same 800 for many years now & still can't figure it out, you think AC has some magic solution that they don't?

Then look at the Doo motor made in Canuckistan, there's another example of not being able to figure it out. Make no mistake, the SUZUKI motor is the reason that most of us buy an AC.

Suzuki, on the other hand, built our FIFO motors & got them right the first time (with all three models), pretty darn impressive if you ask me.

If it works... let's screw it up... it's the snowmobile industry way.

btw, I'd be VERY happy if I'm proven wrong, I'd LOVE to buy an american sled.

killerrf · Jun 11, 2010

backcountryislife said:
I don't think it's the power that we're worried about, it's the reliability.

You guys want to think that a brand new 2 stroke engine mfg will be equal to a company like Suzuki?? Seriously, think about that for a second.

Like Aaron said, there isn't a SINGLE american bike or motor that compares. If there was, I would feel a bit more reassured. I buy cat because they're the most reliable sled on the market that doesn't come with a 100 lb weight penalty. If that goes away, I might as well buy a Poo, they handle better anyhow.
Speaking of poo, they've been building basically the same 800 for many years now & still can't figure it out, you think AC has some magic solution that they don't?

Then look at the Doo motor made in Canuckistan, there's another example of not being able to figure it out. Make no mistake, the SUZUKI motor is the reason that most of us buy an AC.

Suzuki, on the other hand, built our FIFO motors & got them right the first time (with all three models), pretty darn impressive if you ask me.

If it works... let's screw it up... it's the snowmobile industry way.

btw, I'd be VERY happy if I'm proven wrong, I'd LOVE to buy an american sled.

thats quebecistan!!! quebec can suck it!

Cat to begin manufacturing snowmobile engines

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