Now 50 years old, Polaris, a maker of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles, by its own characterization confronts a "challenging environment." Both sales and net income from continuing operations were down in the first quarter of this year, compared with the first three months of 2005. There's "more work ahead of us as we strive to bring ATV inventories in line with expectations," commented CEO Tom Tiller in mid-April. And Polaris' snowmobiles aren't exactly facing the kind of conditions they'd like: declining market demand, poor snowfall this past winter, higher warranty costs and less dealer confidence. "Collectively, these issues have resulted in slower retail sales, increased inventories and weaker new order demand for snowmobiles," noted Tiller. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence in the company's ability to navigate these challenges and said Polaris was "well positioned" to meet its strategic goals of $3 billion in sales and a 9% net margin by 2009.
IW 50 Best Manufacturing Company
