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Minnesota Businesses -- Polaris Industries, Inc.

By
Industry Observer

Minnesota winters have been responsible for some of our economic development.  A previous post featured Arctic Cat, a half-century old company that makes snowmobiles and other off road vehicles, including ATV's.  A second competing company, Polaris Industries, is larger in size than Arctic Cat, and it's a bit more diverse in its product line.

Polaris Industries, like Arctic Cat, makes snowmobiles, ATV's and other off road vehicles, and it also makes high-end motorcycles.  Founded in the 50's and headquartered in Medina, Minnesota, the company manufactures and distributes motorcycles under the Victory and Indian brands.  Polaris has a market cap about ten times that of Arctic Cat, and its footprint is much broader, as could be expected.  The company reports that its labor force is numbered at 4,300, and are employed in Minnesota.

Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol PII, Polaris Industries is a good Minnesota citizen, and also a good neighbor, sharing some of its manufacturing locations with neighboring states, Wisconsin and Iowa.  The history of profitability and success of Polaris is one more reason to look to Minnesota if you want a great place to run a business.

Posted by

 Mike Carlier  Lakeville, MN

 

612-916-3033

 

Comments (2)

William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

These companies have worked hard to turn around the poor sales of the short snowfall years.

Jun 14, 2012 11:26 AM
Mike Carlier
Lakeville, MN
More opinions than you want to hear about.

Both companies have good ATV revenue streams.  That segment is fed by both recreational and farm/commercial use.  Polaris may have some future growth in their motorcycle segment.  I'm not a biker, but the Victory and Indian lines look like they could easily compete for some of Harley Davidson's market share. 

Jun 14, 2012 11:37 PM