With purchase, Timbersled is geared to grow

Power sports company Polaris has purchased Timbersled, a Sandpoint company that sells kits that turn dirt bikes into snow bikes.

Before the deal was final April 22, Timbersled was building a new manufacturing plant and office  in Sandpoint. The acquisition means its construction project will be larger, said sales and marketing director Brett Blaser.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Blaser said the company will retain much of its autonomy, with research, innovation, manufacturing and quality control continuing in Sandpoint. Those functions will be overseen by Polaris’ general manager of snowmobiles.

“Essentially, we are Timbersled, now backed by a $4.3 billion company,” Blaser said. He said the deal removes the “handcuffs of small business,” such as a lack of legal and other support staff, that can hinder growth. Blaser said Timbersled wasn’t looking for a buyer before the Polaris acquisition.

Timbersled makes aftermarket kits that help people turn dirt bikes into snow bikes. In winter months, riders replace the wheels on their bike with Timbersled’s skis, then swap them back when the snow melts.  The company started in 2002, with founder Allen Mangum selling aftermarket accessories for snowmobiles. Over time, the company developed snow bike kits, and now has three distinct snow bike products, as well as “fit kits” to attach them most dirt bikes made after 1991.

Blaser said snow bikes use less gasoline than snowmobiles, require less maintenance and can go more places than larger snowmobiles.

“This is something that will not be going away. This is a completely new power sport. What we’re witnessing is like when the Jet Ski first came out or the first snowboard,” Blaser said.

Timbersled now works out of three offices in Ponderay, near Sandpoint. The company  will be consolidated into the new building. That project was first planned at 22,000 square feet, but Polaris leaders are rethinking the size of the facility.

“They’re taking what we said we needed and modifying it into something that’s bigger, better, more well-equipped. It will allow us to grow at a faster rate and hire at a faster rate,” Blaser said.

The building is on a 6-acre site. Blaser said the new building was designed with future expansion in mind. A separate storage building has been built and the pad of the main building has been prepared. The general contractor on the project has been Sandpoint Builders with Airmail Drafting designing the building, though Blaser said those roles may change with Polaris’s plans for the project.

In addition to bringing the company under one roof, the new building will be better suited to the company. Blaser said the company’s electricity is maxed out, and that a breaker shuts off if both the microwave and refrigerator are running. The new space will also have more room for research and development.

Timbersled products are sold through distributors to power sports stores. The company has two dealers in the Treasure Valley, Carl’s Cycles in Boise and Pro Moto Billet in Nampa, as well as dealers across the U.S., Europe, Russia and Japan. Blaser said the company’s biggest seller is in Japan.

Timbersleds has gotten help from state and federal resources in expanding outside the U.S., including participating in export training from the Idaho Department of Commerce. He’s also received assistance and funding to attend trade shows from Amy Benson with the U.S. Commercial Service and Jennifer Verdon, Commerce’s manager of international business.

Timbersled now has more than 40 employees, up from 15 in 2013. Blaser said the company plans to continue growing, but doesn’t have any hiring estimates because dust hasn’t settled on the Polaris deal.