One of the keys to success in any business is navigating the delicate balance between having tunnel vision and missing out on other opportunities, or going in too many directions and losing focus on your core product. The golf car industry is no different, and ICON Electric Vehicles CEO Roy Williams finds himself straddling that line every day.
Technological advances in the industry over the past few decades have opened up many new product lines, and many new business opportunities. Choosing which avenues to travel down is risky, and there is no shortage of examples of companies that made unwise choices.
One sector that is a relatively safe bet is utility and maintenance vehicles, and ICON is jumping head first into this arena. With a product line including both cargo and dump vehicles, available in both lifted and non-lifted versions, its an addition that has Roy Williams excited. “The utility and maintenance vehicle sector is absolutely loaded with possibilities. Everything from golf course maintenance to resorts, to apartment / condo complexes, to government procurement, etc., can reap large windfalls to our dealers, and we are pleased to be able to offer these additional products to them” said Williams.
On top of the addition of the utility/maintenance vehicle product line, Williams is also putting a different spin on how new prospective dealers are introduced to ICON. The previous method was that Williams, or one of ICONs outside sales reps would bring vehicles to prospective dealers to show the product to them in real life, rather than simply sending out brochures or other sales materials. And although that system worked incredibly well for ICON, it still left many questions unanswered for prospective dealers. Questions about the assembly process, staff qualifications, quality control, and parts availability cannot be adequately addressed in the field, and actually warrant a visit to the ICON main assembly facility in Tampa, FL, to address those concerns. So Williams came up with the idea to send out invitations to prospective dealers, with complimentary airfare and lodging, for them to fly to Tampa to inspect the ICON facility in person. “Most of these dealers have been pitched by one company after the next for years and years, and they’ve heard it all before. The best way that I can show a prospective dealer how we operate is to just have them come and see our facility in real life, see our parts inventory with their own eyes, see how we build cars, see our quality control process, etc, etc. That is the easiest and best way to answer all those types of questions” added Williams. And with the expected opening of a new ICON assembly facility in Phoenix, AZ on April 10th, those prospective dealers will be able to choose which facility they wish to inspect.
Williams is also very proud of the new Phoenix expansion. “We have worked very hard over the years building the ICON brand, and developing it into a brand that our dealers can be proud to represent. And it’s very rewarding to know that all the hard work is paying off, with ever increasing demand not only from our existing markets, but from new markets as well. Our new Phoenix facility will have the ability to service dealers not only in the Phoenix area, but also from Tucson to the South, Albuquerque/El Paso to the East, Las Vegas/Henderson to the North, Los Angeles/San
Diego to the West, and everything in between. We also have additional expansion plans that include Dallas, Norfolk, Kansas City, Hartford, and a few other cities, but we are handling these expansions carefully and methodically, and will implement them as those needs arise. We certainly do not want to spread our resources too thin” said Williams.
Based on the trajectory of ICON over the past few years, it’s a safe bet that those additional facilities will be needed sooner, rather than later. For more information, call 813-335-0015 or visit www.IconEV.com.
