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By: Robert Janis
Owners Experiences
Make OMF Performance Successful
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OMF Performance also sponsors a few
full-fledged professional racers and gives them
wheels for no charge.
The fact that OMF Performance is involved
with so many racers (it has racers in just about
every category of ATV, UTV, cars, trucks, Jeeps,
and buggy racing) it would not be a surprise to
see at least one OMF Performance racer competing
in a desert event, a short course race, a
motocross, a GNCC cross country contest, a
four-wheel or two-wheel drive event, a mud bog
race, a flat track competition, and more.
Orchard has racers and sells products all
over the world. The list of countries he sells
products to include The Netherlands, Iceland,
Dubai, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France,
Portugal, Norway, Ireland, Poland, and Spain.
Orchard volunteered that none of the FST
racers test product. However,-the full fledged
professional racers he sponsors do.
“We do pretty much all product development in
house,” he said. “We’ve built enough and seen
enough failures from normal causes, abuse,
misuse, or crashes that nothing surprises us.
Also, we have a means of testing in house.
Still, we do use the full-fledged professional
racers in product development. We may send
a racer special new stuff to test in private
sessions. The new stuff is never tested in
actual racing events. If there is an issue, then
it is between me and the racer. No one else is
involved.”
This allows OMF Performance to produce
cutting edge products. “The only way you can
produce cutting edge products is to take them
past their limit,” explained Orchard. “If you
want to get the lightest weight part, you have
to start off not knowing what the lightest
weight is. Then you push the product until it is
too light, and it is destroyed.” Obviously, the
company is pushing the envelope in product
development.
Moreover, OMF Performance will produce one
off custom products for a racer who requests it.
If the one-of-a-kind item works well and
interest builds for its release into the market,
OMF Performance will produce that product for
release.
If you are a racer who is interested in seeking
sponsorship from OMF Performance’s FST program,
Orchard suggests that you mail in a resume. The
address is:
OMF Performance Products
9860 Indiana Avenue, Suite 17
Riverside, California 92503
(951) 354-8272
e-mail:
info@omfperformance.com
“We have designated one employee to go
through the resumes,” said Orchard. “If the
applicants look like they’re someone we want,
then we send them a packet with forms the racer
has to fill out including releases so that we
can use his photo and name in our advertising.”
He said that the company accepts 90 percent of
applicants.
However, racers who are part of the OMF
Performance professional racing team are only
people known by Orchard.
Marketing and Sales
Through the years Orchard has learned that
you can’t market and sell the type of products
he offers in the traditional way. “The products
we offer are niche oriented,” he said. “They are
a little bit difficult to distribute the
conventional way. With this stuff, you have to
work closely with the end user because every
part can be custom built to the customer’s
specifications.”
So, he sells a lot of items directly to the
end user. “The customer feels more comfortable
going directly to us so that we can provide them
with the support they need,” added Orchard.
The company has a website, but it does not
sell product on it. Instead, OMF sends out
printed catalogs and also allows visitors to its
website to download the publication. Moreover,
it uses printed magazine advertising to promote
its goods. People then order what they want by
mail, e-mail, or phone.
Normal delivery for an order is about a week
to 10 days. “We don’t keep finished products in
stock. We build products to order based on
pieces that we have in stock,” he said.
Orchard noted that the busiest time for OMF
Performance was late 2005, 2006, and early 2007.
Due to the current recession the industry is
seeing harder times.
“There are a lot of doom and gloom guys out
there, but we’ve been through this rodeo before.
I have been in business for 28 years and, at the
end of the day, the gross or net profit is not
my main priority. My main priorities are my
family, which includes the close knit group of
employees at OMF; as well as my reputation and
integrity in the industry,” concluded Orchard.
For more information about OMF Performance
Products, visit its website at:
http://www.omfperformance.com.
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