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Harley-Davidson: Passion behind the Brand
Some companies spend millions of dollars to convince us of their brand loyalty and employee commitment, however few have achieved the level of brand recognition, support and appeal that Harley-Davidson (H-D) has based purely on owner loyalty and what the H-D brand represents: freedom, rebellion and passion.
 H-D’s history has been filled with its share of ups and downs from being the preferred brand by the military during war time to the bad boy’s thunder of choice as seen in classic flicks such as Easy Riders and by the infamous biker crew Hells Angels; to an all time low in the mid 70s to early 80s in producing poor, unreliable bikes resulting in the badge “Hardly” Davidson; to once again presently riding high on the “Hog.” As a matter of fact, Harley-Davidson Owners Group (HOG) has a membership of more than one million worldwide.
 I had the opportunity to tour H-D’s manufacturing plant in York, Pennsylvania on a special invite reaching out to the urban market. Even though our community has proudly supported H-D with some of the hottest bikes and largest bike clubs created, it was rare to see African Americans in their ad campaigns or literature. So, I gladly accepted this new outreach to our audience.
Immediately entering the plant you feel a sense of pride and ownership that permeated throughout the facility. The large American flag hanging within reminded you of being part of true Americana, something that’s both good and bad within our community at times. In this instance I felt welcomed and happy to see people like us proudly assembling another piece of history.
Throughout the tour you could feel the sincerity and passion shared between employees and brand. To further illustrate this point, Harley-Davidson takes an endearing approach to building their bikes, which aren’t made - they are born. You can tell there is something different about H-D’s corporate environment when the plant’s General Manager shows up to a press meeting wearing jeans and a leather vest. Try that at your next Board meeting.
 The H-D product line is split between three state-of-the art facilities. York, the largest of the three plants, is dedicated to assembling Touring and Softail models, as well as the limited factory-custom line of Custom Vehicles Operations models. H-D’s Powertrain Operations plant located in Wisconsin is dedicated to manufacturing Sportster and Buell powertrains; and their Kansas City, Missouri facility is dedicated to producing the Sportster, Dyna and VRSC models. All three manufacturing plants work seamlessly in conjunction with one another in an extremely efficient process that minimizes additional inventory in an effort to reduce waste, thus minimizing areas for storage and needless costs. Employee jobs are rotated every two hours to maintain productivity of the “line” which runs around the clock and only stops on rare occasions. The facilities are equipped with ergonomically correct equipment for comfort and optimum efficiency. For example, an entire front-end assembly is assembled within 70 seconds! And while keeping the line moving is critical, if there is a safety issue the line is shut down immediately. These factors weigh heavily in creating an environment you can feel good about.
 H-D now has more than ten years of consistent sales growth and continues to invest into its future and brand as they now make a valiant effort to reach out to a core member of their buyers – the urban market. Living and riding high on the Hog once again has found new meaning.
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