New Sheriff In Town
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
An American in Italy
Despite producing a family of four excellent bikes, one thing has still haunted Bimota: its past. Four years into a new beginning granted by businessman Roberto Comini, the Italian company was still having a hard time shaking off the hangover from the failure of the two-stroke 500cc V-due and subsequent bankruptcy.
But 2008 is finally the year that the investment has paid off with solid growth and stable footing. Key was the hiring of American Dan van Epps, which has completely changed the manner in which Bimota does business.
Van Epps spent 20 years with Ducati and most recently was the Director of Product Marketing-working at Ducati’s Bologna HQ—giving him extensive experience with a major player in the European motorcycle industry. What did he find so attractive at tiny Bimota? “Mr. Comini invited me to visit him, and what I saw were some really incredible motorcycles,” van Epps recalls. “The closer you got to the product the more beautiful it became, a bit like jewelry.”
After walking into Bimota for the first time as the new Director of Global Strategy, van Epps didn’t just try to clean house; he needed to find out what assets it had and what resources it needed to succeed. “The first step was not to jump to any conclusions and to get to know the people,” he explains. “I discovered it had great engineers like Andrea Acquaviva and a great designer in Enrico Borghesan. My depth of experience in the industry combined with theirs was a good match to help Bimota find its potential.”
The company had the usual operational elements in place, but van Epps felt they were largely disorganized. Focus was first put on the systems and support that had the most direct effect on customers worldwide: the dealer network. Existing dealers got up-to-date service manuals, parts books, proper service training, etc. The next area of attack was the expansion of that dealer network (there are currently nine in the U.S.) to meet the company’s production goals, as well as moving into key markets-Australia, South Africa and Brazil-that had been ignored.
“It is not about quantity of dealers-we know we can’t have a dealer in every major city because we can’t make enough motorcycles,” van Epps explains. “Without putting any unusual stress on the factory infrastructure, we can make about 1000 motorcycles a year.” He also added that they would make more if necessary!
Bimota isn’t keen on repeating mistakes, so for the time being it has committed to using just one brand of engine: Ducati. In the past, use of powerplants from many different manufacturersincluding Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki-had presented major challenges. “There was no way that one dealer could have all the tools, trained technicians and spare parts to support that,” admits van Epps. “So it makes sense to stick with Ducati. There is also a natural relationship between the two: They’re only an hour up the road, and the engines work very well with our philosophy for a chassis.” Although the focus is definitely on the future, Bimota is nonetheless committed to supporting owners of historic and pre-Comini bikes. “The people who owned earlier Bimotas felt burned and abandoned (after the bankruptcy) and then wondered if these new guys had any interest in what happened in the past,” van Epps says. “Clearly our primary focus is providing world-class support for models from 2004 onward. Having said that, we just spent a lot of time having a local expert come in and organize the spare parts inventory for earlier models all the way back to the 70s. There is an awareness of the history; we celebrate it and want to support these customers, as they are still likely our best clientele.”
After just a year with the company working on its strengths and correcting its weaknesses, van Epps feels Bimota is finally on track. “Seeing all the hard work manifest itself, especially considering that a company like ours only has 25 or 30 employees, has been a miracle. Now I feel like everyone is on the same page and the future looks very bright.” -Blake Conner
