Michigan Manufactures Winter: Making A Better Cross-Country Ski Pole - Forbes

Andy LiebnerPhoto courtesty U.S. Ski Pole Company

With the holidays behind us, most of the U.S. is ready for winter to be over. In Michigan, though, there are still three or four months of snow ahead. This is the first in my series of articles about how the state’s manufacturers help its winter sports enthusiasts enjoy all that cold weather.

In 2012, Andy Liebner had an idea: why not apply his firsthand expertise in Nordic skiing to making a better ski pole? So he founded the U.S. Ski Pole Company (USSPC) in Cheboygan, Michigan.

Liebner, a collegiate and international competitor in cross-country skiing and Biathlon, wondered why skis and boots were made by skiing experts in Europe, but the poles came from non-skiers in China. He figured he could ride the reshoring movement and bring that business to the U.S., making an industry-beating carbon fiber product.

So he went searching for machinery to make ski poles, and found a golf club factory in California that had shut down U.S. production, sent its jobs overseas, and was selling its equipment. He bought it, brought it to his shop in Cheboygan, and started working on making his better Nordic ski pole.

It took years of tests for him to come up with his final version, which also includes plenty of customer input. “We asked people: what are the problems? What are the failures? Then we fixed all those things in one pole, and were able to offer the best warranty in the industry.”

USSPC uses a unique manufacturing process. It starts with prepreg carbon fiber fabric, which comes pre-impregnated with its resin binder, and therefore must be kept frozen until it’s used. This is thawed and cut to by a special machine in the slit station, which makes the needed widths of carbon fiber strips. These are then re-frozen until they’re put into the forming molds to make the poles.

The molding step itself is a trade secret. Once the poles are formed, they’re cured in an oven, cut to final length, and sanded to their final shape. Finally, they’re painted, graphics are applied, and the baskets (which attaches near the bottom of the pole to keep it from sinking too deep into the snow), carbide tips, and handles are installed.

The manufacturing process is designed to be flexible. “We have a whole variety of different size molds,” said Liebner. “We can vary tubing sizes in each machine without a changeover.” This flexible process not only streamlines current manufacturing, but also allows for quick changes when product design modifications are planned.

It also facilitates making entirely new products. While the ski pole business has been growing strongly – 48% per year on average, according to Liebner – USSPC is pursuing other areas of business as well. They recently received three different Army contracts for trekking poles, and they’re already the sole supplier to the U.S. Marine Corps. “It’s a big story, that we’re now making products for the Department of Defense,” said Liebner. “And this has fed back into recreation markets – poles for snowshoeing and backcountry trekking. We’re also working on developing a cane business – ergonomic, with an adjustable top to fit the wrist better.”

There are other areas of development as well. “We’re working with another company, CNOC Outdoors in Oregon, on trekking poles that come as part of a tent,” said Liebner. “And we’re hearing lots of interest in our supporting things like kite pieces and flagpoles, too.”

Liebner sees their Michigan location as an advantage in growing the business. “We work with other Michigan businesses for parts of our production,” he said. “A local auto shop does our paint. The design work for our injection molded parts is done in Gaylord, and the injection molding itself in Muskegon.”

Liebner also sees the Eastern time zone as beneficial, as well as the company’s close proximity to Wisconsin and Minnesota – the main U.S. areas for Nordic skiing – and relative closeness to Canada and the Eastern U.S. “Our shipping to our customers is lower cost and quicker than our competitors,” he said.

There are other advantages as well. Being manufacturing specialists is one. “Our competitors don’t own their manufacturing equipment, or even their own tooling,” Liebner explained. “We’re the only ones who do custom graphics – we can make a ‘uniform on a pole.’” This allows USSPC to partner with universities on special alumni poles, customized with the person’s name and graduation year, which boosts sales while also helping to fund collegiate ski programs.

Liebner believes their sales and marketing efforts are a growing advantage too. “We have 14 reps in the U.S. and Canada, from Alaska to Newfoundland,” he said. “And we have a variety of sponsorship options. Our youngest was 8 years old.” These sponsorships are driven more by attention to the brand than by winning races. “Other brands require results, results, results,” Liebner said. “We look for social media posts. You can do enough of those to get poles for free.”

It’s all about fueling growth. “We’re still pretty small,” Liebner pointed out. “Our competitors will spend $30 million in marketing, but we can’t do that. Still, they were forced to match our warranty.” Liebner believes USSPC’s superior product, better appearance, and made in Michigan/made in America messaging will bring continued strong brand growth.

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Read Again https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2019/01/07/michigan-manufactures-winter-making-a-better-cross-country-ski-pole/

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