parts supplier follows Hummer's growth - The Business Journal of Phoenix

[maybe some day...]

"parts supplier follows Hummer's growth
Big trucks are big business." By Adam Kress
The Business Journal of Phoenix
Ask anyone at Stinger Mac Accessories. The Scottsdale manufacturer and distributor of Hummer parts and accessories is getting ready to relocate into a new 105,000-square-foot Tempe location to accommodate the company's growth from nine employees to 85 in just more than a year. And that growth is expected to continue with more Hummer models in the works.
Since the second-generation Hummers, or H2s, were released by General Motors about 14 months ago, they have become somewhat of an automobile industry phenomenon. As some sentiment against gas-guzzling SUVs has grown over the past few years, the biggest and baddest SUV of them all, the H2, has enjoyed incredible success.
And Stinger Mac Accessories has come along for the busy but profitable ride. Mike Kenney, one of the four owners of Stinger Mac, said the business has grown about 40 times over since the H2 hit the streets.
"With the H1s, they only built about 600 to 1,000 per year," Kenney said. "But now they are building 40,000 a year, so our potential customer base has grown by 40 times. If you have a 20 percent penetration into the market, that makes a big difference."
Stinger Mac actually began as three companies that supplied different parts and accessories for the H1 Hummer. Kenney owned Kenney Enterprises, Jason Plotke owned Mac Motorsports and Robert Wilson and Marcus Roehmer owned Stinger Accessories.
The quartet had known each other for years as business peers, but when the H2 was being developed, they knew they couldn't do it alone anymore. They officially joined forces in the spring of 2002.
"With the magnitude of what we knew we needed to do, not one of us could do it all individually," Kenney said. "We found that by combining as a team, we could accomplish our goals."
The four now are equal partners in a business that is booming. The move to 421 W. Alameda Drive in Tempe brings together the company's handful of Valley locations it has accumulated over the past year as it has grown. Kenney expects to be settled in the new location after July 4, and expects the company's growth to continue.
"We are constantly bringing in new people," he said. "It's been a whirlwind in the last 12 to 14 months, but our goal is to grow by five times in the next few years."
Stinger Mac, which offers 320 different products, also is a Tier 1 supplier for factory and aftermarket parts for General Motors. An exterior spare-tire carrier is the company's most popular product, followed by everything from roof racks to exhaust systems and chrome door handles.
Kenney said being closely tied to GM and its dealers has given them a big advantage over competitors.
"We are a rarity in that we are both a manufacturer and a supplier," he said. "When all the other companies were just starting to get their hands on the trucks, we were already shipping. We worked with GM six months prior to the H2 coming out."
Kenney added that Stinger Mac has an office in Troy, Mich., where it houses some of its designers and engineers. GM dealers do all installation of Stinger Mac parts and accessories.
Dave Kuhl, assistant regional and divisional marketing manager for Cadillac and Hummer, said that over the last decade, the customization of vehicles has become "wildly popular."
"Technology has driven customization in areas such as bigger wheels and thinner tires," he said. "But as a society, people just want to express more individuality."
As far as Hummer buyers go, Kuhl sees two distinct groups.
"Buyers are either successful achievers who want to be seen while they are driving, or rugged individualists who actually take it off-road," Kuhl said. "And with so many Hummers out on the road now, they want to set themselves apart from other Hummer drivers by customizing."
He said GM has been selling about 3,000 H2s per month so far in 2003. Western states, including Arizona, account for about 27 percent of all H2 sales.
Kuhl said he has been impressed with how Stinger Mac transformed itself from a niche H1 supplier to a major player in the H2 supply and accessory market.
"They are fairly unique because they have a great engineering team that gets things turned around quickly," he said. "Their ability to meet the demands of the H2 market has been phenomenal."
That H2 market that Stinger Mac has served includes some household names, Kenney said. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal and platinum rapper 50 Cent all have Hummers with Stinger Mac parts or accessories.
Kenney and his three partners all are Hummer fanatics who drive the huge SUVs every day. Because of that, Kenney said he wasn't surprised at the success of the H2 and Stinger Mac's business because of it.
"We saw a lot of this coming," he said. "Many of our competitors have not grasped how much customers have accepted this vehicle. A buyer wants something that stands out. And as more people buy them, more people accessorize them."
Get connected
Stinger Mac Accessories: www.smahummer.com. Hummer: www.hummer.com.
Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

[maybe some day...]

"parts supplier follows Hummer's growth
Big trucks are big business." By Adam Kress
The Business Journal of Phoenix
Ask anyone at Stinger Mac Accessories. The Scottsdale manufacturer and distributor of Hummer parts and accessories is getting ready to relocate into a new 105,000-square-foot Tempe location to accommodate the company's growth from nine employees to 85 in just more than a year. And that growth is expected to continue with more Hummer models in the works.
Since the second-generation Hummers, or H2s, were released by General Motors about 14 months ago, they have become somewhat of an automobile industry phenomenon. As some sentiment against gas-guzzling SUVs has grown over the past few years, the biggest and baddest SUV of them all, the H2, has enjoyed incredible success.
And Stinger Mac Accessories has come along for the busy but profitable ride. Mike Kenney, one of the four owners of Stinger Mac, said the business has grown about 40 times over since the H2 hit the streets.
"With the H1s, they only built about 600 to 1,000 per year," Kenney said. "But now they are building 40,000 a year, so our potential customer base has grown by 40 times. If you have a 20 percent penetration into the market, that makes a big difference."
Stinger Mac actually began as three companies that supplied different parts and accessories for the H1 Hummer. Kenney owned Kenney Enterprises, Jason Plotke owned Mac Motorsports and Robert Wilson and Marcus Roehmer owned Stinger Accessories.
The quartet had known each other for years as business peers, but when the H2 was being developed, they knew they couldn't do it alone anymore. They officially joined forces in the spring of 2002.
"With the magnitude of what we knew we needed to do, not one of us could do it all individually," Kenney said. "We found that by combining as a team, we could accomplish our goals."
The four now are equal partners in a business that is booming. The move to 421 W. Alameda Drive in Tempe brings together the company's handful of Valley locations it has accumulated over the past year as it has grown. Kenney expects to be settled in the new location after July 4, and expects the company's growth to continue.
"We are constantly bringing in new people," he said. "It's been a whirlwind in the last 12 to 14 months, but our goal is to grow by five times in the next few years."
Stinger Mac, which offers 320 different products, also is a Tier 1 supplier for factory and aftermarket parts for General Motors. An exterior spare-tire carrier is the company's most popular product, followed by everything from roof racks to exhaust systems and chrome door handles.
Kenney said being closely tied to GM and its dealers has given them a big advantage over competitors.
"We are a rarity in that we are both a manufacturer and a supplier," he said. "When all the other companies were just starting to get their hands on the trucks, we were already shipping. We worked with GM six months prior to the H2 coming out."
Kenney added that Stinger Mac has an office in Troy, Mich., where it houses some of its designers and engineers. GM dealers do all installation of Stinger Mac parts and accessories.
Dave Kuhl, assistant regional and divisional marketing manager for Cadillac and Hummer, said that over the last decade, the customization of vehicles has become "wildly popular."
"Technology has driven customization in areas such as bigger wheels and thinner tires," he said. "But as a society, people just want to express more individuality."
As far as Hummer buyers go, Kuhl sees two distinct groups.
"Buyers are either successful achievers who want to be seen while they are driving, or rugged individualists who actually take it off-road," Kuhl said. "And with so many Hummers out on the road now, they want to set themselves apart from other Hummer drivers by customizing."
He said GM has been selling about 3,000 H2s per month so far in 2003. Western states, including Arizona, account for about 27 percent of all H2 sales.
Kuhl said he has been impressed with how Stinger Mac transformed itself from a niche H1 supplier to a major player in the H2 supply and accessory market.
"They are fairly unique because they have a great engineering team that gets things turned around quickly," he said. "Their ability to meet the demands of the H2 market has been phenomenal."
That H2 market that Stinger Mac has served includes some household names, Kenney said. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal and platinum rapper 50 Cent all have Hummers with Stinger Mac parts or accessories.
Kenney and his three partners all are Hummer fanatics who drive the huge SUVs every day. Because of that, Kenney said he wasn't surprised at the success of the H2 and Stinger Mac's business because of it.
"We saw a lot of this coming," he said. "Many of our competitors have not grasped how much customers have accepted this vehicle. A buyer wants something that stands out. And as more people buy them, more people accessorize them."
Get connected
Stinger Mac Accessories: www.smahummer.com. Hummer: www.hummer.com.
Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.