Yakima Acquires Rack and Roll

from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News



BEAVERTON, OR —Yakima Products has acquired RackandRoll, a manufacturer of high performance multi-sport trailers based in Frederick, Maryland.

Appealing to multi-sport outdoor enthusiasts, paddlers, cyclists and family campers, Yakima RackandRoll trailers and accessories will enable consumers to apply Yakima’s broad line of top of car gear management solutions for transporting kayaks, bikes, camping equipment and other cargo to high performance multi-sport trailers.

The trailers, branded Yakima RackandRoll, will be sold through RackandRoll’s existing distribution and current Yakima dealers effective immediately.

“We continually strive to bring the smartest cargo management solutions to market to meet the needs of paddlers, cyclists, campers and outdoor enthusiasts seeking the easiest ways to transport their gear,” said Jerry Heinlen, chief executive officer of Yakima. “RackandRoll trailers are an excellent fit with the Yakima brand, our consumers, our customers and our business model. Adding RackandRoll to our Yakima family enables us to immediately provide more solutions to every consumer segment we serve, especially active females and baby boomers. Significant synergies in manufacturing and distribution between RackandRoll trailers and current Yakima product offerings will allow us to integrate this new business quickly. Most important, the new Yakima RackandRoll line of trailers clearly supports Yakima’s position as the premium brand in the cargo management equipment category and gives our customers and business partners new ways to grow their business in 2009 and beyond.”

John Koch, former chief executive officer of RackandRoll, will stay involved and remain available to facilitate a seamless transfer of goods and services. RackandRoll’s current customer service team will continue to support the business for the next 30 days, at which point, all customer service and other business processes will be managed by Yakima.

Yakima RackandRoll multi-sport trailers feature a sleek and stylish body made of anodized aluminum, which creates an extremely durable yet lightweight trailer solution. Each trailer will be sold with a set of Yakima crossbars that allow consumers to easily transfer gear mounts for bikes or boats, or cargo boxes, from the top of the car to the trailer with ease. Available in two sizes, Yakima RackandRoll 66 and Yakima RackandRoll 78, its independent suspension system is approved for interstate travel by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Existing product inventory at retail and in transit from the manufacturer will maintain the current RackandRoll branding and, moving forward, all newly manufactured products will carry the Yakima mark.

“The inspiration for RackandRoll’s trailer solutions came from research that showed consumer demand for a trailer designed for ease of use in loading gear at hip level,” Koch said. “Our trailers are perfectly suited for active outdoor participants, especially those who want to remain active all through their lives but need an alternative to rooftop solutions. Yakima is the premiere rack brand in the United States and we are confident that they will take our trailers to the next level.”

british humor I guess

made me laugh anyway (modern toss)

Not sure why people have cars?

On a morning like today i'm not sure why people have cars.

View from the SW Hill climb. Here you can see the tops of the city buildings popping through the fog layer, in the background, Mt.hood morning ride

From morning ride

From morning ride

So far this week I have cycled about 104 miles but by the end of the week, should be around 190 - 200 mainly commuting miles maybe 40 or 50 training miles. The commuting miles pretty much do nothing for my speed, they just keep my level of aerobic fitness and get me to work in a nice relaxed manner, not having to put up with traffic.

Mortgages - why fill my brain?

So the past week or so has made me realize that I know a lot more about mortgages and finance than I ever really wanted to. I would have rather allocated this space to design thinking, but oh well, i guess being financial aware is part of being 34!. So the mortgage thing is getting done, pretty good interest rates at the moment and the inspection of the house went well, with only minor and cosmetic things needed to be addressed.

It's been a strange week weather wise, some days it's been in the high40's low 50's and raining and other days it's been close to freezing. I have rode to work all this week, the roads are still pretty yukky to ride due to the gravel, dirt and old leaves in the bike lanes. A lot of this gravel is sharp and can cause flat tyres easily, I try and ride in the rode to avoid this, sorta annoys drivers, but it's not them who are changing my flat tyres every 2 mins. I have about 180miles on the bike and another 50 or so miles to ride on Sunday, so thats not bad for a week in January.
Work has been interesting, we are just about to make a public announcement on the 19th which has high potential to make the company a chunk of money in 09 and the future.

I have a few fog filled tree pictures from my commute on the colder mornings.

House - Hunted!

So big news, I found a place I really liked, I could not afford it, the price they were asking was not really market. I made a low low offer, negotiated back and forth and got down to something I could afford! I accepted a counter offer after several rounds! , agreed upon and signed off!! So at least the negotiating back and forth is done, and now under contract. It's not a fully finished deal (in the sense that I still have to do the inspection, lock in the financing and all the other steps of home ownership).



The skinny:
- 3 level townhouse (terrace house) 1980
- 2 car garage (inline) & driveway, Plenty of room for bikes, snowboards and tools.
- Small rear garden / yard
- 3 Bedrooms (2 good size 1 small), 1.5 bathroom
- Open plan kitchen to lounge.
- Balcony off master bedroom
- Skylights in stairways and rear bedroom and main bathroom.
- Located in a great part of town.

Here's some photos. these are from the estate agents website, so they may look a little ritzier than in real life!