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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, September 1, 2010
Tech across New England
Hammerhead Sleds grows with downhill thrills
By Mass High Tech staff
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Hammerhead Sleds
Location: Essex Junction, Vt.
Web: www.hammerheadsleds.myshopify.com/pages/about-us-1
Phone: 802 497 0759
Date founded: 2002 (as Cool Front Inc.)
Top executive: Steve Luhr, president and founder
Industry: High speed snow sleds sold to consumers or available as rentals at ski resorts.
When things go downhill, that’s good for Hammerhead Sleds. Of course, a couple years of a bad economy didn’t help many companies, and Hammerhead Sleds ran into the additional challenge of a year with little snow. Snow sells sleds. Still holding with only one full-time employee and some part-timers, Hammerhead sleds this year sold its 4,000th sled. Not your belly-whomping Flexible Flyer or beeline-straight toboggan, Hammerheads are designed with aluminum frames, ski-style runners, suspension and steering. They aren’t cheap, with the original models priced up to $350, and a new model starting at $169. However, CEO Steve Luhr sees its closest competitor as a $3,000 sled that is designed for ownership only by resorts, not by individuals.
Luhr feels Hammerhead has proven itself in New England, and is primed for a national splash. The company — founded with $300,000 in angel and friends and family money — is shopping for a $500,000 investment that would fund the hiring a sales manager and national marketing.
From the top, president Steve Luhr: “We’ve had rave reviews from the customers, and we’ve got great sellthrough with the retailers that we have. Then we have tied in a little bit with the resorts, who are hurting for customers for the most part. People are skiing 3 and a half hours a day now, and want something else to do the rest of the day.”
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