American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 237 April 2019 | Page 58
Darkhorse Crankworks Expands and
Upgrades its Rural Wisconsin Facility
Celebrating a century old building that used to be the Osman General Store built in
1918 and used as an active general store in an extremely small community until
1998, Darkhorse Crankworks added and upgraded almost the entire 17,000 sq ft facility in 2018.
Celebrating a century old building that
used to be the Osman General Store
built in 1918 and used as an active
general store in an extremely small
community until 1998, Darkhorse
Crankworks added and upgraded
almost the entire 17,000 sq ft facility
in 2018.
Based one hour due north of
Milwaukee, WI, in the Village of Osman
(population 21!), the success of all the
innovative Darkhorse motor products
and services drove the company to
upgrade and expand its facility by
another 5,000 sq ft.
Owners John Dahmer and Pat Hoban
operate the Darkhorse Crankworks
Division on site
Francis and Ellie Hoban operated the
general store that supplied everything
from groceries to dairy farm supplies
and everything in between from 1968
to 1998. It was then sold to the Hoban
Brothers Corporation and converted to
the performance based motorcycle
company it is today. The Hoban
brothers started their business in a
small 950 sq ft shop behind the
general store in 1980 before a move
to another facility and then back again
to renovate and perform the first
expansion to the original store in
1998.
The third partner, Tom Hoban,
manages the JTD Enterprises
manufacturing facility in nearby
Chilton. JTD produces most all of the
Darkhorse proprietary parts used in
the remanufacturing of all the V-twin
58
shipping department needed to be
been expanded too, but it can be easily
moved when we expand again and to
bring in more CNC machines to
accommodate our continued growth.
Tom, Pat and John figure they have
one more expansion if they continue
to grow at the current rate as they are
all in their 50s. The next generation is
crankshafts that Hoban Brothers
upgrade, along with the Darkhorse
“Man O’ War” Signature Series
crankshafts.
The expansion has provided the
needed room for improved efficiencies
in remanufacturing and production
capabilities. “In 2018 alone, since the
move was made into the new facility,
we increased production and sales by
over 20% without adding to our
workforce,” says John Dahmer, GM of
the Darkhorse Division.
"We now have the needed room to
add to our labor force and
accommodate our continued growth
in the marketplace. Couple that with
the necessary room to house some of
the production machines from Tom
and Julie's JTD machine shop, and we
can continue to improve our
production and turnaround times in-
house still further.
"We are positioned where we need to
be to service our customers - our 400
plus Harley-Davidson franchised
dealers and the over 1,500
performance based aftermarket shops
and engine builders we work with for
the foreseeable future and in an
improved timely manner.
Eye for Detail in Design
"With specific engine remanu-
facturing and assembly rooms, we are
able to maintain a contamination-free
environment when crankshafts and
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - APRIL 2019
lower ends are in final assembly.
"Processing an average of 40-50
crankshafts a week in our busy season,
we need to be as efficient as possible
with clear and clean work areas. Our
new facility gives us that now with
room to grow,” says President Pat
Hoban, who performs a majority of the
lower end assemblies himself.
More forward planning was detailed
into the design of this addition than in
any of the past facility upgrades. We
always had to build while being
constrained with property lines in the
past, but that is no longer an issue. We
secured 2 1/2 acres a few years ago
that allowed us to complete this
addition, along with easily adding
another 8,000 square feet as soon as
we need it. Doubling our growth in the
last four years alone, we know this will
not be our last expansion.
This is our fourth building expansion in
the last 20 years, and at that rate the
preparing to take over as both Pat’s
son Brad and Tom’s son Tyger are
heavily involved in the daily operation
of the business.
John says: “I love building our business
and our facilities, it is one of my
passions to improve quality, efficiency
and physically build our business and
facilities with an architectural eye,
preserving history. But it is also
stressful when you know you have 12
families depending on you to hit the
nail on the head every time. Luckily, we
have great employees who are patient
and trusting, and I have a lot of friends
that we use to subcontract our
building needs to.
"It is really with a great sense of pride
that we have been able to build this
cool and unique facility out of a 100
year old historical building and make
it all work for our employees and our
customers. If you are in our area,
please feel free to stop in and take a
tour. Guaranteed you will not get stuck
in traffic on the way here unless you
end up behind a random farm
implement."
darkhorsecrankworks.com
www.AMDchampionship.com