NATDA Magazine Mar/Apr 2019 NM_Mar2019_Final | Page 62

Around 26 years ago, Dennis Riggs, an avid kart-racer, started a business designed to keep him around the sport that he loved. From building engines to selling parts, the kart-racing industry seemed to be the perfect place for him. However, he couldn’t help but notice something odd. Seemingly everyone he dealt with in the industry, for some reason or another, needed a trailer. So, in 2001, he decided to stock a few. Clearly, Riggs made the right decision. He may have started out with only four enclosed trailers, but Riggs says his lot now consists of somewhere close to 160 trailers with expansion capabilities of 50-60 more. It’s something his old facility, a ¾ acre, 30x32’ building, simply wasn’t equipped to handle. Riggs felt they were simply trying to cram everything into one building. He doesn’t anticipate too much of a problem in 2019, though, since he just moved into a brand-new building right off the interstate. “We started out, basically, with four enclosed trailers,” Riggs says. Over time, the kart-racing side of his business began to pale in comparison to the trailers he was able to sell. Not only that but working inside of a dealership meant he wasn’t forced to travel around the country for various karting circuits. “The new building,” Riggs explains, “we’re on five acres with a 5,100 square foot building and a 1,500 square foot office. Our service bays are 60x40 with 20’ ceilings and 14’ roll-up doors. We’ve got a stock room that’s 20x40’. This allows us a lot more service and parts storage capabilities.” “The trailer business got so busy, we just had to get away from go- karts and concentrate on the trailers.” A larger facility is, undoubtedly, a bigger investment, but Riggs foresees the added space contributing to a host of new opportunities for his 62 NATDA Magazine www.natda.org