Tag Archive for: Polaris

Polaris’ ‘Ultimate RANGER Experience Winners

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Polaris’ ‘Ultimate RANGER Experience Winners: The winners of the ‘Ultimate RANGER® Experience’ competition were announced on Monday 16th July on the Polaris website at www.ranger20thanniversary.com.

Polaris launched a competition in May to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their best-selling utility vehicle, the RANGER®. Entrants were given the chance to win an ‘Ultimate RANGER® Experience’, by uploading a picture and caption showing their own personal RANGER® experience. The competition was a great success with over 320 entries being submitted throughout May and June from 36 participating countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa, to be selected for one of the two European experiences, with the RANGER® at the heart. The top 3 finalists were selected from each country before being reviewed by a panel of judges, including a representative from Polaris Industrial Design in the USA, to select the winners. The judges were looking for authenticity, inspiration and enthusiasm for the brand.

Polaris’ ‘Ultimate RANGER Experience Winners

Rodrigo Lourenco, Vice President and General Manager of Polaris Off-Road Vehicles EMEA, said: “I’m sure the judges had a very difficult decision when picking the winners, as many of the entries show a real passion for our brand, with amazing stories from every country and uses for the RANGER® that we had never seen before. Thank you to everyone who took part and made this competition a success – the perfect way to celebrate the RANGER® 20th Anniversary this year.”

The two winners have been announced:

Peter from the UK, who is part of the NHS North West emergency response services, with his entry showing a Polaris RANGER® 6×6 being used to assist the team where conditions are treacherous and do not allow conventional ambulance access.

Judges said “It is truly inspiring to know the RANGER® can, and is, being used to save lives by the North West Ambulance Service – what a wonderful way to showcase how versatile the RANGER® is.”

Peter will be sent to the Greece, to explore the Greek island of Naxos in a RANGER®. They will take a trip around the mountain villages, tour the ancient ruins and soak up on the sun on the long stretches of beach. They will also be a chance to take the RANGER® on a drive to Kasto, a hilltop castle dating back to the 13th century.

Manya from Belgium, who submitted a photo of their custom-built RANGER® 570 in Northern Spain’s Picos de Europa National Park. Located in the mountains, the national park is known for rocky terrain, beautiful scenery, and its resident Cantabrian Brown Bears. It makes sense then, that Manya built an aluminium trunk cover to prevent any bears taking food and materials from the RANGER® whilst visiting.

Judges said “Another perfect example of how our RANGER® can be adapted to suit any adventure and master any environment, even if that does involve hungry bears!”

Manya will enjoy a trip to Iceland, where she will enjoy the stunning landscape of the Icelandic mountains and see how the iconic RANGER® is customised and used by owners of lodges in the mountains to access their remote cabins.

Twenty years ago, Polaris introduced the very first RANGER® vehicle. Since then, the RANGER® has become known as one of the most dependable side-by-side and is the No.1 selling utility vehicle worldwide. With industry-leading capabilities in some of the most relentless conditions imaginable, its’ legacy continues to grow stronger year on year. Fueled by consistent innovation, the Polaris RANGER® range has been designed to be the hardest-working, smoothest-riding SXS ever built.

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Polaris Race To Goodwood

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Polaris Race To Goodwood: Nowhere else can you get so close to cars and bikes blasting up the Hillclimb track than the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Described as ‘motorsport’s ultimate summer garden party, an intoxicating display of speed and power’, the venue on the Goodwood Estate lets you enjoy unrestricted access to the machines and drivers.  Where better then for Polaris to show the most powerful Ranger side by sides, Sportsman and the sensational RZR Dynamix. Against the beautiful backdrop of English parkland you can see, sit in and admire the latest power machines from Polaris.

The RZR Dynamix Active Suspension is the world’s first and only intelligent suspension system designed for this type of off-road vehicle, continuously adjusting your shock absorbers on the fly. You no longer have to choose between setting your suspension for a comfortable ride or performance because Dynamix adjusts to your driving.

Polaris Race To Goodwood

If you want a seriously fast yet totally versatile side by side the Polaris GENERAL will take you from 0 to 40mph in 3.6 seconds and when it’s time for work the GENERAL offers you the biggest payload of 1100 lbs (498kg). Dual bolstered bucket seats with thin film technology provides a dry ride in wet conditions and for even greater luxury you can choose a model with  adjustable Fox Podium X 2.0 QS3 Shocks, a Polaris Pro-Fit Lock & Ride Sport Roof, rear-view mirror and MTX® Premium sound system with Bluetooth connectivity.

Polaris is celebrating the 20th year of production of the Ranger side by side and the one millionth Ranger has rolled off the production line. The latest in the range, the Polaris Ranger XP 1000, sets new standards with over one hundred user inspired improvements, boasts class leading power (82hp) and torque (61lb-ft) and industry leading towing at over 1100kg.

On display at Goodwood alongside its side by side cousins is the most powerful ATV ever. The new Sportsman XP 1000 delivers an ultimate 90hpw and comes with Electronic Power Steering, a new 3-Mode Throttle Control and industry first Digital Gauge with Bluetooth Connectivity. The Sportsman is packed with new features that need to be seen and tried and on exclusive offer at the Festival of Speed show is £500 worth of free accessories when you book a test ride and purchase a new machine.

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A Look At The Polaris Opole Factory

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A Look At The Polaris Opole Factory: Founded by David Johnson and brothers Edgar and Allan Hetteen in 1954, Polaris Industries is now a global powersports leader. Employing over 10,000 people worldwide with annual sales in 2017 of $5.4 billion, Polaris has been the world leader in off-road vehicles for over 30 years. In 2014, Polaris enhanced its manufacturing capability by opening the first Polaris factory intended for the production of off-road vehicles outside of North America in Opole, Poland.

With over 300 employees, the 33,700m² Opole facility plays a pivotal role in the production, homologation and development of off-road vehicles for Europe, Middle East and African markets for Polaris. In 2017, the Opole Distribution Centre was built which occupies an area of 17,500m².

A Look At The Polaris Opole Factory

The average journey for one of the 7000 active components coming into the facility from one of the 200 vendors from around the world, would start upon their arrival into the warehouse area. There are over 3300 pallet locations in the racking system and 1000 supermarket flow rack locations for the components to be housed and sorted. Any parts that come from overseas in disposable packaging are repacked into internal reusable boxes.

Next stop is the Welding area, which currently produces 46 ATVs and 26 SXS each day. Each of the 10 dual stations for ATV or 20 stations for SXS chassis are fitted with fume ventilation systems and a Visual Work Instruction screen which presents an isometric view of the parts to the operator. There’s a robotic welding cell too, where suspension components are manufactured.

Painting operations consist of both plastic and metal painting areas. The plastic paint areas have two spraying ovens installed and the metal painting system has an automated painting line which takes care of the whole process from chemical pre-treatment to curing. All painters are trained in house to ensure they’re perfectly qualified.

The facilities and plant service team ensure the factory runs smoothly and equipment is maintained. There is also a dedicated test team who put the vehicles under scrutiny on the 2km test track, situated at the rear of the factory – this also includes an asphalt test area, to simulate on-road experience. This data, along with the experiences of the test drivers, is used to further develop vehicles with the US team.

Once the components have been welded and painted, they make their way to their penultimate stop – assembly. There are two horse-shoe shaped assembly lines – one for RZR, RANGER and GENERAL vehicles and one for ATVs and ACE vehicles. Operators are provided with visual work instructions – 3D image files and the operator can rotate the image to view different angles – instead of paper instructions. The material is presented in convenient packing and locations so that there’s little material handling for the operator.

Designed with efficiency at the heart, all of the operators are visible from any point on the line so that the group leaders can see how the production is flowing and make any corrections should there be any problems. The length of the assembly process depends on the complexity of the vehicle. An example of a complex vehicle would be the RANGER, which takes around one hour 20 minutes to assemble. Staff are rotated between the different assembly lines to ensure they are skilled on both lines and their minds are fresh.

Once assembled, vehicles are tested on a rolling road to check all functions and then put directly into a crate and wrapped, ready for distribution. Random vehicles are pulled from the line and checked for extra quality checks. Nearly 40,000 have been produced since the ISO 9001 certified factory opened in 2015 – it was the first Polaris factory with a certified Quality Management System.

“Working at the Polaris factory here in Opole isn’t just a job for our employees – our staff take part in charity events, attend Polaris events and are able to experience the Polaris product for themselves. We foster a positive working environment and as a result have a low staff turnover. Since opening the factory, the nearly three-quarters of the staff who started with us in 2015, are still with us and we have members of the same family who work here. We look forward to the future of the Opole facility – and see it going from strength to strength due to our capacity and our employees skills.”, said Director of Operations at Polaris Opole, Bogusław Dawiec.

‘Understand the riding experience. Live the riding experience. Work to make it better.’

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Storm-Tec Appointed Polaris Dealer

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Storm-Tec Appointed Polaris Dealer: Carlow based Polaris dealer Storm-tec has been appointed exclusive Polaris ORV dealer for the Republic of Ireland. The dealership will be working with and managing a small sub dealer network that looks after all Polaris requirements in the Republic.

Since becoming a Polaris dealer in 2016 Storm-tec has greatly expanded their farming and countryside business and Dealer Principal Conor Gribbon reports high sales of the Polaris Ranger Diesel to the Irish Coast Guard, while the Polaris Sportsman is very much the popular machine with the agricultural community.

Storm-Tec Appointed Polaris Dealer

The dealership prides itself on selling only top quality equipment and working with world class brands. The Belfast branch has an in-house marine service centre and runs a Managed Service Solution for servicing and storing life jackets, dry suits and other marine wear. The branch has built an exceptional reputation supplying clients in the marine industry, including the Irish Coast Guard who now have forty-five Polaris Ranger Diesel models, Community Rescue Service, the Rivers Agency and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

“We’re very pleased to become the exclusive Polaris ORV dealer for the Republic of Ireland,” says Conor, “and we’re confident in growing our Polaris business in the communities we serve. The Polaris range is extensive and ideally suited to the demands of our customers, our weather and the varying terrains that are a daily challenge, especially for the Irish Coast Guard and the Community Rescue Service. There is high praise for the ruggedness and dependability of the Polaris ORV vehicles.” Conor continued: “we were exceptionally pleased to be at this year’s Farm, Tractor and Machniery Trade Association (FTMTA) show last month with our newest sub dealer, Paddy Conroy. Together, we’re confident we’ve got the best competitive offering, solutions and after care services to match all needs throughout the island of Ireland.”

Polaris National Sales Manager, Ben Murray, says: “We have seen exceptional growth of our ORV business through Storm-tec in the Republic and equally have every confidence in their continued success as our exclusive dealer.”

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Scamblers Appointed New Polaris Dealers

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Scamblers Appointed New Polaris Dealers: AJ & R Scambler & Sons Ltd, better known as Scamblers, have been newly appointed as authorised Polaris dealers. Established in 1974 and based in spacious rural premises in the village of Bourn, between Cambridge and St Neots, Scamblers are now regarded as a market leader in turfcare and grounds maintenance machinery. The dealership specialises in supplying compact tractors, utility vehicles, bank tractors, mowers and turfcare and groundcare machinery for every aspect of turf and grounds maintenance.

“We’re very pleased to have such a highly regarded dealer join the Polaris dealer network,” says Ben Murray, Polaris UK and Ireland National Sales Manager, “and we’re looking forward to working together to meet the demands of Polaris customers in the area.”

Scamblers Appointed New Polaris Dealers

Scamblers cover Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk and whilst their main market had traditionally been groundcare and horticulture they have expanded to meet the needs of agricultural businesses, gamekeeping and golf courses in their area.

“It was after setting up demonstrations with Polaris to existing customers we reached the agreement to become authorised Polaris dealers,” says Scamblers’ Director, Ed Scambler. “The customers said how much they liked the Polaris Rangers and were impressed by what they saw as superior quality in the ATVs and UTVs. We’re very much looking forward to selling the product.”

Scamblers enjoy a fine reputation for looking after customers’ requirements and with the Polaris range can look forward to meeting those needs with the latest models backed by well-equipped workshop and service facilities. The Scamblers’ team boasts over 100 years’ experience in the industry, and say they guarantee a prompt, efficient and friendly service. Polaris welcomes them as part of the rapidly spreading Polaris dealer network.

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