In mid-March, Grand Rapids-based
TerraTrike announced it needed to fill two new job positions created with the company's move to a larger warehouse and showroom facility. Just five weeks later, those jobs have been filled, TerraTrike has created and filled two additional jobs, and now two more positions await the right candidates.
TerraTrike is the brand name for the recumbent trikes for adults manufactured by
WizWheelz, Inc. (4460 40th St. SE). The company recently doubled its warehouse size to 6,000 square feet when it relocated from its former 44th St. and Stauffer location.
The trike components are manufactured in Taiwan and Portland, OR, then shipped to Grand Rapids for assembly, says Marketing Director Jeff Yonker. Yonkers says over 200 dealers worldwide sell the trikes, plus the Michigan headquarters fulfills online sales and walk-in purchases.
"We have 18 employees and we're looking to add an accounting assistant and another production person," Yonker says. "We'll fill the accounting position within a month. The running joke here is that we're so busy, we don't even have time to hire our help," he adds with a laugh.
Yonker says the company is on track to hit $5 million in sales by the end of 2012. He says that before the expansion, the company kicked around the idea of moving to a warmer climate, possibly out west. He says a couple of big factors kept the company in Grand Rapids.
"The repeal of the Michigan Business Tax helped," Yonker says. "The other big factor is the surge in the development of bike lanes in the region. We've been strong proponents of the Rails To Trails movement, and to see that grow in the last couple of years has made a big difference for us, as well."
The public can visit the new warehouse and showroom at a Grand Opening event this Saturday, April 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch, vendors, factory tours and a group ride that will feature over 80 TerraTrikes riding the White Pine Trail.
Source: Jeff Yonker, TerraTrike
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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