AUGUSTA, GA (Jan. 1, 2008) - Club Car celebrates 50 years of innovation and industry leadership in 2008. The company's colorful history dates to 1958 and a Texas-based company named Landreath Machine, which produced some of the nation's first golf cars.
In 1962, an Augusta businessman named Bill Stevens purchased the four-year-old Texas company, loaded up a tractor trailer and moved some of the company's basic manufacturing equipment to Augusta, where he set up shop and began operations with a handful of employees. The company's first new model was a vehicle dubbed the "Caroche," the word for an elegant French carriage. But the name didn't exactly roll off the tongue. Some people took to calling it the "car roach" or the "cockroach," and the company wisely dropped the name.
But golf cars were beginning to roll off Club Car's new production line, and the company’s growth attracted the attention of several suitors, including Johns Manville. Hoping to make a name for itself in the golf industry, the company now best known for manufacturing insulation and roofing materials purchased Club Car from Stevens in 1973.
Five years later, a group of senior executives and managers from E-Z-GO, the industry's largest golf car manufacturer at the time, pulled up stakes and with the financial support of a venture capital firm purchased Club Car from Johns Manville. The "original eight," as the entrepreneurs were known, had plenty of confidence for men risking their personal financial positions on a company that held approximately 3 percent of the golf car market in 1978.
One of new owners' first moves in the year following the purchase was a product extension into utility vehicles for the golf course. The first of the new utility vehicles were simply golf cars modified with a utility box on the back. Soon there would be much bolder moves.
The DS Model Debuts
Moving quickly, the company brought in designer Dom Saporito and in late 1980 introduced a stylish electric golf car with the model name DS, the designer's initials. Modified, tweaked and enhanced over the next two decades, Club Car rode the DS golf car and the growth of golf course construction to dramatic market share gains and industry-wide respect.
In 1985, Club Car introduced the first of its modern-day utility vehicles, the Carryall II. The Carryall II gave Club Car a presence in the turf maintenance market that has continued to grow. The Carryall II (now known as the Carryall Turf 2) continues to be one of the superintendent's and grounds crew's favorite vehicles because of its versatility and ease of operation.
There would be three more ownership changes in the next 17 years before Club Car was purchased in 1995 by Ingersoll Rand, a diversified industrial company providing products, services and integrated solutions to a wide range of industries.
On March 9, 2001 – "Club Car Day in Augusta," as decreed by the city's mayor - the one millionth vehicle rolled off the production line at Club Car. As the last of the "original eight" still on the job, territory sales manager Randy Strozier drove the DS golf car down the ramp to cheers from his fellow associates.
Proving that those original eight didn't have a monopoly on innovation and vision, Club Car soon began a multimillion dollar investment in a dramatically new golf car and manufacturing line. On January 1, 2004, after nearly five years of research and development, Club Car introduced Precedent, a golf car that immediately set a new standard for performance, styling and comfort.
That same year, Club Car introduced the Carryall 294, the company's entry in the four-wheel drive category that featured the industry's first on-demand four-wheel drive system.
Vision for the Future
Even while Precedent was being critically acclaimed and widely accepted in the golf industry, Club Car was moving to diversify its product line to adapt to changing market conditions. As new golf course construction continued to slow, Club Car accelerated its entry into faster growing markets.
Members of Club Car's Carryall line of utility and transportation vehicles are now on the job moving people and hauling cargo in commercial, industrial, recreational and educational settings around the world. Club Car's XRT line of light-duty and heavy-duty all-wheel-drive vehicles is also exceeding expectations for durability, versatility and ease of operation on the farm, around the lake and just about any place a trustworthy and fun-to-drive small vehicle is required.
Well on its way to its second million vehicle milestone, and now with a growing presence in places those original pioneers never dreamed, Club Car has established itself as one of the most important names in small-vehicle transportation.
While product names change and their capabilities expand, one thing that hasn't changed at Club Car is the commitment of its people to quality workmanship and superior service. The answer to the question "What's driving Club Car?" continues to be a desire to meet and exceed customers' expectations.
To learn more, please contact us or visit: www.clubcar.com.
About Club Car:
Club Car manufactures a wide range of electric- and gasoline-powered vehicles for the golf, utility, transportation, private owner and rough terrain markets. Based in Augusta, Ga., Club Car is part of Ingersoll Rand, a global diversified firm providing products, services and solutions to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. Driven by a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation, we enable our customers to create progress and a positive impact in their world. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.