ICON has been on a blessed journey these last few years and in large part due to all of you, the dealer, and your amazing customers! Along the way, we have been fortunate to hire some amazing staff members to help us grow, but together today we are experiencing a unique and complicated supply chain, generational freight challenges and to boot, a consumer market that is thirsty for more and more fun products, now!
So how do we solve these problems? How do we create additional opportunity for our existing dealers? How do we continue to give new dealers opportunities to achieve their financial dreams? We lean into this crazy market, and we diversify our products and add capacity!
The EPIC Journey continues….Sean Heatley co-founded Epic Carts just short of a decade ago with a dream to expand beyond the great state of Texas. But like many entrepreneurs struggled to finds banks that would loan him real money to grow, struggled to find affordable facilities to operate out of and carry inventory, and one of the most persistent challenges, create sufficient buying power to design and release the right product that the market wanted. “You can’t give up and you have to keep looking for partners that can help you achieve your goals”, said Sean Heatley. “You have to get on a plane and go places, meet people, get uncomfortable and hope you find a partner like ICON that will not only give you a chance to make your short term dream a reality, but will also give you and your family a chance to personally grow and create something more amazing than you could dream of.”
After the initial acquisition was complete early last year, Sean and Roy Williams, owner of ICON, began work to re-design an already good looking EPIC cart and add industry critical features such as larger disc brakes, comfortable and unique seats, audio and upgraded suspension elements for a better ride.
The new line also consists of features like AGM batteries, 5kw motor, 400/450 amp controllers, high-back diamond stitched seats, 4-wheel disc brakes, 4-wheel indepen dent suspension, ECO-X Sound Bars, pre-wired 12v switches and full DOT street legal features including a glass windshield, 3-point seat belts, side mirrors with LED turn signal, lighted license plate and a backup camera.
To ensure EPIC had dedicated resources, ICON also acquired two more facilities across the country. The first is a 45,000-square-foot facility in Sarasota, FL which is dedicated to the production of EPIC, a commercial line and another LSV product. The second is a 35,000-square-foot plant in Charlotte, North Carolina which will go live in Q1 of 2022 and will be dedicated to production of EPICs.
“These locations help us establish a footprint in the east coast while we strategize where to open the next facility in the Midwest and the West Coast,” shares Heatley. “We are aware and conscious of domestic freight costs and our hub and spoke model will help both our dealers and our freight partners manage costs”
ICON also began cross-training team members this summer at the different facilities to make sure the ICON standard is withheld throughout the company and by connecting team members from EPIC and ICON, they continue to push each other on best-practices to improve all of their products.
ICON didn’t go from a little startup to the fourth largest manufacturer of golf cars in the country in less than four years for nothing and the expansion of Epic Carts is proof of this. Simply put, they’ve completed the acquisition of the year and have their sights set on more to come.
Dealers who are interested in touring the facility are always welcome to visit one of the Florida facilities – whether it’s to check out the assembly process, assess quality or discuss pricing and delivery options.
