The Huffy Corporation is the largest U.S. market-share supplier of bicycles with its headquarters in
Dayton
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, United States.
Early history
It has its roots in 1887 when
George P. Huffman purchased the
Davis Sewing Machine Company and in 1890 moved its sewing machine factory from
Watertown, New York
Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...
, to
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. The Davis Sewing Machine company made their first Dayton bicycle, in Dayton, Ohio, in 1892.
In 1924, George's son, Horace M. Huffman Sr., founded the Huffman Manufacturing Company.
From then until 1949, Huffman continued to manufacture and sell bicycles under the "Dayton" brand.
[
During the 1930s, Huffman participated in the revival of the American cycling industry, during which Horace Huffman commented on a "change of attitude".] Although Huffman dabbled in the high-end of the market, they never overcame their entry-level reputation.
Post-war history
In 1949, Huffman developed the Huffy Convertible, which was a children's bicycle with rear training wheels and foot steps.[ The invention of the training wheels revolutionized the market for children's bicycles, and this was the first Huffman bicycle under the Huffy brand.
Also in 1949, Huffy started selling push and riding mowers. The company would eventually leave the market in 1975.
By 1953, a Huffy logo was created and Huffman switched all its bicycles to the Huffy brand. A few of the most popular models included the Special Roadster, the Racer, the LaFrance, and the Streamliner.
Seven years later in 1960, Huffman was the third largest bike manufacturer in the United States.][ Popular models produced during the heyday of the Huffy Corporation included the ''RadioBike'', which had an electron-tube radio in the tank; the ''Scout'', a 10-speed ]road bicycle
The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a ...
; the ''Dragster'', a so-called "wheelie bike
A wheelie bike, also called a dragster, muscle bike, high-riser, spyder bike or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a Chopper (motorcycle), chopper motorcycle and characterized by Bicycle ...
"; and the ''Sigma'', a BMX bike
A BMX bike is a bicycle used for cycle sport, specifically racing or stunt riding. BMX stands for ''bicycle motocross''.
Construction
Though originally denoting a bicycle intended for BMX racing, the term "BMX bike" is now used as a generic ...
.
''Penguin'' and c''hopper'' bicycles
In 1962, Peter Mole of the John T. Bill & Co contacted Huffman with a concept for producing a bicycle based on a motorcycle, which he called the ''High Rise''. Mole developed the bike based on heavily modified children's bicycles that were becoming popular with pre-teens in Southern California, and which mimicked the appearance of customized "chopper" motorcycles. The ''High Rise'' had a long ''banana seat
A bicycle saddle, sometimes called a bicycle seat, is one of five contact points on an upright bicycle, the others being the two Bicycle pedal, pedals and the two handles on the Bicycle handlebar, handlebars. (A bicycle seat in the specific sense ...
'' with supporting struts and tall " ape-hanger" handlebars. Huffy hesitated for several months before agreeing to make the bike, on the condition that if the bike failed to sell that Mole would buy all the leftover parts and frames. The new bike, informally designated the ''Penguin'', began appearing in retail stores by March 1963. The ''Penguin'' was the first of the banana-seat ''chopper'' bicycles to reach the U.S. market.
In November 1964, Huffman Manufacturing Company ran an advertisement for their new Dragster model in Life Magazine
''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
, which claimed that Huffman was the first to manufacture a bicycle of the high-rise type.
In 1966, Huffman introduced a new long-wheelbase bicycle frame called the ''Rail''. The new frame was approximately 4" to 5" longer than previous models. The new frame became Huffman's base model until 1968. In 1968, in an effort to market a children's bicycle with an automotive theme, Huffman designers added a car-type steering wheel in place of handlebars to the ''Rail'' frame, which became the ''Huffy Wheel''. Tall "stick-shift" derailleur gear shift levers mounted on the frame top tube imitated the gearshift levers of popular muscle cars of the day, while many banana seat cycles were fitted with tall chromed '' sissy bar'' passenger backrests at the rear of the seat.
In mid-1968, Huffman released the ''Flaming Stack'' chain guard, which was designed to look like the distinctive side exhaust pipe covers on the Corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...
sports car. Later that same year, Huffman released a new ''Slingshot'' model with 16" front dragster wheel, and 20" rear. The new 1969 models where the last year for the three-bar Rail frame style. In 1970, Huffman deleted their three-bar frame and went to a two-bar Rail frame, eventually adding additional two-tone fade paint jobs along with Persons striped seats. These designs continued in production until 1971 when new safety and manufacturing restrictions from the BMA (Bicycle Manufacturers Association), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other U.S. federal agencies forced the discontinuance of the ''Wheel'', the top-tube mounted "stick-shift", the " sissy bar", and many other stylized features of children's bicycle designs.
Modern era
In 1970, the Huffy Corporation was founded as an umbrella company to house the Huffy Bicycle division, as well as Huffman Manufacturing Company's emerging sporting goods
Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...
line. Huffman purchased YLCE (Yorba Linda Cycle Enterprises) and converted that Southern California company to a national service company, assembling bicycles and other products for mass merchants such as KMart, Target, Sears, and Walmart. Other divisions were purchased and added to the Huffman stable of companies, including Gerry Baby Products (Denver), Washington Inventory Service (San Diego), Raleigh Bicycle USA (Kent, Washington), and True Temper Garden Products (Pennsylvania).
In 1977, the company name was changed from Huffman Manufacturing Company to Huffy Corporation.
The growth of the corporation during the 1980s was significant and Huffy (HUF on the New York Stock Exchange) was nearly a Fortune 500 Company. In the 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
, United States athletes riding Serotta-built bicycles racing under the Huffy brand won two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. A technical development center housed in the Huffy Corporate Offices in Dayton, Ohio was formed to research and create next-generation carbon fiber road and time trial bicycles. It was led by Mike Melton and Steve Bishop, two legendary custom bicycle builders. Sponsorship of world class and professional cyclists was only partially effective, as famous teams and riders, such as Greg LeMond and the 7-Eleven team used the Huffy sponsorship for financial support while openly maligning the company and even using different bicycles for competition while sponsored by Huffy. The subsequent fallout in the cycling community was devastating to Huffy, but not surprising considering the nature of the athletes involved. Huffy spent $500,000 to be named the Official Bicycle of the 1996 World Cycling Championships, held in Colorado Springs, the first time the World Championships has been held in the United States.
Huffy Bicycles had manufacturing and assembly facilities in Azusa, California (closed in the late 1970s), and Ponca City Oklahoma (closed in the early 1980s), but largely manufactured most of their bicycles in Celina, Ohio, and at one time was Celina's largest employer. At their peak, the bicycle division manufactured over two million bicycles per year and was the largest bicycle manufacturing company outside of Asia.
By the mid 1990s, Huffy was in deep financial trouble. The U.S. Bicycle industry had consolidated, sharply reducing the number of channels for selling bikes. High-volume retailers had claimed three fourths of the U.S. market, gaining tremendous leverage over bicycle makers. Walmart in particular was pressuring Huffy: it ordered 900,000 bikes at one time, but insisted that Huffy lower its prices significantly. To remain a major player in the bicycle market, the Ohio company had little choice but to agree. Even with Huffy's other non-unionized manufacturing plants, it could not make a profit selling bicycles at the prices Walmart, its biggest customer, was willing to pay. After requesting and getting a pay cut for its unionized workforce in Ohio, Huffy returned to profitability for two years only to again crumple under the pricing pressure applied by Walmart. This forced Huffy to close its Celina, Ohio plant and lay off all 935 employees. Their other two factories in Missouri and Mississippi soon fell to the same fate for the same reason. Even after subcontracting production to China, where plant workers earned only 25 to 41 cents per hour, it remained unable to operate at a profit.
In 1996, the bicycle division received a major blow when U.S. courts ruled that surging imports of low-cost, mass-market bicycles from China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
did not pose a 'material threat' to the last three major U.S. bicycle manufacturers— Murray Inc., Roadmaster, and Huffy. Huffy closed its Celina, Ohio, plant in 1998, and quickly thereafter closed two smaller bicycle manufacturing plants (in Farmington, MO. and Southaven, MS.) which had been opened as a last-ditch effort to avoid the higher union manufacturing costs in Ohio. After it became apparent that continued U.S. production of low-cost, mass-market bicycles was no longer viable, Huffy had bicycles built by plants in Mexico and China, starting in 1999. The relationship with the Mexican plant was severed shortly thereafter. In a federal bankruptcy court in Dayton, Ohio, in 2004, Huffy's assets were turned over to its Chinese creditors. In 2004, Huffy sold its Huffy Sports division to Russell Corporation. Huffy Sports manufactured sporting goods, including the Hydra-Rib basketball systems used by the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. By 2006, Huffy had sold more than 100 million bicycles. After years of struggling against the cut-rate Chinese bicycles that set the price target guiding Walmart, Huffy essentially had become a Chinese-owned company.
In 1999, Ames
AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...
acquired True Temper yard tools and golf shafts from Huffy.
The design, product development, and marketing (majority of all business functions) for Huffy is based in Dayton, Ohio. Manufacturing is based outside of the U.S. Crown Equipment Corporation
Crown Equipment Corporation is a privately held American manufacturer of powered industrial forklift trucks based in Ohio. The fifth-largest such manufacturer, Crown had $5.18 billion in worldwide sales revenue for fiscal year 2023. The compan ...
now uses the former Huffy U.S. bicycle factory in Celina, Ohio, to produce forklifts.
Financial problems
On August 13, 2004, Huffy announced that its financial statement
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...
s had accounting irregularities. The price of Huffy stock (Stock symbol: HUF) declined by 40 percent on the next NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
trading day. On August 16, 2004, the NYSE suspended Huffy stock and removed it as a listed stock.[ Finally, on October 20, 2004, Huffy announced that the Huffy Corporation and all its United States and Canadian subsidiaries would file for bankruptcy protection under ]Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
of the United States Bankruptcy Code
Title 11 of the United States Code, also known as the United States Bankruptcy Code, is the source of bankruptcy law in the United States Code.
Chapters
Title 11 is subdivided into nine chapters. It used to include more chapters, but some of th ...
. The accounting irregularities included the corporate 'misuse' of pension funds. The pension program of Huffy Corp is now run by the U.S. federal government, under the Pension Benefit Guarantee Program.
See also
* Kawasaki bicycles
References
Further reading
* Bianco, Anthony. ''The Bully of Bentonville: How the High Cost of Wal-Mart's Everyday Low Prices Is Hurting America''.
* Fried, Liz (1997). ''Schwinn Sting-Ray'', Motorbooks International. .
* "Coverage of the John T. Bill warehouse opening of March 3, 1963, showing the first factory built High Rise bicycle 'Huffy Penguin. ''Bicycle Journal'', April 1963.
External links
Huffy Corporation Official Site
{{American bicycle manufacturers
Companies based in Dayton, Ohio
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1892
Cycle manufacturers of the United States
1892 establishments in Ohio