I'm sure current Proline employees will want to be future Proline employees, so I expect nothing but good things to say from him.
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Horizon Hobby buys Proline Racing
- Thread starter Topher Builds
- Start date
I'm sure current Proline employees will want to be future Proline employees, so I expect nothing but good things to say from him.
mikemcE
I wanna be Dave
Was the third shooter ever proven?
If it’s BS, Josh will make it obvious, Why can’t we ever be positive?
Hang up and Drive
If it’s BS, Josh will make it obvious, Why can’t we ever be positive?
Hang up and Drive
I can't speak for anyone else, I'm not saying the merger is positive or negative for Pro-Line.
Based on the interview it sounds like Pro-Line is having their best year ever (pretty outstanding during a pandemic) and wanted to make a move while their value was at an all time high. I'm betting a few top level folks at Pro-Line take a nice quiet exit down a gold bricked road later this year.
I don't know the hierarchy at Pro-Line but since Josh only found out last week (per his interview). It's fair to say he was not involved in the process of the buyout/merger (which has likely been in the works for months). If you are not involved in the process then you are, most likely, going to be towing the company line, because that is all the information you will be given. At least that has been my experience when my company (in a different industry) has purchased 14 other companies during the last decade.
Each time we get a short briefing email a week or so before it's public, there is an FAQ document attached, and a few pre-written statements to deliver to customers who ask. If it's a really big merger then we will have a few internal meetings to review the FAQ and the company messaging before the news goes public. It's fairly standard practice, but, of course, Pro-Line/Horizon might do it different.
Regardless, I look at Axial who, I think has had some positive, and some negative (I'm looking at you Firma 40) things come out of being owned by Horizon and I think that's not been a horrible thing. Aarma is another company that I think has continued to do well under Horizon so I think there are some good things to be seen.
Consolidation reduces competition and competition is good for the consumer. I'm not sure Horizon has a ton of direct competing products with Pro-Line (Duratrax maybe?) so that impact should be minimal. There is also a greater risk to the hobby as everything falls under one umbrella and we have seen that risk played out fairly recently.
There are pros and cons, I'm fairly neutral on it right now. At any rate I'm just typing because I'm waiting on a report to compile and I find this to be some very interesting news.
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I watched the Proline rep portion of Harley/SBG's live stream last night. He swears up and down that they are being told everything is going to operate as-is and that they are going to remain in California. I really hope this to be true. Proline has a great thing going on right now and I'd hate to see the corporate mentality ruin it. I believe it was Josh/Harley even mentioned they are planning to expand manufacturing in California and he referenced a Horizon Hobby post. I have copied that post below from their Facebook page.
Link here: https://www.facebook.com/HorizonHobby/
There has clearly been a ton of interest and opinions on the Horizon and Pro-Line news earlier this week. We’ve pulled together some of the recurring questions and provided answers to set the record straight.
-Will Pro-Line continue to be made in the USA?
Answer: Absolutely. Pro-Line’s USA manufacturing is a real advantage in quality control and shortening the development cycle. Horizon plans to expand this capability and make more product in the USA.
-Will Pro-Line continue its operations in their California facility?
Answer: Yes, Horizon has signed a lease to continue operations at the Banning, CA facility under the leadership of Todd Mattson.
-Will Pro-Line continue to make product for all manufacturers?
Answer: Yes. Pro-Line supports popular products and segments with innovative performance and customization accessories across all the most popular brands in RC. They will continue to do so.
-Does this open the door for Pro-Line to manufacture more licensed tires/bodies?
Answer: Yes. As Todd Mattson stated in the press release, “Our partnership with Horizon creates a significant opportunity for us to take Pro-Line to the next level by leveraging Horizon’s resources.”
-Does this mean Horizon will raise the prices of Pro-Line products?
Answer: No, Pro-Line will continue to price their product and will strive to deliver value to their customer.
-How will this affect TLR team drivers that drive different tires or Pro-Line team drivers that don't drive TLR?
Answer: Team drivers for both TLR and Pro-Line will continue to have the freedom to choose the gear they feel best gives them the opportunity to win. There will be no pressure from Horizon or Pro-Line to move racers.
-How does this impact Pro-Line By The Fire?
Answer: Pro-Line By The Fire is a great customer event that allows Pro-Line to interact with their customers. Horizon is a huge fan of these enthusiast events and hopes to provide resources to expand By the Fire, much like they have Axialfest over the past two years.
-What does this mean for the Duratrax brand?
Answer: Duratrax is positioned much differently than Pro-Line and serves a much different customer. We see room for both Duratrax and Pro-Line in the market and will support both brands moving forward.
For more information see full Press Release: https://www.horizonhobby.com/blog-pro-line-acquisition.html
Link here: https://www.facebook.com/HorizonHobby/
There has clearly been a ton of interest and opinions on the Horizon and Pro-Line news earlier this week. We’ve pulled together some of the recurring questions and provided answers to set the record straight.
-Will Pro-Line continue to be made in the USA?
Answer: Absolutely. Pro-Line’s USA manufacturing is a real advantage in quality control and shortening the development cycle. Horizon plans to expand this capability and make more product in the USA.
-Will Pro-Line continue its operations in their California facility?
Answer: Yes, Horizon has signed a lease to continue operations at the Banning, CA facility under the leadership of Todd Mattson.
-Will Pro-Line continue to make product for all manufacturers?
Answer: Yes. Pro-Line supports popular products and segments with innovative performance and customization accessories across all the most popular brands in RC. They will continue to do so.
-Does this open the door for Pro-Line to manufacture more licensed tires/bodies?
Answer: Yes. As Todd Mattson stated in the press release, “Our partnership with Horizon creates a significant opportunity for us to take Pro-Line to the next level by leveraging Horizon’s resources.”
-Does this mean Horizon will raise the prices of Pro-Line products?
Answer: No, Pro-Line will continue to price their product and will strive to deliver value to their customer.
-How will this affect TLR team drivers that drive different tires or Pro-Line team drivers that don't drive TLR?
Answer: Team drivers for both TLR and Pro-Line will continue to have the freedom to choose the gear they feel best gives them the opportunity to win. There will be no pressure from Horizon or Pro-Line to move racers.
-How does this impact Pro-Line By The Fire?
Answer: Pro-Line By The Fire is a great customer event that allows Pro-Line to interact with their customers. Horizon is a huge fan of these enthusiast events and hopes to provide resources to expand By the Fire, much like they have Axialfest over the past two years.
-What does this mean for the Duratrax brand?
Answer: Duratrax is positioned much differently than Pro-Line and serves a much different customer. We see room for both Duratrax and Pro-Line in the market and will support both brands moving forward.
For more information see full Press Release: https://www.horizonhobby.com/blog-pro-line-acquisition.html
Panther6834
I wanna be Dave
At least for the foreseeable future, it looks "safe".
~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place
~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place
One thing Paul mentioned on the stream last night is they will have a decision on this years By the Fire by September 5th at the latest to give us time to prepare.
I have no doubt that they will outsource eventually. It may not be for a year or two, but at the end of the day, it's all about the bottom line. They will save much more money outsourcing to Taiwan. Don't forget, California is currently one of the least-friendly states to do business in & many businesses are moving to surrounding states & other countries. They will move production out of the country someday, mark my words. It's the best business decision.
I find this answer a curious one:
What does this mean for the Duratrax brand?
Answer: Duratrax is positioned much differently than Pro-Line and serves a much different customer.
No specific reference made towards tires. The thing both companies have in common. If I had to guess I would say Duratrax tires are history.
What does this mean for the Duratrax brand?
Answer: Duratrax is positioned much differently than Pro-Line and serves a much different customer.
No specific reference made towards tires. The thing both companies have in common. If I had to guess I would say Duratrax tires are history.
MattKimble
Newbie
I have noticed a lot of discontinued items in the Monster Truck department at Proline. Perhaps this is the reason?
That may well be just their normal habit of discontinuing products constantly, which is one of their more annoying habits.
There are some incredible bodies in their legacy lineup, wish they would do like Tamiya and occasionally re-issue some of them.
Most of them weren't even licensed!
As Sneetches said, my take is that they will keep Duratrax tires as a budget brand. Duratrax has always been a budget brand for as far as I can remember.
Hoss81
Newbie
To me this just means Pro-line won't be the company it has been in the past. First thing they will do is outsource production and we won't get that "Made in USA" stamp on the side of the tire anymore.
This makes me sad, anytime big conglomerates purchase smaller companies quality rarely improves. I guess we should stock up now on pro-line stuff.
This makes me sad, anytime big conglomerates purchase smaller companies quality rarely improves. I guess we should stock up now on pro-line stuff.
mikemcE
I wanna be Dave
THE SKY WAS FALLING!!!!!
Cmon calm down and stop baseless comments. Horizon is not some “big conglomerate” watch the live feed today with the President’s of both, Josh posted this link
https://youtu.be/4ew2SS2wP38
Hang up and Drive
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I am sure you are right. I Don’t have experience with the tires, but I have never found their lipo battery’s to be inexpensive.
On his Scale News Update, Harley said the Presidents of Horizon and Proline are doing a livestream tomorrow and Matt of SBG is moderating it.
EDIT: it looks like I was late and missed the livestream. It was today not tomorrow.
https://youtu.be/6Q6J6ULMo4I
The Duratrax tire prices are cheaper than Proline, but not by enough to bother with Duratrax IMO.
EDIT: it looks like I was late and missed the livestream. It was today not tomorrow.
https://youtu.be/6Q6J6ULMo4I
The Duratrax tire prices are cheaper than Proline, but not by enough to bother with Duratrax IMO.
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mikemcE
I wanna be Dave
It was informative at best.... no big surprises mentioned, Both seem to want to grow brands together, Time will tell
Hang up and Drive
Hang up and Drive
I didn't get to watch it, but I'm not surprised. It was probably a PR move to ease the minds of the many people opposed to the merger. It's not like Horizon or Proline could invited us into the board room in that video.
