Motor sports' popularity keeps Penco on the move

Keeping a back room of Penco Power Products stocked with hundreds of helmets and an extensive inventory of tires is just one way Vaughn Penrod is fighting to keep people from spending their money outside the Flathead Valley.

“I don’t want to tell people time after time that we don’t have their size,” Penrod said. “If we do, they’ll go straight to the Internet.”

For Penrod, who owns the store along with his brother Kirk, local spending is not just at the heart of his business, but the key to the overall valley’s economic health.

“I even get after my employees if I see them shopping on the Internet,” he said. “As businesses we have to continue to shop locally if we want our local economy to thrive.”

Penrod said that since Penco opened its doors as a motorized sports dealer in 1985 in Bigfork (along with another Penrod brother, Jeff) the company has prided itself on its finely tuned customer service in both the sales and service departments.

Penco services all brands of motor sports equipment, as well as lawnmowers, and he emphasizes that all technicians are well-trained. The store even offers a “Dyno” tester, which can simulate road-testing at high speeds. Motorcycles or ATVs can be tuned up and tested in the shop’s Dyno room any time of year.

“The equipment we deal with is not cheap, and I’d rather sell quality equipment at a little higher price but give the service to back it up,” he said. “I want to help people and talk with them so when I’m out in public, people tell me, ‘I love my machine and the service was awesome.’”

Penco, which has been in its current 14,000-square-foot building on the south end of Kalispell on U.S. 93 since 2001, is the exclusive Yamaha dealer in Northwest Montana for ATVs, boats and watercraft, motorcycles, generators and snowmobiles.

Though he doesn’t like to dwell on the negative talk regarding the economy in recent years, things had leveled off at Penco after seven or so years of growth since its move to its current location, with a bit of a rebound the last few years. The store currently does about $10 million in business a year in combined sales and service.

But Penrod predicts that in the next year or two, business at Penco could really take off. He is especially optimistic about what Yamaha has in store for its dealers. He said Yamaha has pledged to rededicate itself to the U.S. market after the company’s recent focus on Indonesia.

“When Yamaha makes a statement, they mean it,” Penrod said.

 Other big brands for the business are KTM and Husqvarna motorcycles and Walker lawnmowers. The Walker lawnmowers are a big favorite among contractors, Penrod said, as well as a growing contingent of women customers. The lawnmowers, which Penco sells throughout the state, make up about 25 percent of the business, he said.

The newest big thing in motorized recreation, Penrod said, is the Timbersled Mountain Horse snow bike kit, which converts any dirt bike into a snow machine. Penrod said the store sold its entire stock of kits last year and they’re already pre-ordered for next year’s snow season.

‘We can’t get enough of them,” he said. “If we could get more, we could sell more.”

The kit turns any bike into a snow-adventure machine, and Penrod said the converted bikes are much lighter than snowmobiles and can navigate any obstacle-filled terrain.

 As well as staying current with trends in the motorized sports industry, Penrod said he thinks it’s crucial to keep the apparel and accessories lines changing regularly so customers always have something new to browse through.

Penco carries accessories for any backcountry activity, such as avalanche backpacks and safety gear, and high-tech winter outerwear.

Even in clothing lines, which have gained increasing importance at Penco, the employees are expected to have their facts straight.

“We make it a point to stay educated about the quality of clothing and why it’s the best,” he said. “If someone asks why a particular Klim jacket is $400, give us half an hour and we’ll tell you why. Our salespeople know what they’re talking about.”

 The store employs about 25 people. Penrod said the store doesn’t have a lot of employee turnover, which is how he prefers to do business.

“I don’t want customers to see new faces every week or month,” he said.

Kirk Penrod is in charge of the financial side of the business; Vaughn said he takes care of marketing, public relations and other day-to-day business operations — “whatever it takes,” he said.  

He said the business attempts to cultivate a family-like atmosphere among the employees (Vaughn’s daughter, Chelaine, runs the apparel section) and also in the valley’s motor sports scene.

Penco sponsors numerous community functions and races, such as the just-completed Penco Arena Cross event at Majestic Valley Arena, a competitive twice-a-year series that offers prize money for professionals. Penco also sponsors Koocanusa Fun Days in Eureka, a noncompetitive family event, and a snowmobile trade show in December.

“That’s what a dealership like this is supposed to do, create excitement in the community,” he said.

Business reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.