By Ashley Reyes
The SEMA Truck & Off-Road Alliance (TORA) named Vance & Hines as the council's newest member spotlight company. Get to know their story in the SEMA News interview with Jenna Jefferies, Vance & Hines truck category manager, below.
SEMA News: Tell us the story of Vance & Hines. How did the company start?
Jenna Jefferies: The Vance & Hines brand has always been about enhancing the exhilaration of the motorcycle ride. It started more than 40 years ago, when Terry Vance and Byron Hines were two young enthusiasts in the fledgling Southern California motorcycle drag race scene. Terry always wanted to go faster and Byron knew how to make that happen. In short order, their on-track success and innovation drew the attention of other racers, riders and motorcycle manufacturers which ultimately translated to commercial demand. Today, the company's mission and activity are the same: make bikes go faster on the race track and take those learnings to make impactful products for riders around the world. Since the Company's inception in 1979, we have partnered to run factory race programs with Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Harley-Davidson in drag racing, road racing and flat track.
SN: Was there any kind of breakthrough moment for your company?
JJ: The company has always been very successful as it has stayed focused on the rider and driving performance, style and enhanced sound. However, when the company pivoted to focus on Harley-Davidson performance products, the size of the company really started to grow. We think the success of the brand is more about the fact that the company has stayed true to the origins from the beginnings: performance products narrowly focused on Stage I products (air, tuner, exhaust).
SN: What's going on these days? What projects are you most excited about?
JJ: 2023 was an exciting time for Vance & Hines as we are coming off of a significant investment in new-product development in both motorcycles, side-by-sides and the exciting entrance into the truck exhaust market. We launched our initial V8 American truck offering of cat-back performance exhausts at the 2022 SEMA Show and we now have a number of new fitment coverages, including diesel DPF-back exhaust systems.
We love talking about any of our products: air intakes, Bluetooth smartphone-based tuners and, of course, our extensive lineup of exhaust products. But what we are most proud of is our U.S. manufacturing. We have always been a vertically integrated, manufacturing-based company. More recently, we have made a number of investments to drive our vertical manufacturing strategy further than ever before. To highlight our new truck exhaust for American V8 trucks, when we say, "Made in Santa Fe Springs," we start with buying U.S. raw materials. And we cut the 304 stainless steel tubing or flat sheet material, weld it, spin form it, CNC the billet end caps featured on many of our systems, manufacture all of the muffler assembly, and even make the hangers that hold the system to the truck frame. It is not an easy task, but we think it is the right investment for our customers as a vertically integrated approach gives us many benefits that help us compete by delivering exceptional products.
SN: What's the best piece of advice you have for professionals getting started in the aftermarket?
JJ: We didn't invent the saying, "I never worked a day in my life." However, when you're designing, manufacturing, marketing, selling or helping to administer the business of awesome truck and motorcycle performance products of a brand that has been around since 1979, is it really work? My advice: get into a business you are passionate about, bring that passion to your professional life, and aim at making a difference. You will have fun in the process of a successful career.
Fill out a TORA-member spotlight form to highlight how you or your company are contributing to the truck and off-road specialty-equipment industry. Selected candidates are eligible to be featured on TORA's social media, SEMA News and future TORA member updates.