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Fit for the future
After launching the first DC-powered commercial treadmill in 1987, Star Trac®
went on to become the fastest growing privately held
fitness equipment company in the world. Following a recent period of major change, the MD of Europe and Africa, Matthew Pengelly, talks about the future of the brand
As a company, Star Trac® has
under gone significant changes over the last two years. Can you tell me more? In July 2010, the company was purchased by Michael Bruno, a 20- year industry veteran, who already had holdings including Stairmaster and Land America, a manufacturing firm in China that builds high- end consumer and commercial fitness equipment. Bruno saw the opportunity to take the brand and implement a restructure to streamline the business and improve our operational efficiencies. It was a great opportunity to
take an objective look at what we were doing and plan how we could lay the foundations for the future. The initial restructure saw the transition of a number of back office operations to Vancouver, to be shared with Stairmaster. We have also been transitioning our production to the Land America factory in China. This gives us more control over our production, meaning we can stand behind our promise of world-class products.
What about the management of the company? We recently restructured a number of senior management positions to enhance our focus on being a global operation. Terry Woods, who started with us 17 years ago, became vice president of global sales and Jeff Dilts, who has been with us for seven years, has taken the role of senior director of marketing and product management. Woods and Dilts have been hugely influential over the years in the development of both the business and products, and it’s great that they have now taken up global roles to help drive the company forward.
What has this meant to the ethos of Star Trac? Star Trac continues to be a strong brand within the industry. We have great staff and a loyal customer base. Bruno’s arrival gave us the opportunity to reset our key business objectives and go back to basics. As a global business, the back office and personnel changes have helped to streamline how we do business. Our goal is to ensure that we pass these efficiencies on to the customer to maximise their experience with us.
Our ethos is to provide world-class
products and world-class customer service. Having our products produced in a factory owned by Bruno works towards this. We still utilise our design platform, developed with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, to develop products that are distinctive, approachable, intuitive, motivational and rewarding. Ensuring our innovations are customer- focused is embedded in our history. We must continue to work hard
to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations, ensuring they get the best from our equipment. We know our work does not stop once we’ve made a sale – we continue to give advice and training to all our customers, to build a lifelong relationship with them.
Star Trac recently exhibited at IHRSA. How did it go? IHRSA gave us a great opportunity to reconnect with those who have previous experience of the brand, to introduce new people to what we offer, and to catch up with our current customers. We also launched our new marketing campaign, ‘Inner Hero’, which is supported with inspiring photography.
Star Trac Coach: Personal treadmill workouts led by a professional 74 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
On trend: The cable-based HumanSport range may 2012 © cybertrek 2012
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