“Going from parts to shades”

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 10:43 PM PST

A Cocoa company that manufactures high-performance motorcycle parts plans to diversify and expand its business by marketing high quality portable canopies imported from South Africa.

MTC Engineering on Shearer Boulevard hopes to hire up to 12 employees in the next three years by recruiting a sales network that will market the aluminum and fabric canopies nationally.

"We're developing a dealer network now. Well be developing a sales staff later on this year," Ron Coats, PortableShades customer service coordinator, said. "We're starting out small."

Though pop-up shades are common, PortableShade hopes to stand out by offering durable aluminum frames and canopies with high quality printing for vendors and racing teams.

PortableShade is based in Pretoria, South Africa. Eric Hochstetler, president of the U.S. branch, decided to carry the product after meeting company founder Brad Anassis at a motorcycle race.

Hochstetler was impressed by the durability of the frames' aluminum construction and the quality of printing on the nylon canopy, which employs a dye sublimation process that uses heat to transfer dye onto the fabric.

A & B Printing, a Cocoa graphics company, is considering becoming a dealer.

"There's really no one in Florida who does dye-sublimation," said Mike Collver of A&B Printing.

Hochstetler, a former automotive engineer, wanted to diversify the 50-year-old motorcycle parts company he bought five years ago.

"We started focusing internationally in 2009," Hochstetler said. "I wanted to find a product that goes across more markets."

The PortableShade canopies can be sold for auto or motorcycle racing, sports, athletics or other outdoor events.

A 10-foot by 10-foot frame with a printed canopy costs $1,200 and weighs 35 pounds. The shade also comes in 10-foot by 15-foot and 10-foot by 20-foot models. Accessories include flags, walls and weights to hold the canopy down in the wind.

Each custom-printed top is ordered from South Africa and arrives within three weeks. The company has sold about ten canopies and is waiting for confirmation on about 20 quotes.

If business takes off, Hochstetler plans to expand the operation outside MTC Engineering.

"We'll outgrow this facility pretty quickly," he said. "We will be the distributor and 90 percent of our sales will go through dealers."

Hochstetler hopes that the business will grow to the point he can purchase a $500,000 dye-sublimation printer and avoid shipping the canopies from South Africa.

"We'll manufacture the shades when the business takes off," he said. "We want to try to keep everything in house. We have the potential to get bigger than our parent company."

Contact Peterson at 242-3673 or ppeterson@floridatoday.com.

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Motorcycle Accessories

Wednesday, 2 February 2011