In February of 2009 the motorsports world was surprised to hear that Crane Cams had closed their doors. However, in less than six months the company was already back in business, and in January of 2010 was starting to grind cams again. To understand where Crane is now, and what the future holds for the Daytona, Florida based company, you have to take a look back in history. This is a story about a company that flirted with extinction, but is now back on the map.
A Brief History Lesson
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Crane Cams was originally founded in 1953 by Harvey J. Crane, Jr. as Crane Engineering Company. The first ten years of the company was spent in the back of his father’s general machine shop. Success came quickly and in 1963 the business incorporated, becoming Crane Engineering, Incorporated. It was at this point that Harvey sold 20% of his founded company to friend David Smith. Later, before the company went public, the name was changed to Crane Cams Incorporated. By 1965 Harvey and his young company had outgrown the 3500 sq ft that his father would rent him, and moved into a new facility located in Hallandale, Florida.
On March 4th, 1977 Harvey J. Crane stepped down as the President of Crane Cams Incorporated, however he continued to own 70% of the company. Harvey would continue to work within the company, and spent his time performing cam design and analysis. In 1986 the business moved to Daytona Beach, Florida to their expanded 1982 built facility that was over 145,000 sq ft. In less than three years, Crane grew to over 300 employees. During this time Harvey was still working 40 hours a week leading the technological advancements of Crane Cams. The Employee Stock Ownership Trust(ESOT) had also been buying portions of Harvey’s ownership during this time.
By January of 1989 Harvey had only 17% of the company. On January 24, 1989 the company bought the remaining 17% of his stock and according to Harvey’s website, “Harvey Crane is fired by a committee of 10 “Owner Operators” on January 24, 1989. He is the largest individual shareholder with 17% of the stock… He plans on starting a new cam manufacturing company, but is warned he has a one-year ‘non-compete’ contract.” While that is Harvey’s side of the story – the reality remained Crane’s founder was out.
Despite Harvey Crane’s departure, Crane stayed employee owned throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. It was during this time that they started extending their reach beyond the valvetrain. One of which was Crane’s digital ignition with an adjustable rev limiter in 1994.
Crane experienced their fair share of success and tough times, but in the mid 2000’s Crane was struggling. In 2006 the ESOT voted to sell the company to Mikronite Technologies. Mikronite’s plan was to invest $8 million in cash equity and utilize their resources to grow Crane and implement new technology into the company. However, by early February 2009 the plan hadn’t brought the success that Mikronite envisioned. It was then that Crane had started to perform some small lay-offs. It wasn’t long after that rumors were already starting to swirl that Mikronite itself was in real trouble.
February 24th, 2009 turned out to be a very dark day for the Daytona Beach, Florida based company. After 56 years of business, Mikronite ordered Crane Cams to shut its doors.
In April of 2009 an auction was held quietly, and rumors again started to surface, this time that a motorcycle company had purchased Crane Cams. On April 23rd the official release was made – S&S Cycle of Viola, Wisconsin had purchased Crane. While the company had purchased the brand and inventory, questions regarding the company’s future were a plenty by the customers and teams who had used Crane Cams for their performance vehicles. What would the future hold for the company that once had over 300 employees?
A background of S&S Cycle
S&S Cycle, like Crane Cams, was founded in the 50’s; 1958 to be specific. Well known for motorcycle aftermarket products, they have been in the v-twin high performance parts business for over 50 years, specializing in motorcycle parts like high performance kits for Harley-Davidson and more recently, Polaris-Victory. They manufacture a complete line of motorcycle performance products ranging from motorcycle slip-on exhaust, bolt on performance intakes, motorcycle big bore kits, or a complete motorcycle engine.
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S&S Cycle has been setting records in motorcycle competition for quite some time. Most recently they reset a previous mark of 159 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats by running a cycle over 180 mph. Not to mention that they design and manufacture motorcycle pro stock engines that are capable of running under 7 seconds in the quarter mile currently running in the NHRA.
Although S&S Cycle is best known for motorcycle components and engines, that is not all they handle in their Viola, Wisconsin headquarters. They also provide a variety of manufacturing and re-manufacturing services, handling as much as they can in house, everything from creating prototypes to powder coating.
What Happened After The Purchase Of Crane Cams
Even with the purchase of Crane Cams there was still a lot of uncertainty for the brand. What was S&S Cycle’s plan for the company? Were they going to just purchase everything just to expand their motorcycle operations?
It didn’t take long for all of the questions to be answered. They first found a new building at 1640 Mason Ave. in Daytona Beach, Florida. Almost immediately S&S Cycle started to manufacture what they knew best, which was Crane”s motorcycle specific equipment. The motorcycle valvetrain and ignition products were what first came off the shelves.
“We wanted to ensure that when we started manufacturing Cams and providing ignition products again for the automotive and performance lines, that everything was in place to hit the ground running,” says General Manager Sean Holly. “Over the last two years, we’ve reviewed and improved every item we make. When you think about that, from bar stock to finished goods, that’s over 15,000 SKU’s we’ve made decisions about in the last two years.”
2009 proved to be a rebuilding year for Crane as the goal was to get everything set back up with their dealers and distributors, hire a staff, and start doing cam R&D. Crane also spent 2009 focusing on their ignition line of products that was available to the public. Some people look at Crane Cams as strictly a cam company, but miss out on some of the industries’ impressive technology.
“Yes, we are a cam company, but also an ignition company that has developed many industry firsts,” says Terry Johnson, electronic product manager of Crane. “We introduced the Digital CD Ignition in our HI-6 line back in 1994 that came with an adjustable rev limiter built in, which has been updated many times since then and we still produce today. We have had many NASCAR, ARCA, and USAR championships with our distributor line since 1998, but in 2003 we received SEMA’s best new product award for our newest distributor line offering which is widely used now in many race sanctioning bodies, and recommended by many nationally known engine builders.”
S&S Cycle made it a point to hire back a lot of the individuals that had been with Crane for quite sometime. They hired a substantial number of people that had been laid off back in February, the majority of which had more than fifteen years with the company.
They also turned a lot of heads by showing up at the 2009 PRI show. An impressive feat when you consider that 6 months prior the company was closed. But how they treated 2010 and the coming years would really test whether the company was going to continue the comeback.
The Now For Crane Cams
In January of 2010 Crane Cams continued the comeback, “We started grinding cams again in January of 2010,” said Holly, “while we’ve re-launched 2600 SKUs in the last 12 months. The Gold Race Rockers, Ultra Pro Roller Lifters, and Retro-fit Hydraulic Roller Lifters, all are Crane Cams products that we manufacture in house, and we’re not done yet. We are taking our time to ensure that every cam or lifter we release lives up to the reputation of S&S Cycle and Crane.”
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Holly went on tell us that most Crane roller cams (mechanical and hydraulic) are manufactured from carburized 8620 alloy steel billet cores that Crane claims have surface (and subsurface) durability that prevents spalling (particles flaking -typically 60° down from the nose of the cam). Spalling will inhibit the lifter’s travel on the cam lobe and affect valve train performance and reliability. Crane says another feature of the carburized 8620 core is improved ductility due to case hardening.
Crane also manufactures roller cams from 9310 alloy billet for special applications where high valve spring pressures are employed. Crane claims, that the 9310 alloy has higher nickel content and is more ductile —at no sacrifice of surface strength. Flat tappet cams are typically made from cast iron cores, that are flame-hardened and Parkerized (zinc or manganese phosphate coated) to assist in the break-in process. The latest advancement is precision micro-finishing of the camshaft lobes and journals. This process can be performed on billet steel on cast iron material camshafts.
The future of Crane Cams
So the question becomes where do they go from here? “In 2011 we really have focused on stepping up and giving back to the racers,” says Holly. “We have done this by offering numerous sponsorships in series across the country. Ultimately since these racers are choosing to use our products then we want to give back to them.”
Crane’s IMCA sponsorship awards not only the top finishing drivers in each division, it also gives product certificates to the engine builders of the respective car. “We realize the importance of IMCA in the racing community and knew it would be smart to resume our sponsorship,” said Johnson, electronics product manager. “This program is focused on the ignition side. We have a strong product line for these divisions and wanted to give awards in classes where we have a lot of customers. It’s not just about the guy who gets on the podium,” Johnson explained. “We want to give the engine builder a pat on the back, too. We think that’s very important.”
Crane Cams told us they have also developed over 350 new camshaft grinds for 2011. These include highly effective new roller cam designs for the fast-growing LS-series of engines from GM as well as economical flat tappet grinds that range from mild torque-producing profiles to radical-sounding grinds with nasty idle characteristics.
“2011 has been an expansive and eventful year.” says Holly. “People are starting to realize that it’s hard to replace Crane’s quality. That is even more so today thanks to improved materials and the modern manufacturing processes we’re now using. You can see the results in the champions we’ve been fortunate to support like Frank Manzo who wrapped up his 15th NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car championship this year, or Ray Guss and Robert’s Motorsports who have secured two back to back IMCA Late Model Championships using Crane Cams Ignitions.”
For 2012 Crane’s growth has allowed them to make a move to a new facility, “Looking to next year, We have a major announcement that is a direct result of the growth efforts and market support we’ve enjoyed over the last year,” explains Holly. “We will be moving into a larger facility in Daytona Beach, FL. The move will be executed gradually over the next two months, ensuring our ability to ship continuously throughout this period. More details to follow, but be on the lookout for our new address.”
In preparing for this year’s tradeshow season in which Crane will be on hand at SEMA, IMIS and PRI. Holly explained the two areas that Crane will be focusing on for 2012, “Over the next year, we are going to be focused on two major initiatives, gaining new market share with the Crane Cams Ignition line, and a substantial expansion of the Crane Cams LS product line.”
Holly went on to explain to us that Crane now offers over 100 unique lobe profiles ranging from 0.300” lobe lift to well over 0.400” lobe lift for LS applications. “Our development team, backed by our valve train specialists, have been hard at work over the past two years expanding the Crane Cams offering, explained Holly.”
Conclusion
While the past has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for Crane Cams. But now thanks in large part to Ken and George Smith Jr. of S&S Cycle, the future seems bright. Clearly it wasn’t easy and it took a lot of time and hard work to be able to get to where they are now, but we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the folks of Crane.
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