Small Business Stories - Hotchkis Performance

Alex Fees: I am Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We're coming to you from SEMA '08, that's Specialty Equipment Market Association, and joining me here now is the owner of Hotchkis Performance in Santa Fe Springs, California. Is that right, John? John Hotchkis: Exactly, yes. Alex Fees: John Hotchkis, I appreciate you being here. John Hotchkis: Thank you very much. Alex Fees: What is Hotchkis Performance? What kind of performance we're talking about here? John Hotchkis: We're all about performance suspension. So aftermarket suspension that goes underneath muscle cars, American muscle cars, Camaros, Mustangs, Corvettes, Cudas, Challenger and so on. Also, BMWs, Audis, MINIs, high-end European cars, and let's say also sport compact or high-end Japanese cars as well, like Mitsubishi EVO, 350Z, and Subaru and so on. Alex Fees: That' quite a resume you got there. John Hotchkis: Yeah. So we really push hard and make sure that we stay in the suspension world and for the customer that wants more from their car, they wants their old car to handle like a new one and a new, their newest car to handle even better. Alex Fees: So what is new in the world of automobile suspensions? John Hotchkis: Well, what's new is lightweight. We're talking power-to-weight ratio, so we're using the new technology for hollow sway bars for say, 41/30 or different metal in the suspension pieces, lots of aluminum, and just making the performance suspension very efficient. On the new cars, really doing a lot of engineering, tremendous amount of engineering with a CAD System and FEA, SolidWorks or a COSMOS system to do the analysis to make better suspension, but again also more efficient and lighter. Alex Fees: Well, John, how longer you've been the owner of Hotchkis Performance? John Hotchkis: This is our 15th year. Alex Fees: Really? John Hotchkis: And it's just gone by so quickly, it's unbelievable. Alex Fees: What led you to this? What did you prior to 15 years ago? John Hotchkis: I was racing cars, and one thing if you -- with the race car, usually the engine works, but the thing that keeps the car from winning is the handling. It doesn't handle very well, it's doesn't handle correctly. So I could use those from what I've learned in racing, put down on the street to make street cars better. Alex Fees: So, the handling of a race car or I should say the suspension of a race car, does that play a role in handling? John Hotchkis: Absolutely. I mean suspension is really -- if you think about that our car only has four tire contact patches. So you have to maximize that tire contact patch -- maximize the travel, the efficiency of suspension. So that's really what we do, make sure that from the steering wheel all the way down through to the tires that the suspension is working absolute best it can be. Alex Fees: Then you said, this is you first year at SEMA, right? John Hotchkis: That it. We are a new product section, first year, first timer. Alex Fees: How many, 14? John Hotchkis: 14 SEMAs. Alex Fees: All with your company, Hotchkis Performance? John Hotchkis: All with my company. I started to work -- I really noticed this market. I worked for Dick Guldstrand, he was a legendary Corvette tuner, and designed the packaging for him, saw how incredible the SEMA Show is, and the enthusiast, the buyers, everybody that buys products from any of these companies, they don't need it. It's not like going to the doctor where they have to make that phone call, they want to. They get off work, they get in their lunch hour or whatever that is. Alex Fees: And it's their moment. John Hotchkis: And it's their moment. They call us up, because we're the fun part of their lives. Alex Fees: Sure. John Hotchkis: So that's what keeps -- That's what really intrigued me about this world and keeps me here. Alex Fees: So John, what are you doing when you come to a convention like SEMA? Is this just a meet-and-greet for you or you're talking to clients or you're trying to make your way with larger companies? John Hotchkis: Well, it's -- we have a very specific client when we come to a show like this. We do tremendous amount of pre-show work. We have our PR company that sends out information to all the media about what we're doing. We launch new products here. We talk to our vendors here and we prospect for new customers as well. But it's very planned out. It costs a lot of money to do a show like this. I think I have eight people here throughout the week. So it's a good -- it's a big resource. We put big commitment in doing this show. So we have to make sure it's planned well. Alex Fees: So when you were in auto racing prior to 15 years ago, you saw an niche as an entrepreneur and a small business owner or potential owner and said, you know what, this is all about suspension? John Hotchkis: Exactly, exactly. We also not only do. We do the suspension for the enthusiasts, so for that end-users in this market. We also do work for the OE car companies. So a number of big names car companies have our products. We've used our engineering so that we provide service as well. We also test. We will run a race track. We will do stock version of whatever car they have. First one that's modified and they say, okay, what if we do this or what if there is another version of our car that's in Japan or in Europe and we would like to test it against what happens in America. Well, we'll do the testing. We'll do their racetrack testing, braking, accelerations, slalom, and all the tests you'd see in a major magazine and finally compare that with the two cars. Alex Fees: John, a company like yours can do an OEM and let's see Original Equipment Manufacturer. I mean that's really the goal, is it not? John Hotchkis: It is. For us and for everybody in the SEMA world, you really wouldn't want to be a tier 1 supplier. Well, as I am speaking for the people I know in this world. The SEMA companies, let's say 2,000, 5,000, maybe less than 10,000 products a year of any one part is kind of our sweet spot. Alex Fees: Okay, you want to be a tier 1 supplier because it's too large? John Hotchkis: It's too large, the margins on is as large. Most of these companies here are made up of enthusiast owners, enthusiast sales people and so on. So we're more niche. Let's say, our products are more like mountain bike products or cars, a really high-tech. Some people call that automotive jewelry. Alex Fees: I see. John Hotchkis: And that type of product just doesn't go in the normal, everyday world. Alex Fees: So not widespread, not mainstream, a little more specialized? John Hotchkis: Exactly, exactly. Alex Fees: John, where can people get more information about Hotchkis Performance? John Hotchkis: They can go to hotchkis.net. It's Hotchkis.net, or 562-907-7757 is our phone number. Alex Fees: And that's in the area of Santa Fe Springs, California. John Hotchkis: Santa Fe Springs, California. Alex Fees: Well, John, thanks for being here. John Hotchkis: Thank you very much. Alex Fees: John Hotchkis with Hotchkis Performance. You're watching Small Business Television. We're coming to you again from the SEMA 'O8, and you're logged on to SBTV.com.