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Doug Henline:
History of DWT Aluminum Wheels & Company Tour
::Continued::
“DWT does all of their own tooling,”
explained Scott Ornier who was on hand to give
a guided tour of the DWT facility and a look at
how DWT wheels are made.
“We start out with a square sheet and punch
a hole in the center. The sheet then goes into
the cutter where it is made into a round sheet.
Then the sheet is then put into the spinner where
it is formed into a wheel,” said Scott.
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Spun aluminum ATV wheels begin
life as a flat piece of aluminum, which
is spun & shaped into a bell shape for
each half of the wheel. Then each half of
the wheel goes through heat treating to
increase it strength |
Spun aluminum ATV wheel halves
are then robotically welded together. Once
they are welded some are leak tested before
the wheel is polished or powder coated &
prepared to ship out to the dealers |
The spinning process only takes a few minutes
and once the wheels come out of the spinner, they
are very hot and have to be cooled. Next they
are sent on for punching and racking, where they
await the welding process. Once the front and
back side of the rim are welded together and cleaned
of any slag, the wheels are then sent on for a
final polishing process, finishes, and application
of stickers.
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The
finished DWT Aluminum wheels are packaged
& crated for shipping
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Even though DWT is very strong globally as a
company, Doug Henline admits that the Nation’s
recent economic trouble has had an impact on DWT
but emphasizes that they have taken measures to
ensure that the company is stable and able to
weather the storm. “The U.S. is the largest
market for ATV’s, but sales have plateaued
and even dropped off in some cases so there is
a lot of inventory and most companies. DWT is
a well-grounded company with no debt behind us,
which helps us to take steps in order to stay
strong in this economy. Another thing that is
helping to keep DWT going is the recent popularity
of UTV’s. “We have always provided
products for UTV’s, but now that they are
becoming more and more popular in racing, we have
seen a big increase in the need for aftermarket
wheels for those machines, and it has definitely
added a boost in sales for us,” stated Henline.
Henline also has a positive outlook when it comes
to the company’s future and has his goals
laid out for the next few years. “You will
see lots of exciting new products in next couple
of years. We will also be doing a lot of maintenance
to our core products and making improvements there
as well,” Doug concluded.
Even in these tough financial times that have
recently bared witness to the demise of other
aftermarket companies, DWT remains a leader in
the aftermarket wheel industry and it appears
they will maintain that leadership role for many
years with their new technology and what seems
to be endless innovation behind their products.
www.dwtracing.com
1340 N MELROSE DRIVE
VISTA, CALIFORNIA 92083
760-758-5560
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