Minneapolis, MN (3/11/2009)
- Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII)
today named Wes Barker as vice president of
Operations. Barker brings more than 20 years
of global experience driving lean operations
and building efficient business cultures. He
has an impressive record of success in building
teams and driving results in the U.S., Asia,
Europe and Mexico.
“We are thrilled to have Wes join the
Polaris Leadership team and the strong operations
group, as his background and skill set fits
very well with the Company’s strategic
direction,” said Bennett Morgan, President
and COO Polaris Industries. “He is a
proven leader with broad global experience
and has a significant track record of successful
implementation of Lean enterprise tools. Wes
will play a key role in developing an ever-improving
culture at Polaris while overseeing the manufacturing
plants and managing relationships with suppliers
around the world.”
Barker joins Polaris from Hubbell, Inc. where
he was vice president, Global Operations,
Hubbell Lighting Division, a $1.0 billion
worldwide division that manufactures indoor
and outdoor lighting solutions and controls.
In that position, Barker successfully managed
4,400 people and all aspects of operations,
including managing plants, manufacturers abroad,
distribution centers, product engineering
and technical applications.
Before joining Hubbell, Barker worked at
Ingersoll-Rand Inc. for 11 years in a number
of senior positions. In his last position
at Ingersoll-Rand, he was director of Air
Solution Global Operations, Industrial Technologies
Sector where he managed 10 plants worldwide
and 2,600 associates supporting $1.25 billion
in revenue.
A leader in teaching and coaching Lean principles,
Barker led an initiative at Ingersoll-Rand
to develop Lean policy deployment roadmaps
for all functions and integrated the policy
within Ingersoll-Rand’s operating system.
Prior to his tenure at Ingersoll-Rand, Barker
was a process engineering manager for the
Manufacturing Department, Specialty Materials
Division for Tosoh Inc., a Japanese manufacturer
of high purity thin film materials for the
computer industry.
Barker holds a B.S. in metallurgical engineering
from Ohio State University in Columbus. A
former motocross racer, he is a recreational
product enthusiast with a love for high performance
vehicles. Barker and his family will relocate
to the Twin Cities in the near future.
About Polaris:
With annual 2008
sales of $1.9 billion, Polaris designs, engineers,
manufactures and markets off-road vehicles
(ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
and the Polaris RANGER™, snowmobiles
and Victory motorcycles for recreational and
utility use.
Polaris is a recognized
leader in the snowmobile industry, and one
of the largest manufacturers of ORVs in the
world. Victory motorcycles, established in
1998 and representing the first all-new American-made
motorcycle from a major company in nearly
60 years are rapidly making impressive in-roads
into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace.
Polaris also enhances the riding experience
with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel,
accessories and parts, available at Polaris
dealerships.
Polaris Industries Inc.
trades on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol “PII,” and the Company
is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600 stock
price index.
Information about the
complete line of Polaris products, apparel
and vehicle accessories, is available from
authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from
the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.
