Topic: Hahn RaceCraft is a KP Supporting Vendor

[DeepBlueGXP]

Please welcome Aubrey (SkyBaby) and Bill Hahn Jr of Hahn RaceCraft to Kappa Performance, our newest supporting vendor.
 
Joe
 

[Kelu]

New Kappa tuner to the forum 

[Arabas]

Welcome Hahn!

[Critterman]

Welcome aboard, where have you been hidding?

[elff]

About Time!!!!

Have you two been honeymooning this long?
 

Welcome aboard!!!

[SkyBaby]

Yes Elff!    we have been!  Its great to be here! 

[NormSky]

Woot-Woot!

[cdflint]

Welcome to the Jungle.

[GXPinKC]

Welcome to the best car forum on the internet!  Fantastic to have Hahn Racecraft as a Supporting Vendor on the Kappa Performance Forum!!!  Oh, how Sweet Indeed!!!

[Gentleman Jack]

Welcome to the Forum and thank you for becoming a supporting vendor! 

That reminds me....  I have to go take care of something....

[spartan]

Great to have such fine people on the forum and as supporting vendors to boot.

[Sly Bob]

Welcome Hahn Racecraft to the forum. Bill and Aubrey, it's great to have the two of you here!   

[opjohn]

Nice to see :-)

[Bill Hahn Jr]

Hello Everyone!  Bill Hahn Jr here.  It’s great to be back.  I’d like to share the tale of Hahn RaceCraft’s recent journey.  As many of you know, we’ve stayed  “under the radar” in recent times, having ceased all forum participation for the last couple of years.  We’d heard good things about Kappa Performance, so this is our official “dipping of the toe” back into the forum world.

This story begins, like so many do, as another story comes to an end.  My late father, the turbocharging industry icon Bill Hahn Sr, took very ill in early 2009.  Dad’s imprint on this industry was formidable, as he is considered to be the father of modern motorcycle turbocharging.  Under his tutelage, I became involved in turbocharged four-cylinder engines in 1976, before I was even old enough to drive!  While Dad’s company, known as Bill Hahn Products (BHP), was primarily involved with high HP turbocharged motorcycle engines (such as used in drag racing), my own company Hahn RaceCraft has always had a hand in both four-wheeled and two-wheeled pursuits.  Dad’s influence on me was substantial, but equally substantial was his pride in watching his son also bloom into a force to be reckoned with, spreading the Hahn family legacy of turbocharged excellence into the automotive arena as well.

Like so many older men, Dad chose to not seek medical attention when his body began to tell him there was a problem.  By the time he had finally sought medical advice, his lung cancer had advanced to an inoperable phase.  Upon learning of his dire condition, I immediately moved to Florida to care for him in his home in early 2009, leaving my business and home in Illinois.  The impact of my sudden departure was severe, but the choice was easy, as Dad needed me, and I was his only living kin.  I could not bear the thought of him passing away in some cold, impersonal hospital.  I nursed and cared for Dad right until the end, when he passed away in his own bedroom with me by his side.  Being with him constantly in his last months is a gift I will always treasure.

After his death, I took care of affairs in Florida, and returned to Illinois in mid-2009.  Once back, I began to assess the challenges caused by my unplanned and lengthy sabbatical.   I was dismayed to find that we were very behind on product development projects that had been stalled by my departure.  Further, the impact to our operation of losing someone as intrinsic as me was very severe.  Now struggling on multiple fronts, our once-vibrant company was reeling from this one-two punch of my long absence combined with a collapsing national economy.  Needless to say, being immediately immersed in these huge challenges wasn’t the best thing to help me heal from the extended care and subsequent death of my father.   It was during this time that I began to retreat away from forums, as I simply no longer had the time or the enthusiasm to maintain a worthy presence.  Never did I question my decision to go take care of my father, but I always knew that the effects of that decision would be significant and far-reaching.

A bright ray of hope did emerge during this dark period.    It occurred to me that, were I able to transport the entire operation to my late father’s property in Florida, we could significantly reduce our overhead costs, which would allow us to weather the storm of the poor economy, and in the process rebuild the company to its prior glory.  As time went on, this became my goal, and in early 2010, I moved to Dad’s ranch in Florida to prepare the property as the new home of Hahn RaceCraft.   Hahn RaceCraft was again operating in Illinois without my daily presence, but I was able to lead it remotely this time, not busied by the care of my ailing father as I had been in the previous instance.

The next bright spot in my world came soon after.  I met my wonderful wife-to-be Aubrey, whom some of you know as SkyBaby, right here at the Hahn ranch.  It is truly a Kappa love story, as it was our shared love for these wonderful cars that brought us together.   Soon, we were engaged to be married, a glorious event that would come to pass in October of 2011.  Aubrey ignited my spirit, helping me rediscover my zest for life, and I am eternally grateful for the love she’s brought to my world.  In July of 2010, I asked for her hand in marriage, and another significant event also unfolded that month as I finally found a sub-lessor for my facility in Illinois.  In August, the exodus to Florida began, and semi-trailer after semi-trailer was loaded and headed south.  The physical move took weeks, but the true effort had just begun.

Moving to Florida was a challenge of the highest order, and looking back, I now know that I seriously underestimated this task.  Sure, we’d moved several times in the 20-plus year history of Hahn RaceCraft, but we’d always retained a full staff that allowed us to hit the ground running in our new locations.  We’d also never moved more than 20 miles…this time, it was 1100 miles!  EVERYTHING was different this time, with a seemingly endless amount of tasks needed to make the transition.  It didn’t help that I also brought no existing staff with me.   Save for one, none wished to make the move, citing family ties and the like in Illinois.  Much to my chagrin, even the one who did agree to come backed out at the last minute.  I found myself alone, with hundreds of pallets of equipment and inventory to set up. 

So began the work of starting over.    Aubrey and I just took it one day at a time, doing what we could to satisfy orders while setting up the operation one department after another.  Hiring and training new staff was an ongoing task.  Looking back, I’m still not sure how I pulled it all off…finding, hiring and training production personnel, welders, bookkeeping staff, warehouse and shipping staff, salespeople, IT, etc., all while attempting to do my own job while also simultaneously building out the facility from ground zero.   

During this time, I decided to stay under the radar in terms of visibility.  I well knew that our largest challenge would be meeting demand for Hahn products with our still-forming production capacity.  As such, I discontinued all forms of promotion.  We pulled all advertising, discontinued all forum participation, stopped releasing new products, discontinued email promotions…why, we didn’t even have a phone number for some time, working contacts exclusively through email.  Still, it wasn’t enough!  Demand for our product still outstripped our limited capacity, despite all these efforts to discourage interest.

While the challenge was huge, I was not about to risk squandering the opportunity to improve presented by this re-start.  I had to take the time to do it right.  There isn’t a company in existence that cannot benefit immensely from such a ground-up do-over.  Every process and procedure was now under my direct scrutiny; I had the rare chance to re-form every single aspect of my company, using what I’d learned in a lifetime in this industry.  Nothing was sacred, and with no old dogs to teach new tricks, my path to new excellence was completely unimpeded.

I’m proud to report that the results are everything I’d hoped for.  My new staff is amazing, each of them personally trained by me to be the best Hahn RaceCraft can offer.  In our parts production, our attention to detail and quality has never been better.  Every department is better, stronger, and more efficient.  What we are capable of now is simply superior to any time in the past.  The new Hahn RaceCraft is so much more than a mere merging with the assets of Bill Hahn Products.  We are sure that my late father’s spirit inhabits this place, watching over us as we move with confidence towards a spectacular continuation of the Hahn legacy.

Already, the benefits are showing: due to our new-found efficiency, combined with our much lower overhead, our prices have now become superbly competitive.  Many of you may already be aware that our current prices are considerably less than previous.  When coupled with our current unprecedented quality, that’s a value we can all enjoy.

I’d like you all to consider this our “coming out party.”  From here on out, we’re back in the game, as we are again ready to pursue greater sales volume via forum participation and other advertising.  More importantly, as my role is now transitioning from rebuilding the company back to my previous roles of promotion and product development, I’m pleased to report that I again have the time to develop a forum presence and interact with you.  There is much to look forward to, and we will not disappoint.  We will celebrate our 25th year in 2013, and it’s going to be AMAZING!  We have new Kappa product and projects in the pipeline, along with lots of promotions and fun as we ramp up to our 25th anniversary.  Stay tuned!

Thank you for your years of support,
Bill Hahn Jr.

[NormSky]

Good stuff indeed. Keep it coming!

[Kelu]

Enjoyed the story and I wish you good luck.

[Arabas]

Indeed, great and touching story Bill! Wish you a succesfull new beginning!
Looking forward to your products

[SHiNY]

Welcome back Bill & Aubrey!

[Sly Bob]

Wow, I had no idea Bill and thanks for the story (the paragraphs too ). I wish you luck in your future endeavors and again, welcome back!

[Critterman]

Welcome back, sounds like it was a long road.  Where in FL are you located?

[elff]

Wow

That explains the long Hiatus.  What a story and it's nice to see it having a happy ending. 

[bb_kaytor]

Welcome back!  I look forward to the host of new products from you!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[Bill Hahn Jr]

Welcome back, sounds like it was a long road.  Where in FL are you located?

Thank you everyone!  It's been a long, hard road, but the worst is well behind us now, and the future looks wonderful 

Critterman, we are located in the Ocala-Gainesville region, in a sleepy little town named Morriston.  Our property backs up to a state forest.  The peaceful, easy feeling here is simply worlds apart from the busy-busy urban/suburban region we came from.  Personally, it's so much nicer here, the weather being just one of the major improvements.  Professionally, we now enjoy vast, wide-open roads and inviting weather year-round for product development, as well as for racing on the numerous tracks the region offers.

My new local drag strip is also one of my all-time favorites...Gainesville Raceway, where I used to come annually to race dragbikes on the national tour.  Gainesville's track has always held a special place in my heart, for not only did we always do well here, it was the one race every year where we'd come to stay with Dad and enjoy his presence at the track.  That it is now my home track is therefore poignantly wonderful, and we plan to spend a lot of time there!

[snaponbob]

Bill, have to experienced the June and September "love bugs"? Bad enough for cars and trucks, been I was in S. Ga. for fives years, they were AWFUL when I rode a motorcycle!!! Glad the situation in central Fla is working out for you.

[SkyBaby]

Oh Yea! We have had 3 seasons now of love bugs.... Just horrible.. It is sooo hard to keep our Kappas clean! as well as the other cars/motorcycles we have. We love the location here.. Not another move for a very long time but it will be further south!     Thank you all for the great welcome! SkyBaby