In the Snow

“Go Snowmobiling” campaign tips

The “Go Snowmobiling” campaign has been supported by the snowmobile community over the years. Clubs, groups and associations across North America have taken military personnel snowmobiling, co-ordinated enlightenment rides with land managers and often just have fun organizing snowmobile rides with friends and family.

The trails and riding areas in many parts of North America are in great shape and offer great opportunities to take friends snowmobiling.

Participation in Go Snowmobiling rides underscores the “wow-factor” and the pure enjoyment that people have when they first ride a snowmobile. A number of times with first-time snowmobilers, they couldn’t quit talking about how much fun it was and how they couldn’t wait to do it again.

When taking a friend snowmobiling, remember this may very well be their first time on a snowmobile. Keep the ride slow, short and simple. Chances are that seasoned snowmobiler’s “normal ride” would seem like a marathon to an uninitiated friend. Don’t show off, push the envelope or challenge friends to ride beyond their capabilities or their comfort zone.

The Go Snowmobiling campaign is also joined with the “Safe Riders!” campaign. The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has a new 13-chapter Safe Riders video series that can be found on their website: www.Snowmobile.org/snowmobile-videos.html. The chapters are a great tool when introducing a friend to snowmobiling and will help make the ride more enjoyable for everyone.

Like ISMA’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/GoSnowmobiling. Post a photo with a few remarks and you could win a free Go Snowmobiling Shirt. When posting, please send ISMA a note with your contact information and shirt size.

Plan to take a vacation snowmobiling

Americans love to take vacations and they say vacations are important to them – yet more than 54 percent of all North American employees with vacation time leave a considerable amount of their vacation time unused. As a matter of fact, up to 25 percent of the employees interviewed reported that they did not take even half of their allowed time off. These unused vacation days carry a significant economic impact and since individuals don’t relax enough, it impacts their productivity, creativity and can damage an employee’s personal well-being and relationships with family and friends.

In our culture is a hyper connectivity which sociologists call “work martyrdom.” Individuals who use their vacation time have greater happiness at work and at home.

Knowing all of the above, why not use some vacation time to take a snowmobiling vacation?

The key to taking vacation time, according to the experts, is to plan for it. Studies show that 75 percent of the people who plan a vacation actually take it. The most effective remedy for those who want to use their vacation days is to plan for them. People who plan their vacation tend to take longer vacations and enjoy themselves more, while people who do not plan for vacations take significantly fewer days – from zero to three days at most. There are some great trails and riding areas out there, and it makes sense to bring some family and friends along to build memories.

For the next snowmobiling season, it’s important to try to change current habits and take a few additional days off for snowmobiling. Holidays are a great time of year for snowmobiling and it should be relatively easy to take an extra day before or after the holiday to take a longer snowmobiling vacation. It is never too early to start planning your next snowmobile vacation.

Zuidberg NA announces new leadership

After over 12 years of service at Zuidberg North America Inc. (Zuidberg NA), Rudolf de Jong has accepted a new challenge with another company. Zuidberg NA is very grateful to
de Jong for his contribution to the development and growth of Zuidberg NA. His position will be taken over by:

• Ryan Holden – President
• Chris Saunders – Vice President

Holden began in 2014, when Zuidberg NA was founded. He has proven to be a team player and is always looking for new opportunities with customers. Holden will work closely with current and future OEM customers in creating new opportunities to best suit equipment users around the world, utilizing best-in-class front hitch and PTO systems, tracks and Zuidberg’s own rubber track/belt production.

Saunders started at Zuidberg NA in 2016. He has wide agricultural experience and understands the expectations of the end user, as well as dealers. His skills in product management will align customer needs with product engineering. Saunders will lead the aftermarket efforts at Zuidberg NA to new heights in keeping with Zuidberg NA’s strategic vision.

“I’m convinced with the new board, Zuidberg North America can expand our business in a steady and solid way. With our dedicated team, we want to continue and build our relationship with you in the future,” said Jeroen Zuidberg, director, Zuidberg Group of Companies.

Prinoth announces Grand Equipment as authorized dealer

Prinoth and Grand Equipment are proud to announce a new partnership. Grand Equipment will distribute Prinoth alpine and trail grooming products, OEM parts and support after-sales service for the U.S. Midwest snow grooming industry. With six regional offices in North America, Prinoth can now count on Grand Equipment to serve customers of alpine and trail applications.

“Prinoth is committed to [providing] the best in snow grooming equipment throughout the United States. Our products are a key differentiator in providing the highest quality grooming experience. We are excited to have Grand Equipment join our snow grooming team as they already have with our tracked vehicles,” said Walter Piekarz, regional sales manager at Prinoth.

“We have a tremendous relationship with the team at Prinoth, so expanding our support from track vehicle products into snow groomers and alpine products is a natural next step for the entire team at Grand Equipment,” said Jeff Grasman, president of sales at Grand Equipment. “Our experience in parts and service with Prinoth over the past two years will allow for a smooth transition with customers and for our own employees.”

“As a growing company, we are committed to providing opportunities for our employees and our customers. Adding this product line allows us to not only enter new markets and create new customer experiences, but also allows us to provide an innovative and exciting environment that helps us attract new and retain current team members,” said Troy Price, CEO of Grand Equipment.

Grand Equipment is located in west-central Michigan to thoroughly serve the Midwest alpine customers and provide full distribution and after-sales support to one of North America’s most extensive snowmobile trail systems. Grand Equipment will also distribute used vehicles, OEM parts and offer on-site training to customers. Prinoth’s new dealer is also set to provide after-sales service with six service trucks and a complete service center. States covered by Grand Equipment include Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri.