Custom Chrome history

Working on a kitchen table in one of their homes, they created the first Custom Chrome catalog, publishing the first edition in 1973 and providing the advertising tool that made future growth possible.

In 1978, the company again moved its operations, leasing a 10,000-square-foot building nearby, its first industrial-type warehouse.

In 1982, Custom Chrome completed its fourth move in six years, opening in a 40,000-square-foot building in Morgan Hill, California.

Custom Chrome's closest rival after Harley-Davidson, Chrome Specialties was founded in 1984 by brothers Greg and John Kuelbs, who built the company into a $35 million-in-sales wholesale distributor by the time its was acquired by Global.

Accordingly, in 1985 the company introduced its "Eagle Express" freight program, enabling customers throughout the United States to receive their orders in three days by United Parcel Service (UPS) air shipment while paying only UPS ground shipment prices.

By 1986, Custom Chrome had developed into a 170-person company with sales in excess of $20 million.

Maintaining this biker-friendly image and marketing strategy, however, did not prevent the company from building a state-of-the-art administration and 110,000-square-foot warehouse facility as its corporate headquarters in 1987.

To keep up with the increasing demand and improve on its delivery time, the company again expanded its facilities, opening a new 85,000-square-foot building in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1988.

In 1991, after enduring two years of interest payments on the heavy debt load, Panzica took his 20-year-old company public to alleviate the debt burden.

Custom Chrome agreed to stop using the "Hawg" name by 1992, and Harley-Davidson agreed to stop using the distinctive packaging style.

In October 1994, Custom Chrome was able to build upon its already strong reputation for customer service by constructing a new, and larger, 100,800-square-foot distribution facility in Visalia, California.

Golden Cycle LLC, a company formed expressively for the purpose of acquiring Global, launched a hostile takeover in March 1998.

In January 2000, the company acquired Motorcycle Stuff, a distributor based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

In October 2004, the financial pressure experienced by the company was eased somewhat when it secured a new $90 million credit facility, which was used to pay down some of its debt and strengthen its clash flow.