Thule Group sold its snow chain business, said it is reviewing options for its remaining non-core businesses and swung open the doors of its expanded product testing lab this week to emphasize it commitment to growing its core outdoor businesses.
The Swedish company said the Sept 2 sale of its snow chain business, which generated negative EBIT of nearly $4 million on sales of about $16 million last year, to an Austrian company will allow it to tighten its focus on driving growth in its core Outdoor & Bags segment, which designs, makes and distributes equipment for cycling, water and winter sports, roof boxes, bike trailers, baby joggers, laptop and camera bags, backpacks and cases for mobile handheld devices.
“Our strategic focus is to continue to build on our market leading position in developing products that make it easy for active consumers around the world to bring the things they care for, when pursuing their interests,” said Magnus Welander, CEO, Thule Group. “In this context, the Snow Chain business was no longer a core business for us.”
Thule also disclosed that its board of directors had initiated a strategic review of the remaining business within its Specialty Segment, which includes its Work Gear business in the United States and business that makes tool boxes for pickup trucks. The segment generated just 10 percent of Thule's SEK4.69 billion ($685 million) in revenue last year.
Open house for an expanded test lab
On Sept. 3, Thule opened the doors to its expanded test lab at its headquarters in Hillerstorp, Småland Sept. 3 to give customers, media and ultimately consumers a peak at its new capabilities. The company has invested SEK20 million, or about $2.5 million at the current exchange rate, in equipment and doubled the size of the test center to 1,200 square meters, or about 13,000 square feet, since 2008 to keep up with its expanding product line and expand the types of tests it can do.
For instance, the center now has test equipment that can simulate a year of use or driving in a single day and two years of sunlight exposure in two months. The lab's 55 employees are trained to verify compliance with more than 500 standards and can run about 1,000 tests a year.
“With the expansion of the new global Thule Test Center we increase the technical competence, the capacity and ability to test products with a range that covers both traditional products, our newly launched categories such as strollers and mobile shells, but also future products,” said Welander.
Thule has developed its own “Thule Test Program” with over 25 custom Thule standards that significantly exceed ISO and national product safety standards, the company said. The lab is capable of running fall-, impact, shock and strength tests and simulating a wide range of climactic conditions such as the intense heat of Australia, the cold of Siberia and the sunshine of Arizona. These are complemented with real environmental tests where the products are tested again and again in the natural environment.
By simulating 4.6 million kilometers of driving in its climate lab each year, Thule has dramatically reduced the climate impact of its testing activities. The consumption of electricity in 2014 was approximately 287,000 kWh, which equates to less than 3 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions compared with 750 tons of carbon dioxide had the test been conducted with vehicles.
To make sure consumers get the message, Thule posted short movies documenting testing of its products for active parents, cycling, backpacks and mobile shells at the Thule Test Center on its YouTube channel.
