AMF and the end of an era

January 8, 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the purchase of Harley-Davidson Motor Company by American Machine and Foundry (AMF) for $22 million in 1969. The following dozen years were turbulent times for the Motor Company, and the AMF era is often considered a low point in the company’s long and storied history, but it wasn’t all bad.

After the purchase, Harley-Davidson® joined AMF’s portfolio of recreational and industrial products, which included brands like Voit sports equipment and Ski-Daddler snowmobiles, lawnmowers, French fry baggers, cigarette packing machines and electrical products. In 1968, Harley-Davidson had produced more than 27,000 vehicles, including eight different motorcycle models, as well as both gas and electric golf carts. But AMF embarked on a high-volume production strategy that was out of step with demand. Production goals were not matched by upgrades to manufacturing, and motorcycle quality dropped as the market share held by H-D® declined sharply against foreign competition.

Despite the challenges, the AMF era did have some bright spots. Capital upgrades for new product development paved the path for products that set the company up for success in the post-AMF years, including the Evolution® V-Twin engine. Over the course of its 12 years of ownership, AMF’s deep pockets brought technology like CNC machining and CAD technology, along with other tools and processes that led to vast improvements in manufacturing efficiency and quality. These contributed greatly to HarleyDavidson’s later successes.

From 1969 to 1981, H-D also introduced several significant and successful new models, including the Super Glide®, Low Rider® and the FLT Tour Glide, but perhaps AMF’s most lasting legacy was moving final vehicle assembly operations to an underused AMF factory in York, Pennsylvania, in 1973. When the company returned to private ownership in 1981, the York facility was included in the deal. Today, nearly 50 years later, York remains H-D’s primary US assembly facility.

In June 1981, AMF sold Harley-Davidson back to 13 members of leadership, including Willie G. Davidson (right), chief styling officer emeritus, for approximately $75 million, ending the AMF era. The years immediately following the buyback were tough ones for the Motor Company, but by the late 1980s the company was back on sure footing, and poised for a stunning comeback and immense growth throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

---

Tags: