Land Energy, a Cleveland-based tech company that makes e-motorcycles as well as portable batteries, is reporting surging consumer demand for planet-friendly transportation options.
Scott Colosimo, CEO of Land Energy, expects this spring and summer to be the breakout seasons for small, two-wheel mobility. “It’s going to be massive,” he said, in an interview with The Daily.
To try to meet that need, his company is scaling up hiring and production.
Colosimo said demand is outpacing the amount of infrastructure and production capacity the company has at its disposal.
Upping Production
Land Energy recently made it to the final round of the Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards for its Connected CORE Battery Power Platform.
The portable power platform allows for charging on the go.
To increase production, Land Energy is bolstering its staff, including Evan Painter as brand director and Ladd Forde as director of photography.
In addition, Steve Westover and Chris Davis are joining as advisor and production manager, respectively.
“Our goal is to create a new standard for the micro-mobility and outdoor industries,” Colosimo said in a release.
Photo courtesy of Land Energy
Distribution, Manufacturing
The company also added Tucker Powersports in Fort Worth, Texas as a distributor and Revival Cycles in Austin as a partner to expand its wholesale reach and increase access to consumers .
Both partners will sell Land Energy District motorcycles as well as engage in future projects through the brand’s Ohio facility.
Land Energy doesn’t have the distribution infrastructure to distribute 300-400 batteries, but Tucker does, Colosimo said.
With the Tucker distribution deal, “We’re going to be able to get more bikes out to more people,” he added. “DTC is great, but it’s expensive and hard to expand.”
To increase its scale, Land Energy is finalizing a renovation of a 14,000-square-foot manufacturing space in Cleveland. Colosimo said the company is investing “single-digit millions” in the facility.
He expects the company will be able to manufacture hundreds of thousands of batteries and other products in the new facility.
The larger space will enable the firm to produce up to 5,000 bikes per year as well as add staff to support production and R&D.
The initial resistance to e-bikes – that using electrification is cheating – is starting to shift, according to Colosimo.
“Now it’s ‘electrification gets me farther,’” he said. “Our focus is around energy as an enabler.”
Bart Schaneman can be reached at bart@ordaily.outdoorretailer.com.
