An emerging parts company: suspension kit fuels HydroDynamics' rapid sales growth.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Dealer Expo here features the big distributors such as Parts Unlimited and Tucker Rocky, and they focus on promoting their house brands and their big suppliers. That's only natural. But often hidden within these huge display areas are relatively small startup suppliers that

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

HydroDynamics, a four-year-old company based in San Diego, is one of these hidden finds.

PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS PRODUCE GROWTH

The hottest product for HydroDynamics today is its package of ATV performance suspension parts developed by owner Darren McGarvie.

The i5500 sport quad front suspension kit, for example, includes shocks, A-arms, tie rods, brake lines, ball joints, tools and a complete DVD instructional video. It's the leading kit of its kind, says Brian Bott, vice president of sales and marketing.

The iShock kit was developed last summer and was introduced at the Dealer Expo here this year. It was one of the Nifty Fifty products selected by Powersports Business for its innovative approach as a performance upgrade.

"The show was fantastic for us," says Bott. "I feel as though I talked to more dealers this year than in previous years." HydroDynamics had booth space in areas of the Tucker Rocky and Motorcycle Stuff exhibits, as well as several others.

All the parts in the iShock kit are proprietary and have been developed by McGarvie, 35. Several patents have been applied for.

The i5500 kit is unusual, says Bott, because it's the only product of its kind that lets the consumer buy an off-the-shelf package of matched proprietary ATV performance suspension parts that he can install himself.

The kit retails for $1,849.95, and the dealer margin ranges from 30 percent to 38 percent.

HydroDynamics posted a revenue gain last year of more than 64 percent, fueled in large part by the new sales from the i5500 kit, says Bott. The closely held company recorded sales of more than $3 million last year and is planning for similar growth this year, Bott said during an interview with Powersports Business.

NEED PLUS SOLUTION YIELDS SALES

McGarvie, who owns the company with his wife Daena, stumbled upon the idea for a performance package when he ran the parts department at a large dealership in Southern California.