By John Rogers
First came an electric two-seat ATV, then its signature over-the-road electric truck. Now Nikola Motor Co. of Salt Lake City has added an electric personal watercraft to its lineup with the acquisition of Free Form Factory Inc. of Sacramento, California. Terms of the Nov. 8 deal were not disclosed.
Nikola designs and manufactures electric vehicles, vehicle components, energy storage systems and electric vehicle drivetrains at its headquarters in Salt Lake City and is privately held.
Free Form Factory founder and CEO Jordan Darling established the company in Rochester, New York, in 2014 and moved it to California in 2016. Free Form designs and manufactures electric watercraft with a proprietary manufacturing technology. Darling will become vice president of Nikola’s Powersports division and will be responsible for both the watercraft and ATV lineup.
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“By April 2018, Nikola will have a production-intent, sit-down personal watercraft (PWC) that we believe will outperform the top internal combustion versions on the water and provide up to a five-hour ride time with zero emissions and far less noise,” said Trevor Milton, Nikola Motors CEO.
Nikola produces the side-by-side Zero UTV all-terrain vehicle with a proprietary electric drive train, which the company plans to incorporate into the watercraft. The land vehicle recently completed a series of exercises with the U.S. Marine Corp at Camp Pendleton in California. According to a report from Nikola, the Zero towed over 4,000 pounds, fit onboard the Marines’ helicopter transport, climbed a 45 percent grade with four passengers and towed a trailer-mounted 120mm mortar, among other accomplishments in a series of tests performed for Marine brass.
Concerning the new watercraft, Milton said, “Nikola Powersports customers can spend the entire day at the lake without polluting the water while having the ultimate fun. By using the Nikola Zero UTV technology, we have shaved years off the development program for this new personal watercraft and will allow it to fast-charge in as little as 30 minutes.”
Nikola made big news last year when it introduced the world to the highly touted Nikola One electric over-the-road truck in a presentation ceremony at its headquarters in Salt Lake City. At the presentation, Milton introduced representatives of three major companies onstage that have signed on as partners for the Nikola One project: Ryder System, Meritor and automotive and defense engineering company Pratt & Miller. While Meritor and Pratt & Miller will be involved in design and manufacture of the truck, Ryder will be servicing, selling, warrantying and fueling the Nikola One at its more than 800 service centers throughout United States, Canada and Mexico.
Concurrent with announcing the acquisition of Free Form, Nikola also introduced two executives that have joined the company. Kim Brady and Scott Perry have joined Nikola team as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, respectively.
“We could not be luckier to have these two on our executive team,” said Milton. “Kim brings decades of Wall Street and private equity experience and Scott Perry is one of the top logistic and industry experts in trucking. These are two worldclass hires and we are thrilled to have them onboard.”
Brady recently served as a senior managing director with SOLIC Capital Advisors LLC and brings over 20 years of experience in investment banking, private equity and corporate restructuring. During the past decade, he has completed over $4 billion in transactions and recapitalizations and has overseen the successful performance improvements and reorganizations in over 100 businesses. He previously served as CFO, general manager and financial advisor for various companies in manufacturing, business services and healthcare services.
Prior to joining Nikola, Perry spent more than 25 years with Ryder System Inc., most recently as its chief technology and procurement officer for the Fleet Management Solutions division. In that capacity, Perry was responsible for Ryder’s Advanced Vehicle Technology strategy team, Global Fuel Products, Supplier Relationship Management and the Connectivity/Telematics strategy team.
Nikola has also named Bosch and PowerCell AB of Sweden as the primary suppliers of its fuel cells for the Nikola One Class 8 hydrogen-electric truck.
“Our relationship with Bosch also gives us access to their experienced engineering team, which is one of the largest and most respected in the world,” said Milton. “This relationship will be helpful in bringing our products to market as quickly and safely as possible. Design of reliable systems for commercial vehicles takes decades of experience and Bosch brings that to our relationship.”
Nikola has said that its first 5,000 trucks will be manufactured at the Fitzgerald Gliders factory in Tennessee while Nikola builds its own manufacturing facility In Utah. The location of that plant will be announced in early 2018, the company said.{/mprestriction}
