|
Harley-Davidson
The Milwaukee-based company was founded in 1903 by William Harley and three Davidson brothers. Since it was established, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company has endured wars, recessions, depressions, strikes, buyouts and buybacks, foreign competition and ever-changing markets. It has survived all that, and thrived. Harley-Davidson is now stronger than it’s ever been and shows no sign of slowing down.
For more then 100 years, Harley-Davidson has been synonymous with freedom, open roads, raw power and good times.
For us and those loyal customers, the motorcycles we manufacture are not only the motorcycles but also the lively story of American history and the miraculous story on the two wheels. Riders ride them to find force and passion. Like many American success story, Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company began its career with a dream based on a lot of hard work.
Today, Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company has 8200 employees in the U.S. and overseas. The headquarters of the company is near the famous tiny wooden shed site located in the west downtown in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee motorcycles have spawned legions of fans worldwide who are fiercely loyal to their V-twin powered machines and the company that builds them.
The company was recently named Forbes magazine's “Company of the Year” and also one of the 400 Best Big Companies. And Harley consistently ranks among the ten best-known American brands, in the company of Coca-Cola and Disney. Perhaps more than any other 20th century product, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle is revered as an American icon, a success story of American traditional manufacturing.
President Ronald Reagan, President Billl Clinton, President George Bush and President George W. Bush all have visited Harley-Davidson manufacturing facilities and honored the example set by Harley-Davidson. When President Clinton visited the Harley-Davidson plant in York, Pennsylvania, he praised the company by saying: “You make an exciting product and you sell it all around the world”. And when President Bush talked to the workers at the Harley-Davidson factory, he said: “Harley-Davidson is a great example of the American entrepreneurial spirit”.
|
