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e make products for everybody, whether it’s American or Japanese
cruisers, touring, ATVs, mopeds, scooters, Harleys, or sportbikes. We
deal with all of it. We even do private labeling for quite a few companies
and custom work based on blueprints.” So says Slipstreamer’s
Bob Eggerichs, Jr., talking about Slipstreamer’s expansive line
of windshields. But it wasn’t always so.
Slipstreamer began thirty years ago as
an off-shoot of a company called Crown Plastics. Prior to that, Crown’s
business had consisted of plastic distributing and custom-fabricating
plastics like lighting fixtures and store fixtures, “basically
a blueprint-to-product operation,” says Eggerichs. Crown also
got involved with making motorcycle windshields for another company,
which one day folded owing Crown a lot of money. Crown took over the
product line in lieu of payment.
“After we received the product line
we decided to continue making the shields and selling them through established
distributors to get the money back,” Eggerichs expains. “We
operated for the next couple of years just trying to get back into the
black. After a few years we found out this is a great business to be
in. It was a different group of people, and quite a bit of fun. So we
decided to continue and expand the line.”
Crown Plastics spun off Crown Fairings,
or C-F Inc., which was renamed Slipstreamer in 1973. Eggerichs says
Slipstreamer still makes windshields pretty much the way it did in the
early days, with the exception of the machining and finishing processes.
“We’ve looked at new ways of doing it, and some of the new
machines that have come out, and to be honest they’re not that
much different from what we’re doing now except they’re
a lot more expensive.”
Another thing that hasn’t changed
is Slipstreamer’s commitment to making the best product possible.
“We’ve always taken the approach that we’re going
to make it as easy for the dealer and distributor as possible,”
Eggerichs says. “It makes a little more work on our end, but if
it’s harder for us, well, that’s what we’re being
paid for.” After-sale service is a Slipstreamer product, too.
“The contact at our website goes right to our tech desk where
there are people who can immediately talk you through any problem. If
for some reason no one’s at the desk when you write or call, you’ll
be called back within half an hour. Service is very important to us.”
With Slipstreamer entering its 31st year
in the windshield business, now would be a great time to talk to your
Parts Unlimited rep about stocking the full line of Slipstreamer products.
Slipstreamer’s SS-32 Falcon includes all of the comfort
features that you’d expect on a full-size touring windshield.
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