Brand Profile : Iron Trucks

05 Mar 2008

Product Name: Iron Trucks
Company Name: J.a.r.t y2k sl.
Owners Names: Igor Iraola, Iban
Iraola, Ander Iraola
HQ Address: Irun,
Basque Country
Tel: +34 943 630097
Web: www.jartskateboards.com
www.iron-trucks.com
Email: jart@jartskateboards.com

Give us the low-down on your brand?
Iron Trucks is the skate truck brand of Jart Skateboards. Jart was founded in 2001 and now has 30 employees and produces a full range of skateboard decks, wheels and clothing.

Founded by the three Iraola brothers who have spent their lives in woodworking and skateboarding, Jart was started to fill a niche in the market for competitively priced, European-produced, skate hardgoods. With so much of the market supplied by American brands with American-based marketing and riders, they felt a European solution would help drive the skateboard market in Europe. The question was how to do it. The solution was to develop a complete portfolio of European skate hardgood brands under one umbrella manufactured in Europe by Europeans for Europeans.
Taking local knowledge of local markets and using the information to develop products that are better suited to European needs and at an affordable price. Jart Skateboards was the start and now stage two of the plan is underway. Iron trucks is launching into the market and it’s only a matter of time before locally manufactured bearings (stage three) are available.

Who is on the management team and what are their backgrounds?
The major decisions on marketing, sales and production are made by the
three founding brothers: Igor Iraola, Iban Iraola and Ander Iraola. Jose Manuel Roura is the team manager and looks after riders and tours.

What is the company philosophy?
Quality, quality, quality. If we can guarantee this then the products will sell themselves. To only sell something we are proud off and happy to use ourselves. For Jart this has meant using the most modern processing technology available which results in some of the most regular decks in the world. You can see in www.boardtesting.com. In 2004 we scored nine out of ten stars for quality and we were ranked second in decks. This will be the philosophy behind Iron trucks.

What is/are some of the most important lessons that you’ve learned
about running a company that you didn’t know when you started?
Learning to listen is key because everyone has something to teach you whether they say it or you learn it from watching them. We were not the first skate brand but we have our own unique angle on the market.

What does the future hold for your company?
The barrier to the development of the European skateboard market is the supply of cheaply made Asian product. This manufacturing elsewhere is sucking the lifeblood out of the business as it separates so much of the product’s creation away from the market it is selling to in order to survive. We are competing by using the latest manufacturing technology and by making the market and our end consumer aware that we are a total European solution. The future of our brand is in our hands, if we continue to help beginners skate and create skateboard schools and profiled events then our brands will grow. So we feed the roots and develop the market and we will live happily ever after.

So what are your product plans?
Our first range, which is just being shipped out, is a 5.0 low truck in a variety of colours. This is to be followed next year by a low 5.25 and then the same sizes in a high model. The roll out of the models is timed to ensure that the manufacturing process produces the highest quality product. In other words, we won’t run before we can walk.

How does your company support athletes and boardsports?
We have three categories of riders in our teams: professionals, amateurs and flow. The pros get a salary, they get all the kit they need and they go from event to event and sometimes on world tours. The amateurs have a lower salary and kit and attend more localised events and tours. Finally we have the flows who get all the kit but no money. Everyone has the opportunity to be in our videos that we film at events and on tour. We also sponsor events throughout the year as this helps our grass roots marketing.

What do you foresee for the future of the skateboard industry?
European brands continue to get stronger. Every year there are more of them, there are more factories in Europe than before, and we are now offering real competition to the American brands. European riders are getting better and better and there are more skate parks than ever before. So the future for European skateboarding looks bright.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to start a boardsports
company?
After the experience with Jart we have a much better idea of how to grow a skate brand in Europe. You need to carefully control marketing spending –make sure you spend what you know you can rather than what you hope
you can. Starting any business is tough and it takes time but at least this
time around we don’t need to persuade retailers and consumers that
European product is good and cool. But most important go with your heart
and passion. “I LIKE TO MAKE SKATEBOARDS TOO MUCH!!!