American IronHorse

American IronHorse was an American motorcycle manufacturer that was founded in 1995 by Tim Edmondson and Bill Rucker.[1] At one time, AIH was the largest factory producer of custom motorcycles in the USA. Their 224,000-square-foot (20,800 m²) factory was located in Fort Worth, Texas, and housed the complete manufacturing process under a single roof. Although most (305) parts for the bikes were made in-house, such as the seats and wheels, all American IronHorse motorcycles were built with S&S engines and were assembled in-house. In Spring 2008, American Ironhorse ceased production on all motorcycles and most company assets were liquidated at auction.[2] According to company management, In 2004, William (Bill) Rucker sold his majority interest in the company after failing to convince the board of directors' from proceeding with a public offering of stock and retain the company's private ownership structure. AIH over the next 4 years hired 5 different CEOs in hope of replicating Rucker's success during his tenure. Tim Edmondson, President, the second largest shareholder and director of design sold his ownership in the company the following year subsequent to Rucker's ownership sale. Customer complaints aimed at quality and design of production motorcycles and challenges with employees, the final CEO Buck Hendricson, who ran the company during its second bankruptcy continued to address major problems after the final purchase by Textron Inc in bankruptcy court. Textron liquidated the company in 2008 according to inside sources due to a lack of operating capital, low demand for its motorcycles, and lack of a solid business plan to correct falling custom motorcycle demand in 2008. Several of the company directors continued operating failing dealerships in the custom motorcycle market in Tarrant County, Texas.