Tours of facilities offered during Northwoods Fall Ride
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson Tomahawk Operations reached a significant milestone.
The company’s plant at 426 E. Somo Ave. in Tomahawk celebrated its 60th anniversary in January.
Over the last 60 years, parts for motorcycles, snowmobiles, golf carts and more have been produced at the facility.
But, if you want the full story of Harley-Davidson’s Somo Ave. plant, you’ll have to go back a couple more decades –before motorcycles were produced in Tomahawk.
Tomahawk Boat Company
The story of Harley-Davidson’s Somo Ave. plant begins not with motorcycles, but with boats.
In the summer of 1945, Franklin “Frank” P. Winter and his brother-in-law, Fred W. “Fritz” Dreger, founded the Tomahawk Boat Manufacturing Company.
Winter and Dreger purchased a warehouse and a section of property owned by Archie Daigle. The property was located on the south side of E. Somo Ave. and east of N. 9th St. to the M. T. & W. railroad tracks.
An article in the Aug. 2, 1945 issue of the Tomahawk Leader said the company’s initial plans called for the construction of “flat and round-bottomed fishing boats of a type best suited to local waters and in currently large demand.”
“As manufacturing facilities expand, a complete line will be added to include outboard runabouts, hunting skiffs, car-top boats and custom-built inboard and racing shells,” the Leader article stated.
At the time of the article’s publication, the warehouse was slated to be “completely revamped and remodeled to permit full installation of woodworking machinery and equipment, including boat forms and assembly lines.”
Winter and Dreger sought to begin production as soon as possible, as numerous orders had already been received at that time.
On Feb. 21, 1946, the first Tomahawk Boat, an outboard rowboat, came off the assembly line.
An office, showroom and motor service department were added to the factory in 1947, and by 1950, Tomahawk Boat Company crafts were displayed in 130 dealer showrooms in 30 states.
In 1951, Winter bought out Dreger’s share of the company and appointed his father, P.J. Winter, President. Meanwhile, Frank Winter took on the role of Secretary-Treasurer.
Winter began experimenting with using fiberglass in boat designs in 1952, and the company produced the world’s first fully-fiberglassed hull craft the following year. Dr. Edward Jarvis took the initial order for the first-of-its-kind boat.
The Tomahawk Boat Company was building 1,000 crafts annually by 1954. The company’s boats were featured in the Evinrude Outboard Motors catalog, Newsweek’s Brussels Fair and The Today Show.
Tragedy struck on April 15, 1954, when the Tomahawk Boat Company factory was destroyed in a fire. A total of 200 completed boats were lost in the blaze, and the damage was estimated to be about $200,000.00.
In the wake of the disaster, the company’s employees rallied and helped build a new factory. 89 days after the fire, full production resumed at the new plant, an L-shaped cinder block structure. At the time the factory re-launched, 36 people were employed there.
Fiberglass had made its way into production models by 1955, and in 1956, Winter designed a new boat, called The Spirit of Tomahawk. The 15-foot-long, two-tone sport boat had an all-fiberglass hull and a six-foot beam. Its “new car look” featured sweeping tailfins and aluminum trim.
By 1957, the entire line of Tomahawk Boats was made of fiberglass.
On Target, a race boat designed by Winter, was built in 1961. The futuristic missile-shaped craft boasted three-point suspension with front rudder steering and a totally enclosed-by-position locked outboard motor. On Target was featured in Newsweek and on The Today Show during a boat show in New York City, and the craft can still be seen today in a small building next to Washington Square Park and across the street from the Tomahawk Area Historical Society, which is located at 18 E. Washington Ave.
Harley-Davidson
In March 1962, Harley-Davidson purchased a majority interest in the Tomahawk Boat Company, and in Jan. 1963, Winter sold his stock in the company to Harley-Davidson.
The following month, L. Gordon Mitchell was elected to the Tomahawk Boat Company’s Board of Directors and was appointed General Manager of the Tomahawk subsidiary of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company of Milwaukee.
The Somo Ave. plant became Harley-Davidson’s sole supplier of fiberglass parts on larger bikes, sidecars and windshields.
The first compression molding press was purchased in 1965, and in 1969, the company began producing saddlebags and fairings at the facility.
Hoods for the AMF Harley-Davidson snowmobile were produced at the Somo Ave. plant from 1971 to 1975, and in 1979, a paint line, later known as the East Line, was added.
An expansion of the plant occurred in 1988, which increased employment capacity from around 50 to about 150 people. A new paint line was part of the expansion, and in 1991, another paint line and press room were added. A computerized molding press was implemented the facility in 1992.
In 1995, the North Plant was opened on W. Oneida Dr. in the Tomahawk Industrial Park to accommodate increased demand for Harley-Davidson products. The facility produced sidecars and windshields, and starter motors were also painted at the plant. That same year, another computerized compression molding press was installed the Somo Ave. plant.
A shipping and receiving area and office were added to the Somo Ave. facility in 1997. Additional upgrades that year included the replacement of manual drilling with a router.
1998 saw a large expansion, giving the Somo Ave. facility its current look. Hand striping robots were also added that year.
A third press was added to the Somo Ave. facility in 2001, and a new plant opened at 611 Kaphaem Rd. in 2002. Saddlebags, windshields, tour bags and side bags have been made at the facility, which still operates today.
In 2005, production from the W. Oneida Dr. plant was moved to Kaphaem Rd.
Tour Harley-Davidson’s Somo Ave., Kaphaem Rd. plants
Once again, Harley-Davidson is offering tours of its Somo Ave. and Kaphaem Rd. plants in Tomahawk during Northwoods Fall Ride.
Tours will be available on Friday, Sept. 15 and Saturday, Sept. 16 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day.