A new labor deal that will keep Harley-Davidson’s remaining Wisconsin factories operating is an essential step toward revamping the way motorcycles and their component parts are produced and sold, according to a top company executive. “It’s about changing the culture in how we operate as a business, not just in manufacturing but in product development, sales and marketing, and extending into our dealer and supplier networks,” said Matt Levatich, president and chief operating officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Co., in an interview with The Business Journal. “It’s also about working together in ways we forgot how to do during the really heady times.” Levatich, who leads the largest division of Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc., said the company became accustomed to a production system and mind-set that developed during nearly two decades of unprecedented growth and demand for the heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer, all of which changed during the prolonged economic downturn.
Read more: New contracts, new direction for Harley - The Business Journal of Milwaukee
