Beals led turnaround at Harley
Vaughn L. Beals Jr., one of 13 Harley-Davidson Inc. executives who negotiated the buyback of Harley from AMF Corp. in 1981, has died at age 90, a funeral home in Gig Harbor, Washington, reported.
As Harley’s chairman and chief executive officer, Beals led the company through the turbulent 1980s when it teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.
By the mid-1980s, it appeared that Beals had pulled off a miracle.
The company introduced its Evolutionary engine in 1984, and that, combined with the Sportster motorcycle, began to turn the company around.
Important investments were made in the business, and a financial restructuring positioned the company to become publicly traded.
The quality of Harley’s bikes improved, and the dealer network was revitalized and growing.
And under Beals’ leadership, Harley-Davidson persuaded President Ronald Reagan to impose a tenfold increase in tariffs on imported heavyweight motorcycles, almost all of which were then from Japan.
In the first year of a five-year program, tariffs rose from 4.4 percent to 49.4 percent on large highway motorcycles. The president’s decision was based on recommendations of the U.S. International Trade Commission, which concluded Harley — which had dominated the post World War II large motorcycle market — had been harmed by Japanese imports.
“We’re delighted,” Beals said at the time. “It will give us time that we might otherwise not have had to make manufacturing improvements and bring out new products.”
By 1987, the company asked the Reagan administration to withdraw the protections.
“We’re profitable again,” Beals said. “We’re recapitalized. We’re diversified. We don’t need any more help.”
“Vaughn always recognized (Harley’s) turnaround was a team effort and appreciated each and every one who participated. Although he was pleased to receive industry awards, Vaughn’s greatest reward was the survival of the company during difficult times,” an obituary from Haven of Rest Funeral Home in Gig Harbor said.
In a statement, Harley CEO Matt Levatich said: “During some of the most challenging times in the long legacy of Harley-Davidson, Vaughn Beals brought vision and powerful leadership to this great company. Most significantly, he ensured that this ‘Eagle Soars Alone.’ We’ve carried his leadership lift under our wings ever since and we always will.”
Beals grew up in Massachusetts. He received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and began his career doing research at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory in Buffalo, New York.
He came to Harley-Davidson in 1975, when it was owned by AMF Corp., to oversee new-product engineering and quality control.
“An added bonus to this job was learning to ride and becoming a (motorcycle) enthusiast who could identify with the expectations of customers,” his obituary said.
Beals and his wife, Eleanore, retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, and spent summers in Gig Harbor to be near their family, according to the obituary.
In addition to his wife, Beals is survived by their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.