Nautilus Unveils Heavy Project
By Juliana Anderson, The Columbian Staff Writer
Friday, June 10, 2005
Nautilus Inc. Chairman and CEO Gregg Hammann Wednesday called on Clark County residents to "get fit" and backed up his challenge with a corporate commitment to the community.
Hammann, who leads the Vancouver-based half-billion-dollar fitness equipment company, was keynote speaker at the annual Excellence in Enterprise luncheon hosted by the Greater Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Bank of Clark County. About 250 people attended.
Hammann cited statistics showing that Clark County's over-weight problem is worse than both the state and national averages. According to research gathered by Clark County Choices 2010, between 1999 and 2003 the percentage of obese people in the county increased from 16 percent to 26 percent. During the same period, the percentage of overweight people jumped from 30 percent to 37 percent. The combined totals mean more than half the local population has a weight problem.
"We know that community leaders want Vancouver-Clark County to be a world-class community," Hammann said. "However, we've got a problem. Clark County is among the most over-weight counties in the nation. We want to help."
To that end, Hammann announced that Nautilus is:
- Sponsoring a pilot program that, if successful, would result in $1 million of fitness equipment being donated to schools throughout Vancouver and Clark County over the next several years.
- Donating 100 pieces of exercise equipment worth $250,000 to the Firstenburg Community Center, which will soon open in east Vancouver. The equipment will include strength-training machines, free weights, treadmills, step mills and exercise bikes. As part of the partnership, Nautilus will provide equipment training to Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department staff and equipment maintenance.
- Participating in the Vancouver Police Department's Police Activities League, geared to at-risk kids. Nautilus is donating equipment to the program intended to give kids exercise options.
- Expanding its plan for community recreation facilities around its new corporate headquarters on Southeast 164th Avenue. The project will convert 1.5 acres of former parking lot into a combination soccer/football field with seating, a baseball diamond, track, basketball and other facilities.
The project is part of a $15 million remodel of the 500,000-square-foot building, which will be the company's new headquarters, and surrounding property. About 450 of the company's 1,250 employees will work there.
The recreation facilities will be fenced but open to the public, Hammann said.
The "Get Fit Clark County" project also includes six-week fitness challenge programs offered to other area employers; product donations to area fund-raisers; fitness education outreach through the Nautilus Institute; and discounts on fitness equipment at the Nautilus retail showroom.
"We've made a 20-year lease commitment to our new headquarters location," Hammann said. "We've dropped an anchor. When we recruit talented people here, we want this place to be the best it can be."
Energizing the company
The fitness challenge is one of several initiatives that have energized Nautilus in the past two years, since it began a financial turnaround.
The company, which sells Nautilus, Bowflex, Schwinnfitness and StairMaster products, went from seeing year-over-year sales decline by 50 percent in 2003 to this year's increase of 30 percent.
Hammann expects Nautilus revenue to grow from $600 million to as much as $5 billion over the next 10 years and the company's worldwide market share increase from 6 percent to 30 percent.
The growth, expected to occur through acquisitions and a savvy market strategy, could more than double the size of the Nautilus work force in Vancouver, Hammann said