In the current economic climate it's pretty rare to hear about a new snowmobile dealership opening. It seems all you hear about are dealerships closing.
But there's a bit of good news in Idaho Falls, where Josh Cutler has opened Precision Arctic Cat, which fills a void left when longtime dealer Wilson's Arctic Cat discontinued selling snowmobiles last year.
Precision Arctic Cat is located on the northeast side of Idaho Falls at 2199 N. Woodruff. It's about a block off U.S. Highway 26. Residents of Idaho Falls will recognize the location as the home of Precision Performance and Precision Boats, which has been in business for 30 plus years.
Precision Performance has earned a good reputation as a snowmobile aftermarket shop, especially for its lightweight mufflers. So Precision isn't new to the snowmobile rodeo.
The new dealership sells snowmobiles, ATVs and side-by-sides, has a service shop, machine shop and has a full line of parts and accessories. The snowmobile dealership end of the Precision business opened Oct. 1, 2010. Cutler and Arctic Cat had been working out the details of opening the dealership for about 45 days prior to the doors opening.
When asked why he would open a snowmobile dealership during tough economic times, Cutler chuckled and then said, "I asked myself that same question." Then he added, "It's good to have a good mix of motorsports for summer and winter."
We then asked how business has been since opening last October. He said, "(Having the Cat dealership) definitely helped get more people in the door and it's helping winter go by a little better."
On the boat side of the business, Precision sells Glastron, Tige, Crestliner, Duckworth and Weldcraft boats.
The snowmobile dealership is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, contact Precision Arctic Cat (208) 529-0520 or www.precision-performance.com.