Living up to your company's name is a constant challenge when it includes the word "best." Knowingly or not, Bestop founder
Tom Bradley set the bar high when he created a company bent on producing "The best Jeep tops you can find" in 1954.
Like many successful ideas and companies, Bestop was born more from necessity than by intention. In the 1950s, Tom moved his
family to Colorado where he opened his own upholstery shop. He promptly learned a lesson in seasonal economics, one unencountered
by his father: Business ground to a standstill during Colorado's cold winter months. As fill-in work, Tom began hand-stitching
canvas replacement tops for Jeeps, which were prevalent in Colorado. (In fact, Colorado has become the Mecca for 4x4 soft
tops: Whitco in Colorado Springs was the original OE canvas-top supplier to Willys, Kaiser and AMC, and prominent aftermarket
top-maker Kayline located in Denver.)
Walk through the main entrance of Bestop's manufacturing facility to find the 400-plus employees busy at work.
|
Eventually, Bradley's top business quickly became his top business, out-grossing the upholstery shop. So, he sold the latter to focus full-time on his Jeep-top undertaking, which
he named Bestop (pronounced like Best Top).
Fifty-one years later, Bestop is a market leader in both OE and aftermarket soft tops. "We're still considered a cut-and-sew
company," says Bestop Marketing Manager Ann Kocourek. However, the company has diversified along the way and now has about
30 families of products. These include hardtops, seats, doors/windows, storage, Jeep and Suzuki accessories, full-size truck
products and more. TOPS IN THE INDUSTRY Bestop is still located in the outskirts of Boulder, Colo. However, the company has grown from its original location-an abandoned
schoolhouse-to a 209,000-square-foot facility in Broomfield, Colo. All soft tops and related accessories such as bows and
hardware are made in-house by Bestop's 400-plus Denver Bronco fans and a lone outcast Packer fanatic.
Marketing Manager Ann Kocourek stands over the manufacturing floor where employees are busy making Bestop products.
|
The company's manufacturing processes have also evolved. The retired bowling-alley planks that originally served as fabric-cutting
tables don't even remotely resemble the modern air hockey-ish tables that literally levitate fabric, allowing Bestop employees
to maneuver heavy pieces with minimal muscular strain. Computerized Gerber cutting machines also automate the process. "But
the assembly is pretty much done by hand," Kocourek says. "We still have a lot of sewing machines."
Materials-wise, the original canvas fabric has given way to Haartz vinyls and other modern textillian marvels. Weather- and
mildew-resistant, these fabrics are available in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Some even adorn Bestop seats and center
consoles, an irony that would undoubtedly appease company founder Tom Bradley, who began his career as an upholsterer.
Bestop's top business is split into two divisions: OE and aftermarket. The company got its first OE contract in 1986 when
Chrysler bought Jeep from AMC. (Previous OE supplier/Bestop competitor Whitco disappeared from the scene shortly thereafter.)
"The OE and aftermarket lines are separate and are even in different buildings," Kocourek says, defining Besopt's two divisions.
"We see them as different expertises."
