Rox Speed FX, Inc is a company in the backyard of the Grand Rapids area that has been serving the power sports industry since 1999. This local business, referred to the paper by a family friend, has been an innovative company specializing in customizations and helping others since its inception.
Rocky Cutsforth, the creator of Rox Speed FX, loved snowmobiles and riding and all things motorsports. He was six feet two inches tall and wanted to ride his snowmobile standing up, something that was hard to do at the time. He created a riser that enabled the handlebars of the snowmobile to be raised to a higher position so that one could stand up on it. Rocky’s innovativeness was learned from his dad, David Cutsforth, an inventor and creator.
Through the support of his wife Lynn and the encouragement of his parents Dave and Marlyce, Rocky’s hobby and passion quickly turned into a business when the need for these creations was realized. The business originally started through the need for making adjustments or changes on snowmobiles/atvs to make them more comfortable.
Sadly, in 2010 Rocky passed away after an ATV accident for a photo shoot. Before Rocky passed away, he told his wife Lynn that his cousin Chris Olin would be able to take over if anything happened to him. Chris and Rocky grew up together riding “anything with tires or a track.”
When Chris and his wife purchased the company they bought manufacturing equipment so they could do their own in-house manufacturing. Chris was a manufacturing engineer at the time of Rocky's passing, but he grew up in manufacturing with a grandfather as a blacksmith/metal worker and his dad in the manufacturing/heavy equipment world.
The groundwork was laid out by Rocky and his family. Olin said, “We are trying our best to carry on what they started.” Right before the pandemic, Rox Speed FX was up to two shifts, 15 people working 20 hours a day. Now with a smaller number of people, they are working five days a week and still going strong.
The interesting thing about this local business is that most of their products go elsewhere. Olin said, “The majority of our sales is through motorsports distributors in North America and Europe. We are also a supplier to OEM motorsports manufacturers. We have a great relationship with Artic Cat, Polaris, and the Yamaha snowmobile groups. We work along with them and for them, creating, developing and manufacturing new ideas. We are enthusiasts and adventure guys at heart so we love to be able to work with those folks.”
And while most of their work is through distribution and not walk-ins, the company gives back to the community through local employment and enlisting and outsourcing the help of other companies. They use five different local manufacturing companies between Remer, GR, and Hibbing to help them with their overcapacity needs.
Rox Speed FX ships to distributors in Finland, Sweden, UK, India, Indonesia, Japan, dealers in Australia, one in Russia, several in Canada, and the United States.
Olin said his favorite part of the job is the relationships the business builds with people in the industry, “Being able to design and develop new ideas and products.” They get calls from customers all over the world that love what they do and are thankful for how they can make their vehicles more comfortable.
Their #1 goal is to make sure that they have a positive impact on the people they come in contact with. According to Olin they run their business based on their values. He said, “Our values are based on our faith, making sure we treat people right and that people know Rox is in it for the long-haul.”
A recent product that Rox Speed FX have come out with help improve the grip and traction on a snowmobile: The Anchor grip and Versi grip materials are stuck on the tunnel and the seats of the snowmobile providing more grip for mountain, backcountry and snocross racers to grab their seat with their feet or the inside of their legs to better stay on the motor vehicle while performing a trick or riding aggressive
Rox Speed FX has also done vehicle builds for themselves and for magazines with over 50 builds that have either been in trade shows or national magazines. Their Wall of Fame shows many of the successful builds from over the last 25 years.. They are well known in the snowmobile community. Olin hopes to continue growing the adventure bike and motorcycle side of the business as well.
Their future goals are to continue growing as the industry grows. Olin said, “We are always looking at new ideas and paths to travel. A business has to come out with new products and innovations to stay relevant.” Another goal is to provide a great place where people can come to work. We believe life is about relationships so we do our best to treat our team as family. .
If you’re interested in finding out more about Rox Speed FX, you can go online to their website at https://roxspeedfx.com/
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