Spirit Fitness parent, Dyaco, plans to go public in 2012

Taiwan-based Dyaco International, parent to the Spirit Fitness brand, plans to take itself public by the end of this year.

The move to trade on the Taiwan Stock Exchange is expected in the third or fourth quarter 2012, said Chris Cox, president of Spirit Fitness (www.spiritfitness.com), which sells treadmills, ellipticals and indoor bikes to specialty retailers and commercial entities in North America.

“It will enhance our ability to grow the company,” Cox told SNEWS.

On the Taiwanese exchange, Dyaco (www.dyaco.com) will join fellow fitness company Johnson Health Tech, parent to the Matrix, Horizon and Vision brands, which began trading publicly in 2003.

Cox, who worked with Johnson’s Vision Fitness when it went public, said the private-to-public changeover will only minorly alter Dyaco’s daily operations in the United States, lining up financial calendars and reports.

“I think you’ll see a mention of us [Spirit] in the quarterly filings, but I don’t know exactly, legally, what they’ll have to disclose about our performance,” on an individual company basis.

With support from Dyaco, Spirit is expanding its American footprint. It employs about 50 people, and this past summer, the brand purchased 15 acres of land in its North American headquarters’ hometown of Jonesboro, Ark., with plans to build new offices and a warehouse for the company. (Click here to read the July 27, 2011 SNEWS story.) Crews recently broke ground on the new 115,000 square-foot building, Cox said.

And Spirit plans to return to the IHRSA trade show (March 14-17, 2012) in Los Angeles, after a few years of absence for the brand, he added.

Dyaco took full control of Spirit in 2005 (Click here to read the April 7, 2005 SNEWS story), after its initial investment in the brand in 2004. (Click here to read the Jan 15, 2004 SNEWS story.)

Dyaco also manufactures and handles international sales for Sole Fitness (www.soletreadmills.com), which makes treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bikes, mostly for hotels. The Salt Lake City-based brand sells to consumers through Sears, Dicks Sporting Goods and Sports Authority.

—David Clucas