Orange County Choppers
| Orange County Choppers, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1999 |
| Seat |
Newburgh , Orange County ( New York ) United States
|
| management | Paul John Teutul |
| Number of employees | approx. 70 |
| Branch | vehicle construction |
| Website | www.orangecountychoppers.com |
Orange County Choppers , Inc. ( OCC for short ) is an American motorcycle manufacturer that specializes in custom-made choppers . The company became internationally known through the television series American Chopper .
history
The company Orange County Choppers was in Rock Tavern, 1999 Orange County , in the state of New York established (ie not in the same California Orange County ). It emerged from the steel construction company Orange County Ironworks . OCC first became known in 1999 at the Daytona Beach Bike Week , where they presented the True Blue Bike, a classic chopper that Paul Teutul Sr. had made in the basement of his house.
The company was voted one of the twelve best motorcycle designers in the world by American Iron magazine in 2002 and immortalized with 19 other motorcycle manufacturers in the book Haute Motor: The Art of the Chopper .
In addition to the themed bikes, which are often commissioned for charitable or advertising purposes, OCC also produces series vehicles that are based on the commissioned work.
Headquarters & manufacturing facilities
First, production began in the halls of Orange County Ironworks , where all metal and sheet metal work could be carried out. Later, a separate building was built on the company premises, which has been expanded several times over the years. Eventually, a stand-alone complex was built in Montgomery with roughly twice the capacity. This was followed by the opening of a shop for the sale of the series bikes.
In April 2008, the company opened a new corporate headquarters near Newburgh, NY. Production facilities and sales rooms were to be merged so that visitors could watch the employees making the motorcycles. The construction cost was about 16 million US dollars.
Site of Orange County Iron Works and first headquarters of OCC 41 ° 31 '53 " N , 74 ° 8' 6" W
Old headquarters of the OCC in Montgomery, sold in 2008 41 ° 31 ′ 38 ″ N , 74 ° 13 ′ 40 ″ W
Old OCC store, Montgomery Plaza, closed in 2008 41 ° 31 ′ 30 ″ N , 74 ° 11 ′ 56 ″ W
OCC headquarters since 2008 41 ° 30 ′ 20 ″ N , 74 ° 4 ′ 41 ″ W
Owners and employees
Paul Teutul Sr.
Paul John Teutul (born May 1, 1949) (nickname: (The) Senior ) is the founder of OCC and the steel construction company Orange County Ironworks . After he was actively involved in vehicle manufacturing at OCC in the first few years, he increasingly devoted himself to the administration of the company and only occasionally worked on the motorcycles himself. Optical trademarks are his mustache and his tattoos on his upper arms.
Michael Teutul
Michael Joseph Teutul (born November 26, 1978) (nickname: Mikey ) is the youngest son of Paul Teutul Sr. He is employed as an assistant at OCC, he also supports the webmaster of the OCC homepage. In the television series he is portrayed as a “joker” within OCC, who draws attention to himself among the employees with strange ideas or competitions. He is also active in the company's promotion events. His skills as a mechanic lag behind those of the rest of the staff. Nevertheless, he designed his own chopper with the "Blues Bike". He can also be seen in the new season, which started again on the Discovery Channel in 2018.
Jason Pohl
Jason Gabriel Pohl (born July 1, 1981) works as a designer. After initially mainly responsible for the design of individual parts such as wheels or tanks, his area of responsibility grew over the years. He is increasingly responsible for the complete design of the OCC motorcycles.
Other employees known by name
- Michael "Mike" Ammirati (born December 25, 1958), shop supervisor, mechanic
- Ralph Estrada Jr. (born August 21, 1978), painter
- Nick Hansford (born May 16, 1978), mechanic
- Christian Welter (born September 9, 1978), mechanic
- Steve Moreau (born May 15, 1970), Managing Director
- Jim Quinn (born June 12, 1966), engineer
- Ron Salsbury (born June 11, 1972), production manager
- Earle Herman Smith III (born April 26, 1975), warehouse clerk
- Ty Kropp (born August 31, 1987), machine operator
- Mike Burkhouse (born August 20, 1960), salesman
- Jody Flannery (born August 17, 1969), logistics
- John Sohigian (born August 1, 1960), Marketing
- Eric England (born August 6, 1975), webmaster
- Kate Cleary, accountant
- Michele Kaplan, public relations
- Walter Kozlowski (born November 3, 1953), controller
- Willy Eckert (born February 3, 1983), mechanic
- John Randazzo
- Jeff Clegg (won the OCC FANtasy Bike "Corporal Punishment")
Former Employees
Paul Teutul Jr.
Paul Michael Teutul (born October 2, 1974) (nickname: Paulie ) is a former partner of OCC. After graduating from high school , Teutul Jr. moved directly to his father's company, where he initially became head of the sales department. He directed the design and manufacture of almost all themed bikes that were accompanied in American Chopper . In early 2009 he got into a heated argument with his father about his work ethic. Since then, Teutul Jr. has not actively worked on the motorcycles and briefly worked as a consultant for larger projects for the company. In the meantime, like his brother Michael, he has completely left OCC and founded his own company with him under the name Paul Jr. Designs . In the first episode of the 7th season of "American Chopper" it was announced that Teutul Jr. now also builds motorcycles. The commercial property acquired for this is not far from the old OCC workshop. With Vincent DiMartino, Joseph Puliafico and Cody Connelly, Teutul Jr. was able to recruit three former OCC employees for the new project.
Rick Petko
Rick Petko (born September 11, 1968) worked as a mechanic at OCC. He's been an American Chopper since season one and was seen building the bikes. He was especially responsible for the manufacture of tanks and now runs his own business.
Vincent DiMartino
Vincent "Vinnie" DiMartino (born October 9, 1972) was an OCC mechanic and for many years Paul Teutul Jr.'s partner in the manufacture of the themed bikes. He left the company with Cody Connelly at the end of August 2007 and founded his own custom bike company called V-Force Customs . In 2010 he joined Paul Jr. Designs .
Other former employees
- Cody Connelly (born August 30, 1987), mechanic, previously a trainee, now with Paul Jr. Designs
- Mike Campo, mechanic (until 2005)
- Keith Quill, managing director
- Craig Chapman, mechanic
- Whitney McGuire, Merchandising (former girlfriend of Paul Teutul Jr.)
- Lee Stamper
- Joseph S. Puliafico, managing director of the OCC shop, meanwhile with Paul Jr. Designs
- Sven Bastubbe (born November 14, 1972), delivery and transfer, meanwhile also with "Paul Jr. Designs"
American Chopper TV series
The company became internationally known through the television series American Chopper , which was broadcast from 2002 to early 2010 on the Discovery Channel and the TLC station. In Germany, with is off-speakers backed version of DMAX broadcast.
In early April 2010, TLC announced that a 7th season called American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior is produced. The season has been broadcast by DMAX since November 1, 2010.
A feature of the series are the numerous and sometimes fierce arguments between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. Frequent triggers are Paul Seniors criticism of Paul Jr.'s work ethic, new design variants or the work processes. Paul Senior is particularly interested in old school bikes, whereas Paul Jr. is rather critical of this style and appreciates modern, extravagant designs.
Selection of themed bikes
Sun bike
Mountain Creek Bike
NY Jets Bike
NY Giants Bike
Yankee bike
NY Chiefs Bike
Black Widow Bike
Miami Heat Bike
Jet bike
Fire bike
Series bike
US Army bike
Lugz bike
FBI bike
Darien Lake Bike with Michael Ammirati
Eragon chopper
Motorcycle models to the series
- 1:10 scale:
Jet Bike, Black Widow, Firebike, Old School Chopper, Commanche, Old School Chopper (Cody Project), Mikey's Bike, Tool Bike, Santa Claus Bike, POW / MIA Bike, Miller Electric, Dixie Chopper, Caterpillar Bike, LUCY'S Bike, Napa Bike, The Reel Deal Chopper
- Scale 1: 6:
Jet bike, firebike
Trivia
In the music video Rockstar by the Canadian band Nickelback , Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr. and Michael Teutul can be seen in three excerpts. In addition, Paul Teutul Sr. and Jr. can be seen briefly with their motorcycles in the film Born to be Wild , including John Travolta , Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence . They also have an appearance in the third season of the series My Name is Earl . They also built a bike for this series.
On August 7, 2020, the Orange County Choppers published together with the South Tyrolean German rock - band Frei.Wild under the collaboration name Brüder4Brothers album Brotherhood .
literature
- Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutuls , Publisher: Warner Books (October 1, 2006), ISBN 0-446-52801-3 .
- The Ride of a Lifetime: Doing Business the Orange County Choppers Way , Author: Paul Teutul, Sr. with Mark Yost, Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (March 27, 2009), ISBN 978-0-470-44997 -4 .
- The ride of a lifetime: The Orange County Choppers' secret of success (Ger.), Author: Paul Teutul, Sr. with Mark Yost, Publisher: Börsenmedien (October 26, 2009), ISBN 978-3-941493-05-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/hog_brawl_DGIaJp3YxntDfDynaIrtbL?sms_ss=twitter
- ↑ Philipps Brothers - The New South Tyrolean Daily Newspaper. In: tageszeitung.it. August 7, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020 .
