IAME Italy, a world leader in the production of karting engines since 1968, is excited to make a significant announcement in regards to its North American distribution chain. In an effort to consolidate IAME’s presence on the continent, a new importer partnership has been formed to advance the product line into the future, and they will work together to promote and support IAME in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The new companies – named IAME USA East and IAME USA West – will manage their respective halves of the country, and will raise the bar for dealers in terms of support, product availability and pricing.

“We are very happy to introduce our new North American importers, IAME USA East and West,” commented Felix Rovelli, who will quarterback the new program as IAME Italy’s representative. “The future is very bright for IAME, and particularly our X30, here in the United States and we strongly believe that both of our new importers will take IAME to new levels of participation and customer support.”

IAME USA East is owned and operated by Eric Jones and Justin Marks, and will be headquartered at a state-of-the-art facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. IAME USA West is owned by Tom Kutscher and will be managed by Tony Alvis, and will be headquartered in Temecula, California. Both companies are focused on improving and growing the sport of karting by streamlining the class structure and stabilizing the technical specifications of the IAME product. One of the initial efforts has been to lock-in the X30 engine specs for years to come with the goal of limiting ongoing costs to racers.

“Having been in this sport for over 25 years, I’ve seen the ups and downs, and the damage that can be done by instability with our engine programs,” added Jones, who will head up the IAME USA East program. “We’re extremely pleased to have been able to put this new partnership together with IAME and firm up the immediate future of two-cycle sprint karting around the X30. Of course, we’ll be fully supporting the existing Leopard engine program with parts and engines. We’ve built a dealer program that will provide kart shops with product support and great pricing, and you’ll see our customer support vehicle trackside later this year. That said, we won’t be selling retail…that’s what our dealers are for. We simply want to support them 100% so that they’ll be our front-line contact with our racers.”

“Joining forces with IAME in North America is an important and valuable opportunity,” commented Justin Marks, co-owner of the IAME East effort. “Both Eric and myself share the same philosophy about American karting and are motivated to create partnerships that improve the industry for the customers. I believe the IAME product line is the best in karting and we look forward to bringing world class engines and parts, supported by great customer service, to a growing network of dedicated karting dealers.”

“I’m so thrilled with the opportunity to manage the IAME West distribution center and I’m happy to be on-board with an effort that has been designed to provide kart shops with a well-supported distribution program,” commented Alvis, who is also a nationally respected tuner and kart mechanic. “The IAME program is second to none and we’re putting together a solid dealer program that I know will fuel growth in terms of the dealer network.”

As stated, IAME USA East and West will not offer retail sales – all sales will go through the dealers. Specified territories will be set-up and honored with all dealers. The philosophy is to support and protect the shops that will be selling and servicing the IAME product line. Both importers will be in operation starting in May and new websites are currently in the works to provide dealers with no-hassle ordering and loads of technical information.

If you’re a racer, the only change you’ll see is that IAME product will be available from many more shops. IAME is a world leader in kart engines, with a record of 47 world titles and a reputation for reliable, consistent and ‘fun to drive’ engines. In addition to the X30 TaG Junior and Senior engine, IAME also produces the brand new water-cooled 60cc X30 Rookie engine, the Leopard, the Nordam, the KZ Screamer and the X30 Super Shifter 175cc powerplant.

Existing IAME dealers who are in immediate need of parts are asked to contact Lynn Haddock of Haddock Ltd. at 423-698-0847.

Anyone interested in inquiring about dealer programs should contact their respective distributors via sales@iameusaeast.com or sales@iameusawest.com