Project 321 is now making hubs in Canada

Magnetic hub pioneers, Project 321 are becoming an Ontario-based company. The brand was recently purchased by North Arc Capital Partners, a Canadian partnership that are moving production to Mississauga, Ont. as part of a plan to expand the brand’s capacity and market presence.

The transition north is already well underway. Project 321 expects its new Canadian-made G3 hubs to be released by the end of this quarter.

What is Project 321 ?

Project 321 isn’t exactly a new brand. In fact, it was founded 17 years ago in Fresno, California by Jake Liles. In 2005, the move into mountain biking started with boutique parts. In 2011, Project 321 started making hubs with internals sourced from Industry Nine.

In 2017 the real work started. The brand introduced its magnet-actuated pawl hubs: the G2 hub. With 216 points of engagement, and a quiet or loud hub option, the G2 pioneered magnet paws for mountain biking. The combination of high-engagement and magnetic pawl’s promise of low drag attracted attention as an alternative to the fuss of spring-loaded pawls. By the end of that year, Liles and his partner moved to Bend, Ore. and brought most manufacturing in-house.

G3 Hub and Stan’s

The G2 hub design was refined over several years and eventually attracted the attention of Stan’s No Tubes. The wheel brand approached Liles to help develop its own magnetic pawl design (recently released as the MPulse hub). At the same time, Liles started developing his own G3 design.

With Stan’s involvement (Project 321 supplies several components to Stan’s that are common to the G3 hub) and the growth in cycling generally pushing Project 321 larger, Liles decided to find a way to grow the brand. Enter Bryden Richardson and North Arc Capital.

What is North Arc Precision?

So, how do Ontario and North Arc Precision figure into the story? At the same time as Project 321 was establishing itself and gaining attention with the magnetic hub design, Mississauga-based North Arc Capital Partners was expanding TriggerTech and North Arc Precision. TriggerTech produces high-end component supplier of crossbow and rifle triggers.

It is North Arc Precision’s experience in Wire EDM fabrication, CNC Machining and complex assembly processes (and 42,000 square-foot facility) that will be relevant to growing Project 321’s production capacity.

What happens…