Jacksonville’s Nivel Parts acquires battery maker to fuel electric golf cart expansion (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — The shift to electric for golf karts is surging, and Jacksonville company Nivel Parts & Manufacturing Co. LLC is poised to capitalize on it with the acquisition of a Pinellas County battery producer.
Nivel, a manufacturer and distributor of golf carts and after-market parts for specialty vehicles, announced the acquisition of Bolt Energy USA Wednesday.
For 56 years, much of Nivel’s growth has come through acquisitions, said Jonathan Frank, the vice president of marketing for Nivel.
With an array of products under its umbrella, Nivel has a growing hand in the domestic golf cart and specialty vehicle after-market parts industry.
The company started producing its own line of golf cart vehicles three years ago but also has verticals in wheelskins, ATV accessories and parts and replacement parts for Caterpillar, John Deere and Peterbilt long-haul trucks.
Bolt’s focus on developing lithium battery technology for personal transportation vehicles, more commonly known as golf carts, was the perfect addition for the growing Jacksonville manufacturer, Frank told the Business Journal.
“We were missing a section of our business. Bolt was an extremely intelligent technology and a great company, family-owned company, U.S. company, U.S. support and design,” Frank said. “They came on the radar. They made a lot of headway and disrupted the market a lot.
“So we had a great relationship with them through some of our dealers, and in the end, our goal has really always been to keep our dealer partners ahead of the market.”
Golf cart producers, including Nivel, are adopting lithium battery charging over gas power at a substantially higher rate than manufacturers of larger automobiles on the road, Frank said.
Lithium batteries are fast becoming the dominant power source for golf carts, he said.
The batteries developed by Bolt in particular are lithium ion phosphate, a higher-grade and longer-lasting product.
“It’s a tighter voltage control, and it has less heat generation and a longer cycle of life,” Frank said.
Bolt will continue its operation in the Pinellas area under the acquisition, Frank said.
“We’re not going to disrupt what they have,” he said. “They have a great thing going for them, and they built their reputation on it, and it’s not in our best interest to offset that apple cart.”
Nivel plans to use the batteries from Bolt for its own golf carts, but the products can be used on most electric-powered personal transportation vehicles.
The Bolt battery also comes with an onboard charger for golf carts, Frank said, letting drivers charge their vehicle anywhere.
“So literally, if you go to, let’s say, the pickleball court and you need to charge, you can plug your extension cord right into a plug there and charge it up and be fully charged by the time you’re done with your game,” he said.
Demand for Nivel’s golf carts and other products is nationwide, and the company is set to bring some of Bolt’s products into its warehouses, to ship them more easily and more quickly.
Photo courtesy of Nivel Parts