Revving Forward: Wheel Designer Gets Back on Track After Disaster

Hi-Performance Designs of Hillsborough County

For one Florida-based designer and manufacturer of aluminum alloy wheels, Hi-Performance Designs, cars have always been more than a business—they’re a lifelong passion. “Since I was about two or three, all I did was cars, go-karts, racing—so my background is automotive, and that’s my passion,” the owner, Henry Gaudens shared.

From a blank sheet of paper, he and his team design and develop wheels for everything from golf carts and trailers to classic and specialty cars. With six market segments and a focus on innovation, they create distinctive designs, engineer them overseas, and bring them to life for customers across the country.

But when a hurricane brought over a foot of water into their facility, the business faced a serious setback. “Our showroom was nice but completely destroyed from the inside,” Gaudens recalled. “Getting hit by the hurricane couldn’t come at a worse time,” he added.

That’s when he turned to the Florida SBDC at USF and senior business consultant Bill Burnham for help. “Bill was awesome – absolutely incredible,” Gaudens said.

Through the Florida Emergency Bridge Loan, the business was able to recover and begin rebuilding. “He helped a ton, and I explained what we were doing [and] he goes “We can figure it out.” Within I think two or three weeks we had it nailed down and finished after about four or five months of waiting… so without Bill I wouldn’t be sitting here with you guys,” he added.

The business owner thanks the Florida SBDC at USF and his business consultant for all of their help during the tough times and looks forward to what’s to come. “Since Bill helped us, he’s a source, so SBDC in general [is] fantastic,” Gaudens said.

Now, the team is back at work—reconstructing, designing, and staying positive. “Hopefully within the next couple months we’ll have this thing looking nice – having a good place, a clean nice place to work in,” Gaudens said.