MasterCraft purchases Merritt Island boat manufacturing plant
by George Steinbarger 18 Aug 2020 10:17 BST
MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc © MasterCraft Boat Company
MasterCraft Boat Company, LLC ("MasterCraft"), a wholly owned subsidiary of MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MCFT) (the "Company"), today announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase a boat manufacturing plant located in Merritt Island, Florida. MasterCraft intends to establish a dedicated manufacturing center in this facility to support the long-term growth of its recently introduced Aviara brand.
Aviara, a premium designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury day boats ranging from 32 to 40-feet in length is a de novo brand which began production in July of 2019 in MasterCraft's Vonore, TN manufacturing facility. The new Merritt Island facility will provide more than 140,000 square feet of dedicated manufacturing space. Situated on 38 acres of land, including water access, the new facility provides ample room to grow the Aviara brand, and will allow the opportunity for additional vertical integration.
"The Aviara brand is a critical component of the Company's long-term strategy to deliver our customers and their families the best experience on the water," said Fred Brightbill, MasterCraft Boat Holdings' Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. "The purchase of a well-established boat manufacturing plant will allow us to increase overall capacity and productivity for our Aviara brand, while simultaneously providing increased capacity and productivity for our MasterCraft brand."
The new Aviara manufacturing facility is expected to begin production in early calendar 2021 during the Company's fiscal third quarter. The new plant will support the ramp-up and production of the brand's high-demand models - the AV32, AV36 and AV40.
"As we plan today for the future growth of all our brands, today's announcement allows the Company to more quickly react to the strong retail demand we have experienced across all our brands. Having a dedicated Aviara facility of this scale, with access to an experienced boat-building workforce, provides the quickest and most efficient way for the Company to add incremental capacity, while providing a very efficient use of capital. Moving forward, we will continue to make investments in high-return initiatives that position our brands to deliver on our customer-centric strategy, while generating best-in-class growth, profitability and returns to our shareholders," concluded Brightbill.