Scout Boats expanding plant by nearly 50 percent and adding 33 new jobs

Flooded with demand for its new line of larger boats, Scout Boats plans to increase the size of its plant on U.S. Highway 78 by nearly 50 percent.

The expansion is expected to be finished by March and will result in the addition of 33 employees. Scout has already hired about half of them, as it plans to get the addition working as soon as it’s complete, said company President Steve Potts.

The plan to add 40,000 square feet to the 94,000-square-foot facility was initially targeted for early this past summer. When Scout first built on the 16-acre property in 1996, it planned four phases.

Phases one through three went as expected. But when the economy turned south, exacerbated by Sept. 11, the company delayed construction, Potts said.

Since then, however, space has gotten tight at the factory because of high demand for Scout’s new larger boats, the 23-foot 235 Sportfish, the 24-foot 242 Abaco and the 28-foot 280 Sportfish.

Each of the boats has nearly sold out for the model year, which began in September.

“It could have been a good or bad move,” Potts said. “I guess, looking back at it now, we actually need this space today. If we had more room, we could increase production to put us on a better position as far as the availability of these particular models.

Still, the expansion is indicative of the company’s success, driven in part by a growing national reputation. J.D. Power and Associates recently ranked Scout the No. 2 boat maker in the country in the coastal fishing segment, based on a consumer survey.

In fact, Potts said the company’s goal is to add a 45,000-square-foot expansion by 2005.

“The marine industry is still spotty,” said Potts, who started the company in his garage in 1990. “Certain segments are doing well. Some brands are doing well. Some are not doing well. With us, the brand is maturing. The demand for Scout as a brand has increased pretty dramatically the last year and a half.”

Currently, the company’s plant is divided into two parts, Plant A for smaller boats, and Plant B for larger boats. The 235 and the 242, which have been built in Plant A, will be built in the new phase once it’s complete, Potts said.