METTAWA, Ill.-- Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) announces that its Boat Group will establish its Merritt Island facility in Florida as an Integrated Manufacturing Center. Since the wind-down of Sea Ray Sport Yacht and Yacht production operations at the site last year, the facility has been transitioning to become a hub of operations to support the growth and development of Sea Ray, Boston Whaler and other Brunswick boat brands.

“The Brunswick Integrated Manufacturing Center is an important element of our overall capacity and productivity plans,” said Huw Bower, Brunswick Boat Group president. “Having a facility of this scale with an experienced workforce and a demonstrated commitment to quality and craftsmanship is the fastest and most effective way for our Company to provide for the incremental capacity needed for our business, which also enables us to centralize certain operations to take advantage of economies of scale.”

The Integrated Manufacturing Center will be staffed by approximately 130 employees who will support the scale-up and ongoing production of certain high-demand boat models, such as the Sea Ray SLX 400 Outboard. In addition, the Center will augment the needs of all Boat Group facilities with the insourced production of certain precision parts, assemblies, upholstery and other components supporting higher levels of vertical integration. The facility will also feature two, existing advanced milling machines to support more rapid and agile product development initiatives.

“Utilizing this well-established facility is a clear advantage, and centralizing these operations expands our vertical integration capability and is very efficient from a capital perspective,” explained Bower. “Over time, similar to the Edgewater Fla.-based Fiberglass Boat Technology Center slated to open later in 2019, the Integrated Manufacturing Center will play an important role in the pace and effectiveness of our production and growth plans.”