Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 08, 2010 01:00 AM

Boat maker ramping up

Rhoda Miel
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    After two years of restructuring and production shutdowns, boat maker Brunswick Corp. expects to boost production 50-60 percent in 2010 and is looking to its supply base to keep pace with the increase.

    The company, which uses composites on about two-thirds of its boat lines, still expects overall demand to be down 10 percent this year, but after working to reduce inventory for two years, Brunswick is in position to ramp manufacturing back up.

    “The industry is clearly down, lower than it's ever been — at least since we've been keeping records, which is since 1965,” CEO Dunstan McCoy said during a Feb. 10 trade meeting in Miami. “A real issue that we're dealing with is what the industry is going to come back to. Within Brunswick, we have been positioning ourselves where we want to be at a cost structure so that we can make money on smaller volumes as the industry comes back.”

    The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company thinks it now has the manufacturing flexibility needed to compete and is taking its first steps toward its new normal. That includes bringing more production on line — after its boat-building fell 65-80 percent, depending on the brand.

    Since the global economy began to slow in 2008, Brunswick saw its sales drop from nearly $5.7 billion in 2007 to about $2.8 billion in 2009. It went from profit of $111.6 million to record a net loss of $788.1 million in 2008 and $586.2 million in 2009.

    Its boat sales dropped from about $2.4 billion in 2007 to $615.7 million in 2009, according to the company's annual financial report. Brunswick also makes boat engines under the Mercury Marine brand and manufactures exercise and bowling equipment.

    In mid-2008, the company was forced to halt boat production temporarily and it closed four plants, consolidating manufacturing of both its aluminum and fiberglass boats. It sold off some non-core holdings and cut its overall manufacturing footprint from 28 plants in 2007 to 14 at the start of 2010. One other plant, an aluminum boat production site in Little Falls, Minn., is set to close this year. Brunswick also cut its global workforce to about 15,000 from 19,760 in 2009 alone.

    It also reduced product inventory. At the start of 2009, it had 29,000 boats in the dealer pipeline. By cutting production, Brunswick now has an inventory of 15,000 boats — the lowest in the company's history, McCoy said.

    “But it needs to be the lowest we've ever had in the history of the company because of the difficult markets in which we're operating,” he added.

    But now that the supply is down to manageable levels, the company can focus on new production, said Andy Graves, president of Brunswick Boat Group.

    “We've got to transition from our internal cost focus to really winning and executing in the marketplace,” he said.

    That is where new manufacturing flexibility will come into play, he said. In the past, individual manufacturing sites were focused on making boats for one brand, which led to overlapping manufacturing with similar-sized fiberglass boats, for instance, made at multiple plants simply because they were different brand names. Now each plant makes boats and parts for a variety of Brunswick boat brands.

    Graves cited its Lund fishing boats as an example of that flexibility. The company has produced aluminum fishing boats for years, but some of its customers wanted a fiberglass version. Brunswick was able to use Lund's design team, along with fiberglass manufacturing in its Triton composite boat-building operations, to launch a new series of fiberglass Lund boats in early 2009.

    The next big question facing Brunswick will be whether its supply base is ready to move forward with production. Many of its suppliers also slowed or temporarily cut production in 2008 and 2009 due to the economy, the company noted in its financial report filed Feb. 23. Some of those firms cut staff, and others may have problems accessing financing for full operations.

    “During this transition period, the company has experienced some delayed delivery of and shortages of certain materials, parts and supplies that are essential to its manufacturing operations,” the report said. “The company will continue to address this issue by identifying alternative suppliers, working to secure adequate inventories of critical supplies and continually monitoring its supplier base.”

    Even with its leaner approach, McCoy warned there are no guarantees.

    “Nobody has ever been through this, and we're standing tall,” he said. “This time last year, if you looked deep within our eyes, we were scared. You know what? We're not scared anymore. We're very comfortable about where we are and what we're going to be able to do.”

    Copyright 2010 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Hillenbrand cites recycling as 'strategic growth' area with Herbold acquisition
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    California passes strictest plastics law in US, with EPR and recycling targets
    2
    PS prices jump in June, more increases on horizon
    3
    Hillenbrand makes another deal in plastics machinery
    4
    IRS provides guidance for how excise taxes will impact resin pricing
    5
    Eastman eyes ‘several options' for chemical recycling plant sites
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified