A new kayak maker is selecting Greenville County, S.C., to begin rotational molding operations.
Bonafide Kayaks will spend $2 million on the project that is expected to create 76 new jobs over three years, according to the Greenville Area Development Corp.
Bonafide Kayaks was formed less than a year ago and will make fishing kayaks.
"We looked long and hard for the best place to set up our manufacturing operations, and Greenville ... offers everything we were looking for. It's one of the best places in the world to live. There's a thriving workforce available. It's a great shipping point. And every resource and utility we need are readily available. We couldn't be happier to call Greenville our new home," CEO Luther Cifers said in a statement.
Cifers is also president and CEO of YakAttack LLC, a Burkeville, Va.-based maker of kayak fishing gear.
Bonafide Kayaks expects to begin hiring workers during the third quarter of this year.
"Construction of the facility is already underway, and the first manufacturing operations are expected to come online by December 2017," the company reported.
There are two fishing kayaks on the company's website with suggested retail prices of $1,299 and $1,599.
Cifers, in a video promoting the company, said he is creating a company that has a different approach.
"We intend to start this journey at the end of the beaten path. We're not going to spend a lot of time on the beaten path. We want to go out and explore some new ideas. We want to try some new things.
"And in doing so, I think we'll discover some things that are not only beneficial to our company but also beneficial for the industry. I believe manufacturing is really important to our country and our economy. Over the years, a lot of things have went overseas. But we think that's something that can come back. We think that's something that should come back," Cifers said in the video. "And we want to do our part to make it come back.
"We want to be innovative. We want to be creative. We want to break the rules a little bit in a positive way," he said.
The manufacturing operations will do both rotational molding and assembly.
