Kickstart: Building boats in Tennessee

A Tennessee composite boat maker sees smooth seas ahead and is planning a $23.1 million expansion.

Ebbtide Holdings LLC, which does business as TN Composites, will also create 132 jobs at its White Bluff facility over a five-year period, according to a news release from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and economic development leaders.

The company opened in 2018 and was acquired by Ontario-based Limestone Boat Co. Ltd. in 2021. The company says that it will increase its manufacturing capabilities by reconfiguring existing space, integrating new technology and building on its research and development capabilities.

Once the work is done, TN Composites will be able to turn out an estimated 14 boats per week by early 2025. The company makes boats for the brands Aquasport, Limestone and Boca Bay Boats.

Hurricane season may not have been as extreme in 2022 as in recent years so far (with the obvious caveat that there's still plenty of time in this year's season) but weather and natural disasters have been plaguing regions of North America far beyond the Gulf Coast.

There's been flooding in Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia and Rhode Island, for just a few examples. Extreme heat has hammered residents and businesses in the Western U.S., including the Pacific Northwest area that typically is much more moderate. Heat and drought conditions also contributed to wildfires.

And that's without getting into global natural disasters ranging from heat and fires in Europe to the deadliest flood in history in Pakistan, extreme heat in India and drought and earthquake in China.

Plastics News would like to touch base with companies that have had to adapt to these crises. Have you been asked to cut back on energy use? Had to reroute deliveries due to flooding? How have you helped employees?

Please reach out to me at [email protected], Editor Don Loepp at [email protected] or [email protected] if you have a story to share.

Arburg GmbH + Co. KG's new trainees are already making history. The 106 trainees and students from Badden- Württemberg Cooperative State University are the largest trainee group in the company's history, Arburg said in a news release.

"It will be you who carry our company forward with your know-how. We are committed to providing you with an especially good vocational training," Renate Keinath, a partner in the machinery manufacturing company, said in a welcome speech.

The trainees' study areas cover a range from mechanical and industrial engineers to electronics, technical product designers and industrial clerks. They will receive a "comprehensive training concept" Arburg officials said.

They join more than 200 other trainees already at the company.