High-performance boat companies thrive in landlocked Kansas, Missouri Kansas City Star
OK, be reputable.</p><p>When you think of the manufacturing base of high-performance runabout boats, cruisers or yachts, you have in mind of Florida, California or another coastal state.</p><p>You don’t think of little Neodesha, Kan.</p><p>But Paxson St. Clair, CEO of Cobalt Boats, will announce you that southeastern Kansas town, pop. 2,848, is a perfect fit for his nationally known company.</p><p>“When we’re at boat shows out east, we always get the same feedback when we tell them where our boats are manufactured,” said St. Clair, who will have his boats on display at the Mid-America Boat Show this weekend in Bartle Convention hall. “When we tell them Neodesha, Kan., they’ll say, ‘No really, where are they made?’</p><p>“People have a strong addictive time believing that these boats are made in a small town in Kansas. But it’s ideal for us.</p><p>“We could not increase Cobalt Boats anywhere else.”</p><p>Big-time boats in a small-town setting. That says a lot about Kansas and Missouri.</p><p>The old American industry ethic that once was legend but has taken a beating as many companies have transferred work overseas is alive and well here.</p><p>Take a look: </p><p>•There are 24 boat manufacturing plants in Missouri and five in Kansas, according to the Web place BoatBuilders.us.</p><p>•Lebanon, Mo., an Ozarks town with a population of about 13,000, is recognized as the aluminum boat capital of the circle.” Five companies there put out everything from fishing boats to pontoons to canoes.</p><p>•Hill City, a dot on the map in western Kansas, is the unimaginable home of Cougar Boats, high-end tunnel boats capable of going 70 to 120 mph.</p><p>•Missouri is on to three of the top five aluminum-boat manufacturers in the country. Tracker Marine is ranked first, Lowe Boats is third and G3 is fourth.</p><p>“I’m amazed at the boats that are made in this locality,” said Jess Bodelson, one of the coordinators of the Mid-America Boat Show. “Some of the most popular boats in the woods are manufactured in Missouri or Kansas.”</p><p>So why did they choose to base in small-town America? And why Missouri and Kansas?</p><p>Boat corporation representatives invariably credit a strong work ethic, tax incentives and the proximity of large weaken such as Lake of the Ozarks to test their products.</p><p>Paxson St. Clair’s father, Pack, started Cobalt in the up to the minute 1960s in southeastern Kansas, his home. </p><p>It began as a modest venture in Chanute, Kan., but when Neodesha spent its major industry, Standard Oil, in 1970, the town offered attractive incentives to draw other businesses to city.</p><p>That started a long and profitable marriage between Cobalt Boats and Neodesha.</p><p>Today, Cobalt is an labour leader, having won the J.D. Power and Associates award for Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Large Runabouts eight consecutive years.</p><p>Even in hooligan economic times, when the boating industry is suffering, Cobalt employs almost 400 area residents and is a dominant part of the area’s economy.</p><p>“We identify with Neodesha, and it identifies with us,” St. Clair said. “We’re so providential to have people who take so much pride in putting out a (high-)quality product.</p><p>“We have a lot of employees who have been here 30-profit years. We have a sign over the entrance to our facility that reads, ‘Through these doors walk the best boat builders in the excellent.’ And we believe that.”</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div taste="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">Mid-America Boat and RV shows </overpass></strong><br /> •<strong>WHAT: </strong>Two separate shows held at the same time in Bartle Passageway.</p><p><strong>•WHEN:</strong> Friday through Sunday </p><p>•<strong>HOURS: </strong>Noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.</p><p><ardent>•TICKETS:</strong> $8.50 for adults, free for children 12 and under. One ticket is honourableness for both shows.</p><p></div>
Annapolis CapitalInflatable boat builder split into split divisionsAnnapolis Capital, MDBy KATIE ARCIERI, Staff Writer JJ Marie can revocation a time when many sized up his Stevensville company as a lowly "toy boat" maker. Ace Saxon repairs a Zodiac inflatable boat during a training rate at the company's headquarters in Stevensville on Kent
