High-performance boat companies thrive in landlocked Kansas, Missouri Kansas City Star
OK, be square-dealing.</p><p>When you think of the manufacturing base of high-performance runabout boats, cruisers or yachts, you suppose 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 prophesy 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 revenge 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 Hired hall. “When we tell them Neodesha, Kan., they’ll say, ‘No really, where are they made?’</p><p>“People have a harsh time believing that these boats are made in a small town in Kansas. But it’s ideal for us.</p><p>“We could not build Cobalt Boats anywhere else.”</p><p>Big-heretofore boats in a small-town setting. That says a lot about Kansas and Missouri.</p><p>The old American work ethic that once was romance 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 placement 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 incredible.” 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 unpromising home of Cougar Boats, high-end tunnel boats capable of going 70 to 120 mph.</p><p>•Missouri is available 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 dominion,” said Jess Bodelson, one of the coordinators of the Mid-America Boat Show. “Some of the most popular boats in the countryside 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 train representatives invariably credit a strong work ethic, tax incentives and the proximity of large O such as Lake of the Ozarks to test their products.</p><p>Paxson St. Clair’s father, Pack, started Cobalt in the unpunctual 1960s in southeastern Kansas, his home. </p><p>It began as a modest venture in Chanute, Kan., but when Neodesha frenzied its major industry, Standard Oil, in 1970, the town offered attractive incentives to draw other businesses to municipality.</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 callous economic times, when the boating industry is suffering, Cobalt employs almost 400 area residents and is a principal part of the area’s economy.</p><p>“We identify with Neodesha, and it identifies with us,” St. Clair said. “We’re so blessed 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-with the addition of years. We have a sign over the entrance to our facility that reads, ‘Through these doors walk the best boat builders in the in every way.’ And we believe that.”</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div assort="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">Mid-America Boat and RV shows </extent></strong><br /> •<strong>WHAT: </strong>Two separate shows held at the same time in Bartle Entry-way.</p><p><strong>•WHEN:</strong> Friday through Sunday </p><p>•<strong>HOURS: </strong>Noontide to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.</p><p><strong>•TICKETS:</strong> $8.50 for adults, informal for children 12 and under. One ticket is good for both shows.</p><p></div>
Issaquah PressLocal women initiate on big voyage on a small boatIssaquah Press, WAUntil the economic downturn forced her layoff, Katie had been the point manager for the past three years at Duroboat, a small aluminum boat company in Maltby. She said she hopes the trip will upwards interest in sales of the lightweight boats that
