| USA. Knoxville – Oak Ridge Tennessee lays claim to title of leisure boat building capital |
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| Thursday, 17 August 2006 | |
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Boat builder news: Following the decision of Vancouver based Christensen to build a new $20 million, 400,000 square foot factory on the shores of Tellico Lake (See Christensen story – August 10), the 16 county Knoxville - Oak Ridge Innovation Valley region is claiming to be the leisure boat building capital of the United States. The claim has certain merit for, in addition to Christensen, Brunswick Boat Group, with $2.8 billion in revenue, recently moved its corporate headquarters to Knoxville from Chicago. The company, which owns more than two dozen boat brands, is the largest boat builder in the region with two Sea Ray plants and nearly 2,300 employees. There are others too, Mastercraft, Tennessee Watercraft, Malibu Boats, Bryant Boats, Bullet Boats, Leisure Kraft Pontunes, Norris Craft Boat Company, Allison, Sailabration Houseboats, Black Diamond Marine and Stroker Boats are also located in the Innovation Valley. Newcomer, Cobalt Yachts, a division of Kansas-based Cobalt Boats, just finished its first Tennessee made yacht; a gleaming red and white, 35-foot, $335,000 yacht, custom ordered by a Mexican businessman. In the economic development battle for Cobalt, the 16-county Knoxville - Oak Ridge Innovation Valley beat out Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Numerous suppliers to the industry have also located here. Pat Phillips of the Loudon County Economic Development Agency can tick off the reasons for the boat industry cluster. "We're on the Tennessee Valley Authority system of lakes and rivers, so it's an excellent place to test boats. Hurricanes are not a factor. We have low business costs, a high quality of life and sit at a north-south and east-west Interstate crossroads." Christensen chose the Loudon County site for all of those reasons, but also to be closer to European markets. Another reason for choosing Tennessee was the influence of Chattanooga businessman and yacht aficionado Henry Luken, who is a major investor in Christensen. How do megayachts get from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to the sea? It begins with a week long journey from the Tellico Reservoir, through a series of locks on the Tennessee River, along the Tennessee - Tombigbee Waterway, then on to the Gulf of Mexico. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 August 2006 ) |
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