Last week, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein announced that Boater's World Manufacturing Group plans to create 179 new jobs in the Eastern part of the state. The company will invest more than $6 million to establish a boat manufacturing campus in Chocowinity, a small town with a population of around 722 as of 2020.
Boater’s World Manufacturing Group is a new division launched by Outdoor Network, a family-owned company founded by Tom and Billye D’Azevedo. Outdoor Network recently acquired NauticStar Boats. The new facility will span 212,000 square feet on the Pamlico River waterfront.
Founded in 1999, Outdoor Network also includes several Boater's World Marine Centers as well Partzilla, Ridezilla and Firedog, which specialize in motorsports and small engine power parts and equipment.
“Our growth over the last 27 years has always been driven by a simple focus on doing right by our customers, and building boats of our own has always been one of our goals to better serve the marine community,” said Martin Polo, CEO of Outdoor Network. “Taking the helm as a manufacturer of the NauticStar marine line allows us to combine decades of marine retail experience with genuine craft building. We are grateful for North Carolina’s partnership and excited to make Beaufort County our manufacturing home.”
Wages will vary by position, but the annual average salary for assembly, engineering, and operations roles will be $54,916, exceeding the Beaufort County average of $50,175.
A performance-based grant of $375,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help the company locate to North Carolina. The OneNC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs.
Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job-creation and capital-investment targets to qualify for payment. Boater’s World Manufacturing Group must invest $1.3 million to receive OneNC grant payments. All OneNC grants require matching participation from local governments, and any award is contingent on meeting that condition.
