Tigé Boats to triple its production capacity

ABILENE, Texas – Tigé Boats Inc. formally broke ground yesterday on a new manufacturing facility that will triple the company’s production capacity, it reported in a recent statement.

Located in Abilene, Texas, the new Tigé headquarters will include a 105,000-square- foot manufacturing plant and office facility on more than 25 acres adjacent to Abilene Regional Airport.

The plans feature a 12,000-square-foot corporate office complex and an adjoining 18,000-square-foot product development and engineering facility. This expanded research and development area will allow Tigé to continue to design cutting edge technology, innovative design and a new generation of family watersport boats, according to the company.

Tigé said it will benefit from a linear design in the new factory that will allow it to both begin and finish one boat every hour. When employing two work shifts, Tigé will be able to produce 16 boats per day. The assembly line is also calculated to produce boats in a more efficient manner while preserving the overbuilt quality that the company says has become its trademark.

The manufacturing facility also has been designed to make plant tours safer and more informative for customers, dealers and other visitors. For example, a portion of the hallways in the manufacturing facility are built with large glass windows, so Tigé can showcase its new factory.

Tigé also will create a conference center for training and other sales and dealer-related activities. The company added that the vacant 100 acres surrounding the manufacturing facility will present expansion opportunities for Tigé suppliers interested in building regional satellites in Texas in the near future.

The boat builder said it is currently operating at maximum capacity at its 48,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, located in north Abilene.

“We have outgrown our current facility and are now looking forward to being able to dramatically expand our production in the coming years,” remarked Charlie Pigeon, president of Tigé Boats. “The streamlined production line and new technology we are bringing to the new facility will also help us maximize the quality of our product.”

Tigé, which manufactures eight direct drive and sport V inboard models ranging from 20 to 24 feet in length, relocated its headquarters from Merced, Calif., to Abilene, Texas, in 1995. It has been a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties for over 10 years.

“The new Tigé corporate headquarters a synergistic project between the city of Abilene and Tigé,” Pigeon stated. “We currently have approximately 180 employees. By 2010, Tigé plans to increase boat production by over 200 percent and raise employee numbers by 70 percent.”

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