Expansion underway at Skeeter

swadminJune 17, 2005

KILGORE, Texas – Skeeter Boats is engaged in a 17,500 square-foot expansion and $840,000 capital investment program, the Kilgore News Herald reported in a story yesterday.

A 4,000-square-foot mold storage building, with the capacity to store up to 76 boat molds at a time, has been completed. Construction has begun on a 13,500-square-foot research and design facility, where the final development process will take place, giving Skeeter 100-percent control of its entire production process.

“This will provide us the capacity to bring all our design and product development in-house,” Mike Taylor, vice president of operations at Skeeter, told the newspaper. “In the past, we have had to outsource some of it.”

Completion of the research and design facility is expected in September. It will replace Skeeter’s current 35-year-old research and design building, which will be remodeled to house resin-transfer molding operations.

The new facility allows for the design, prototyping and mold construction of new models. Previously, these items would have to utilize the manufacturing facility and be scheduled around ongoing production.

“The fiberglass industry is constantly evolving,” said Taylor, “and this expansion allows us not only to keep up with the industry but also to be an industry leader in initiating new design methods.”