Ranger Boats announces expansion, 155 new jobs

Fishing Holdings, the parent company of Ranger Boats, the nation’s largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats, announced Wednesday (Oct. 13) the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Flippin, Ark.

The company will invest $13 million to retool, transition and expand its facilities, which will create more than 115 new jobs, according to a statement from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The additional jobs will increase total employment at the manufacturing facility to approximately 540 people.

“We’re very fortunate to have a world-class manufacturing facility that’s home to such wonderful employees and some of the industry’s strongest brands,” Randy Hopper, president of Fishing Holdings, which includes legendary brands Ranger, Stratos and Triton Boats, said in the AEDC statement.

The company has worked the last several months integrating the production of Stratos Boats, including the Champion brand, into its facility in Flippin. After its recent acquisition of the Triton brand, the company began transitioning the production of Triton Boats into the Flippin, Ark., facility also – signaling another boost to manufacturing volume and a visible need for expansion and additional employees.

“Ranger Boats is an Arkansas institution and a brand respected worldwide,” Gov. Mike Beebe noted in the statement. “We are excited to see the company’s continued growth and thank Ranger for this show of confidence in North Arkansas and its people."

Founded in 1968 by Flippin, Ark., native Forrest L. Wood, Ranger Boats quickly became a household name among outdoorsmen and women across the country. What began as a small operation – building six boats in its initial year out of what is now City Hall in downtown Flippin – has grown to a world-class manufacturing operation responsible for the most well-known brands in the marine industry.

Fishing Holdings is owned by an affiliate of Platinum Equity, which acquired Ranger and several other boat brands, including manufacturing facilities in Michigan, in February 2010.