Bad Boy Mowers to invest $7.8 million in expansion expected to add 160 jobs (Updated)

Editor’s note: Story changes and additions made throughout.

Batesville-based Bad Boy Mowers is investing $7.8 million in a facility expansion that is expected to add 160 jobs, raising the total employment to around 750.

Company officials said Monday (Dec. 14) the expansion is a 68,000-square-foot property on 10 acres near existing 1 million-square-foot building on 29 acres.

Scott Lancaster, chief counsel for Bad Boy, said the company purchased a facility next door to their factory on Industrial Drive to help with its tractor supply distribution operation. The company delivers its own Batesville-produced mowers to stores around the United States. However, the company does the distribution work about a mile away at another facility, Lancaster said.

The plan will allow the company to increase its vendor size and use the remaining space to build mower and mower components.

According to a statement from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), the expansion is a result of an increase in demand for Bad Boy’s zero turn mower product line, as well as its sister company’s (Bad Boy Cutters) rotary cutter product line. The expansion will also feed Bad Boy’s new accessory division, which will manufacture a variety of new vehicle accessories. 

Bad Boy Mowers began production in Batesville in 2002 in a 20,000 square-foot facility with 25 employees, and has experienced growth during its 13 years, and particularly in recent years, having averaged over 33% growth in each of the past two years.

“Bad Boy is excited about our continued growth, and our ability to continue adding good-paying jobs to our area. We are very proud of our partnership with the state of Arkansas, as well as our local community, and look forward to continued growth and success,” Bad Boy owner Phil Pulley said in the statement.

INCENTIVES
With the announcement Monday, state officials also announced a series of state incentives that will be used as part of the project. The company will be eligible for the Create Rebate program, which calls for five years of annual cash rebates. The rebate will equal 4.25% of the payroll associated with the new jobs created.

Also available is InvestArk, which is a sales and use tax credit for companies in Arkansas for two or more years that invest at least $5 million or more in a plant. The credit can be used for new construction, expansion or modernization of a plant or equipment.

The project was also the recipient of a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. At the announcement Monday morning, Batesville mayor Rick Elumbaugh said while it is tough to recruit industry to an area, Bad Boy Mowers has been a key part of the local economy.

“There are three unique things about Bad Boy Mowers. First, it is made in America. Second, it is made in Arkansas and third, it is made in Batesville,” Elumbaugh said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who also attended the event, said the company is an example of a “homegrown business” in the state with Batesville residents providing the main cog in the engine.

“To be successful, you have to have four things – entrepreneurs, the workforce, the community and the marketplace,” Hutchinson said.

In an AEDC statement, Hutchinson noted: “Bad Boy Mowers is a prime example of the entrepreneurial spirit in Arkansas. While still a relatively young company, Bad Boy has grown and continues to thrive here because of its strong leadership combined with a skilled and dedicated workforce. We appreciate the company’s ongoing commitment to doing business in Arkansas.”

The company has had several expansions in its recent history, including an expansion in 2012, and again in 2014. Bad Boy now employs more than 600 people in its Batesville facilities and has expanded its product line to include several different types of mowers, accessories, cutters, and culvert cleaners.

FUTURE
Lancaster said the company has hired people to meet project and product needs and will continue to do so. As for the expansion, Lancaster said workers will make about $15 an hour with the average hourly salary at the company being $19.42.

In addition to the growth, Lancaster said the expansion gives the company an opportunity to do more business in the state. The company buys its trailers from Kenworth, as well as does marketing in the state.

In addition, the expansion also gives the company’s suppliers – including fuel tank and tire manufacturers – an opportunity to learn more about the state.

Lancaster also aid the company has received help from the area’s high schools and colleges in developing new employees. Southside High School, outside Batesville, has created a charter program to train students to learn welding and other skills, Lancaster said.

The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville has also worked with the company on job training and placement, while Lyon College has helped with educating the administration of the company.

“We are very fortunate to have the higher education and high schools that we have in this area,” Lancaster said.

The company plans to begin working on moving on the project within 90 to 120 days, Lancaster said.