PHOTO COURTESY SUZUKI MARINE

Suzuki Marine this week opened another Florida-based facility. The new technical center on 20 acres in Panama City is Suzuki’s second facility in the Sunshine State. The company’s U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Fla., opened in April 2021.

The site includes a 9,037-square-foot main building with office space, service bays, boat storage and more. Also on-site is a launch ramp with docks for boat testing and a 300-foot protective seawall. Suzuki said the building is designed to survive Category 5 hurricane conditions.

Among those in attendance for the opening ceremony were Shuichi Mishima, executive general manager of marine operations for Suzuki Motor Corp. in Japan; Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis; and Panama City mayor Greg Brudnicki.

“I want to thank Mayor Brudnicki, Bay Economic Development Alliance chairman Ben Lee, Bay County commissioner Tommy Hamm, and the many forward-thinking leaders who worked closely with us to bring this project to fruition,” George “Gus” Blakely, Suzuki Marine executive vice president of sales and service, said in a statement. “Thanks to hard work and cooperation between Suzuki Marine and government agencies, Panama City will henceforth be known as a leading source of marine industry innovation and an epicenter of new outboard motor development.”

Following tours of the facility, event attendees took demonstration rides aboard a variety Suzuki-powered boats, including a SeaPro 259 with twin DF140s that recently completed the Suzuki EcoFuel Run, a 940-mile run from Florida to Washington, D.C., to promote sustainable fuels.