Springfield Marine announced the expansion of its Nixa, Mo., facility to increase storage and manufacturing capacity. The company expects the new space to be operational later this year, creating job opportunities and increasing its headcount by 20% to 30%.
“With tariffs driving the cost of boating upwards, we feel the best way to ‘make boating better’ is to ensure that boating remains affordable,” company president Mike Folkerts said in a statement. “With this expansion of our U.S. manufacturing footprint and the addition of significant new manufacturing capabilities, we will bring innovation and efficiency to our manufacturing operations to lower costs.”
Springfield Marine manufactures seating, pedestals, tables, ladders, ski pylons and other accessories.
“The current tariff war, and particularly the 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel, have added significant cost, and supplying the U.S. market from China is no longer cost effective,” Caroline Carnahan, owner of Springfield Marine, said in the statement. “We will continue to operate our facility in China and service all non-U.S. markets from that facility.”
The company said the facility expansion and other measures will drive significant cost reductions through the reshoring of a number of product lines, eliminating the impact of the many tariffs affecting its products.
