Maverick Boat Group — builder of Maverick, Hewes, Pathfinder and Cobia boats — announced that a second phase of an expansion will increase the company’s manufacturing space by 106,000 square feet and add 150 jobs to Florida’s Treasure Coast economy.
MBG previously expanded its Fort Pierce, Fla., facility in 2018, also adding 106,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
In December 2020, MBG was acquired by Tennessee-based Malibu Boats, the parent company of Fort Pierce-based Pursuit Boats.
“Most of the demand we’ve seen is as a result of Covid,” marketing director Charlie Johnson said in a statement. “A lot of new boaters have come into the marketplace and have experienced the joys of boating. Our hope is that a lot of them are retained as boaters.”
The latest expansion, expected to be completed by January 2022, will increase production in the newer of MBG’s two facilities by more than 30 percent. The company builds nearly 1,500 boats each year, which will increase to more than 2,000 when the expansion is completed.
MBG employs 450 people, 400 of whom are in manufacturing. With the expansion, the company intends to bring aboard 150 new positions.
“MBG’s expansion is further testament that the ‘blue economy’ continues its robust and vibrant growth here on the Treasure Coast,” said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County.
