MIAMI — South Carolina-based Scout Boats said sales at the Miami International Boat Show were up 30 percent over last year as of Friday afternoon, and that was on top of strong sales last year.
“We’re just seeing super high inventory turns with dealers,” James Pate, sales rep for South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Puerto Rico, told Trade Only Today at the Miami International Boat Show on Friday.
The company broke ground recently on a 100,000-square-foot facility to build the upcoming 53-foot model slated to debut this July, Pate said.
The company also will add a 20,000-square-foot building to house its product development and engineering operations, Potts said at last year’s Miami International Boat Show.
Sen. Tom Scott, R-S.C., brought up the company during a recent Hill visit, giving what he called a “real-life example” of the positive effects of the Trump Administration’s tax reform.
“Here is … an organic success story,” Scott said, telling the story of company founder Steve Potts and his wife launching the company in their garage in 1989.
Hurricane Hugo devastated the company, but they kept going, employing two people at that time — the company now employs 400.
Check out Scott’s testimony on Capitol Hill about Scout Boats. It’s from about the 1:20 mark to the 3:30 mark. (Trade Only confirmed that the employment number is actually about 400, versus the 325 listed in the video.)
