Bombardier Recreational Products Friday announced it will exit the sport boat business over the coming months and close its manufacturing facility in Benton.
BRP employees were notified Friday of the plant’s closure. The company ciets the continued global sales decline in the marine industry. BRP officials say it was a difficult but necessary decision. Company officials say the sales decline began in 2007. BRP entered the boat manufacturing business in 1994 and purchased the assets of Celebrity Boats in 1995, at which time it moved its facility to Benton. Company officials say they looked for a buyer for the boat division but the effort proved unsuccessful. Plant officials say all employees of the Benton plant will receive a severance package.
Bombardier’s product line includes Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea?Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all?terrain and side-by-side vehicles as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.