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  # Brunswick Discontinues the Maxum Brand 

 Aug 26, 2009

 

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 As part of its ongoing cost-cutting initiatives, Brunswick Corp. announced recently  
 that it is discontinuing its Maxum boat line, which it established in 1988. The  
 Maxum brand was created just two years after Brunswick bought Bayliner from its  
 founder, Orin Edson, for $470 million, the largest amount every paid for a recreational  
 boat company. From the beginning the Maxum line seemed to be searching for an identity  
 or a solid reason for being. For the most part, Maxum hulls were the same as those  
 of Bayliner, with different decks and interiors to differentiate the brand. It was  
 marketed as an up-scale version of a Bayliner which also cost more, but not as much  
 in many cases, as Sea Ray models with which it also competed in the Brunswick family.

| ![Fountain 38 EC](/sites/default/files/inline-images/maxum_discontinued2.jpg)   **The Maxum brand struggled    for years between the behemoths of Bayliner and Sea Ray in the Brunswick stable.** |
|:--|

 "This decision emerged from our continuing efforts to review every aspect of our  
 operations, including our brand portfolio, in an effort to position Brunswick to  
 emerge from this downturn a stronger company," Brunswick spokesman Dan Kubera said  
 in an e-mail sent  
 on August 11th to Soundings Trade Only, a boating industry trade magazine. "It was a difficult but necessary decision, driven and based on  
 economics," he added. Soundings Trade Only reports that Maxum will sell boats currently  
 in inventory, but will not produce any 2010 models. Dealers have been notified of  
 the decision, Kubera said.

 Warranty Protection

 According to the report, “Support will continue throughout the warranty period.”

 "There will be no change to the type or level of warranty service, parts and support  
 provided to the Maxum dealers at this time," Kubera said. "We are offering the dealers  
 an opportunity to continue with the significant retail and wholesale incentives  
 that have been in place during this selling season to support the dealers' retail  
 efforts."

 Maxum did not have a dedicated manufacturing facility, so no changes in production  
 plans are anticipated as a result of this decision, Kubera said.

 Maxum High Point

 Perhaps the high point of the 21-year life of the Maxum brand was in the early 2000s  
 when the company introduced a boat at the Miami Boat Show that had a bow thruster  
 and twin stern thrusters. It was intended to be a boat that anyone could easily  
 dock, thus overcoming the difficulty that most beginners have in docking a single-engine  
 stern drive.

 The revolutionary docking system anticipated by nearly a decade the joystick control  
 systems that are now offered on twin-engine stern drive and diesel installations.  
 The system was developed at the Mercury Marine “skunk works” in Fond du Lac which  
 was run by Fred Kiekhaefer, son of the Mercury Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer. The  
 system was widely promoted by the boating press but due to its high price and lack  
 of promotion by Maxum, it was soon abandoned.

 Sales Apogee

 A 12-month snapshot of sales from Oct. 2005 to Sept. 2006, one of the last periods  
 of relatively high boat sales in the U.S., Maxum ranked 12th among sportboat/express  
 cruiser manufacturers for sales in the U.S. with 1,846 new boats registered. Maxums  
 were outsold by Cobalt (which ranked 11th), possibly the highest-priced sport boat  
 line on the market in the U.S. which sold 1,979 boats in the same period. Rinker,  
 which had about the same price point as Maxum, ranked 13th with 1,836 new boats  
 registered.

 The Brunswick Corp. is the largest builder of recreational boats in the world. In  
 May 2008, Brunswick announced it would cease production of its Bluewater Marine  
 brands, including Sea Pro, Sea Boss, Palmetto and Laguna.