BRP Marine Group Buys Alumacraft

Last week BRP (which owns Evinrude, Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Rotax engines and the manufacturers of other products) announced that it was creating a new Marine Group and its first order of business was to buy Alumacraft. This company is one of the largest makers of aluminum fishing boats and is located in St. Peter, MN. Alumacraft was founded in 1946 and currently has about 275 dealers worldwide. Those who know the folks at BRP, know that they make no small plans.

The press release issued by BRP last week said --

“This acquisition is a natural first step for our newly formed Marine Group,” said José Boisjoli, BRP president and CEO. “In the short term, we plan to focus on network optimization to leverage the strengths of both product lines and gradually reinforce our presence in the industry. Along with our recognized approach to innovation and design expertise, we hope to eventually transform this industry and do for the marine business what we have done for the powersports business.”

With BRP's state-of-the-art manufacturing know-how, aluminum expertise and innovation track record, the addition of Alumacraft will enable us to, over time, continue to transform the customer experience, drive opportunities for our dealers and provide overall efficiencies to the new BRP Marine Group.

"We are pleased to welcome Alumacraft and its team to the BRP family and together we will build our Marine Group to support our goal to become a leading marine company," said Tracy Crocker, president of the newly formed BRP Marine Group. "As always, our key objective is to provide high quality, innovative boats and engines that help families create unforgettable memories on the water. With the great people and thinking at Evinrude and at Alumacraft, we are definitely set up for success."

Alumacraft makes six different series of boats and has dozens of models. Categories covered include deep-V, modified V, bay boats, bass boats, utility boats and jon boats.