Brunswick Corporation Shutters Manufacturing in Mexico, Consolidating U.S. Facilities

Brunswick Boat Group Announces Strategic Consolidation of Fiberglass Boat Manufacturing Operations

Brunswick Corporation, the makers of Boston Whaler, Bayliner, Sea Ray, and others, has announced the closing of their Reynosa, Mexico facility and will transition the manufacturing to their U.S.-based plants.

According to a press release, the conglomerate intends to reduce its boat manufacturing footprint "to reduce fixed costs and unlock greater productivity and efficiency while maintaining the necessary capacity and flexibility for future growth." The Reynosa plant underwent an expansion to meet demand in 2021. Bayliner, Heyday, Trophy, Lund and some Sea Ray models were manufactured at the facility.

As part of the move, Brunswick will close its Reynosa, Mexico fiberglass boat manufacturing facility and transition the production of models currently manufactured in the facility into two of its U.S.-based manufacturing centers in Vonore, Tennessee and Merritt Island, Florida. Currently, Sea Ray boats are primarily manufactured at the Vonore, TN facility while some Boston Whaler and Sea Ray models are manufactured at Merritt Island, FL.

In addition, its Flagler Beach, Florida production facility will be closed and the production of models currently manufactured at that facility will be consolidated into the Edgewater, Florida operation. The Edgewater location is currently noted as Boston Whaler's primary facility. It's also the location of the Edgewater Design Team and the Navan brand design team.

“The decision to transition production out of Reynosa, Mexico which is primarily dedicated to manufacturing of our small, value fiberglass boats, follows our recent announcement that we have rationalized our value boat model portfolio and reflects evolving market dynamics that are impacting industry-wide volumes of value fiberglass products,” said Brenna Preisser, President of Brunswick Boat Group.

“The Reynosa facility and team members have played an important role in our business for many years, and we are committed to supporting their transition. We anticipate the transition will be fully completed by Summer 2026.”

As part of the transition, Brunswick is also investing $5 million in capital improvements to its Tennessee and Florida facilities. The investment underscores Brunswick’s commitment to leveraging its scale to drive operational synergies. These moves will result in the creation of more than 200 U.S. manufacturing jobs over the next several years.

“Brunswick’s Boat Group has sufficient capacity within our manufacturing footprint to absorb volume, support future market rebounds and capture share gains from an aggressive product development roadmap,” Preisser confirmed. 

“With these and other actions taken to streamline our portfolio and improve productivity, Boat Group will achieve a better structural cost profile and accelerate improved Boat Group profitability.”

Brunswick is working with local government agencies and economic development partners to support the transition.

As Boston Whaler consolidates its production operations in Florida, team members from the Flagler Beach facility will be offered opportunities to transfer to the Edgewater location. The transfer is expected to be fully completed by Summer 2026. In addition, Brunswick will soon launch recruitment efforts to fill new positions across production, logistics, engineering, and operations management for its manufacturing footprint in Tennessee and Florida. #news #brunswickcorporation