Boat manufacturer Lund Boat Co. began an expansion project in October at its New York Mills, Minn., site that will include a new factory and a loading dock. The nearly $5 million project is being paid entirely by Lund’s parent company, Brunswick Corp., Lund president Dirk Hyde told the Fergus Falls Journal. Construction of the new 59,000-square-foot factory will continue through the winter and is scheduled to conclude next spring, Hyde said. The current, smaller manufacturing factory will be converted into a warehouse when the new factory is finished.
Lund approached Brunswick about expanding last year. Hyde said plans quickly came together and price was never much of an issue in the discussions. Lund officials had planned out clearly what they believed was most necessary to include in the project and avoided extra expenditures.
Much of the company’s manufacturing work is done at the New York Mills site, and Hyde said the company was beginning to feel pressed for space. The new factory will not lead to any new work; it will allow employees to more easily do the work they are doing now.
“We’re pretty congested out there, so this should give us more space to move more efficiently,” Hyde said.
The expansion could lead to between 20 and 30 new Lund employees, according to Hyde. Finding second-shift workers has recently proved difficult for the company, and Hyde said the effort to hire them has become a top priority.
There is a small warehouse at the site, but there is not nearly enough room to store the company’s equipment. Hyde said things are often left outside, which should not be a problem with the increase in space.
Loading work is also done outside now. The new loading dock will enable workers to load inside, which Hyde said should prove extremely valuable in the winter.
After the project is completed, Hyde said the company will be close to finished in terms of its ability to expand at the New York Mills site.
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