Boat manufacturer gets $350,000 state grant for Cottrellville expansion
A downriver boat manufacturer is getting a $350,000 performance-based grant from the state to support an expansion into Cottrellville Township that economic officials say will yield 20 new jobs and a capital investment of $7.7 million.
Joe Schaldenbrand, owner of the Clay Township-based Sunsation Powerboats, initially discussed their plans with the Cottrellville Township Board this summer — weeks ahead of officials signing off separately on an industrial development district and 50% tax break for the expansion project on property at Starville Road and Marine City Highway.
At the time, he said they were looking to put up a 50,000-square-foot facility at the southeast corner of that intersection to host boat production, including glass, research and development, and plastics, with a potential second structure to house rigging and assembly.
In a statement released Thursday, Schaldenbrand reflected on receiving the $350,000 award from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and working with state and local officials to usher the project forward.
“Sunsation Powerboats, a family-owned company, has been producing high-quality, high-performance powerboats in the Algonac, Michigan, area for over 40 years,” he said. “We are very proud to have the strongest group of professional skilled boat builders in the boat manufacturing industry. Our team is what has made Sunsation Powerboats so successful. … We look forward to building the greatest boats here in the great state of Michigan for many years to come.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced the MEDC grant, and in the release, the governor said Sunsation’s growth would build on the state’s “economic momentum.”
Currently, Sunsation employs 47 people. In July, Schaldenbrand told Cotrellville officials they pay well, referencing an example average of $28 an hour for employees they look to invest in and retain long-term.
In her own statement, Cottrellville Township Supervisor Mary Agnew Simons said a growing company bringing well-paying jobs would make “a positive contribution to our tax base,” adding they looked forward to “having their home here along the Marine City Highway corridor” and in the township’s light industrial area.
According to the state, Sunsation boats are distributed through a network of dealers across the U.S., and amid an increase in customer demand for powerboats, the manufacturer is looking to expand operations to offer a new line of boats and add more boat dealers to its network.
The property in Cottrellville was purchased by the boat builder for $450,000 in March under Sunsation Starville Road LLC, the real estate arm of Sunsation Products, Inc.
“St. Clair County has a long history of boat building and Sunsation Powerboats is keeping that tradition alive,” Bruce Seymore, vice president for the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County, said in a statement. "The EDA worked with Sunsation and Cottrellville Township on the local support package for the expansion, which Seymore called a “win-win for both.”
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Boat manufacturer gets $350,000 state grant for Cottrellville expansion
