Always the Crown Jewel” and “Number One Star” of the O.M.C. Fiberglass Boat Group, Stratos/Javelin Boats as most of you know, has recently been acquired by Genmar Boats Holdings, Inc. This is a move which has made largest independent pleasure boat manufacturer in the world. Now owning, operating, and managing 18 different boat companies including the likes of Ranger Boats, Lund, and Crestliner just to name a few, Genmar is putting everything they have into building this new family member back up to the proud and regal status with which they have always remained synonymous.
Always acclaimed as an innovative builder of fine quality fishing boats, Stratos came together with Javelin Boats a few years ago to form Stratos/Javelin Boats. Being another O.M.C. Fiberglass Boat Group Company, it was a logical merger which was meant to increase proficiency along with going on line in one of the most technologically modernized Fishing Boat Manufacturing facilities in the world.
Today I had the opportunity to talk to the group of Veteran Boat Builders who will comprise and spearhead “Genmar’s” Stratos/Javelin Boats management team. This new team is composed of; Gary Clouse, General Manager, Denny Warren, Director of Marketing, Hank Baker, Director of Sales, Stephanie Dinkins, Sales Manager, John Atwood, Plant Manager, and the world renowned hull designer, and Director of Engineering, Alan Stinson.
Gary Clouse who began selling boats at the retail level in the early 80’s began selling retail and fishing out of a Stratos in 1984. Fishing out of them He fished in the ranks of B.A.S.S. for over four years, he went before going to work at the Stratos factory in customer service in 1988. In 1994 Gary became Sales Manager at Stratos and remained in that position until 1997. In 1997 Triton Boats was founded, Gary moved across town and became Triton Boats Sales Manager. He was hired to run Stratos/Javelin Boats by Irwin Jacobs, Chairman of the Board of Genmar Holdings, Inc. And Randy Hopper, President of Genmar’s frershwater fishing boat companies, early this year. “Having a team of people the likes of Denny, Hank, Stephanie, John and Alan is just great. It’s an honor to work with dedicated people like these on our team” said Clouse.
Denny Warren who has been in the marine industry since 1973, started with Stratos Boats in 1987. He trained in customer service, and moved to Javelin Boats working up the ladder to sales, and was finally promoted to marketing management at Stratos/Javelin a few years ago. “Working closely with Ranger Boat President, Randy Hopper and Bart Schad, Ranger’s V.P. of Marketing will be very important to the promotional success of our companies. We know that keeping a great working relationship will make both of our fishing boat companies stand out even more”, noted Warren.
Hank Baker came on board at Stratos, day one in 1985. Being a major forcein production and sales for all of these years, he is for all practical purposes the teams cohesion. He will undoubtedly contribute a large share to the success of this new team. Having a manager with as much personal experience as Hank, will keep that well needed consistency going.
Stephanie Dinkins came on board at Stratos in June of 1998 prior to that she was a veteran manager at another boat company for 16 years. Her management experience and leadership skills will allow the companies sales reps, inside sales staff, and dealer network to move forward quickly and quietly.
John Atwood is a veteran plant manager who knows all of the where’s, how’s, and what for’s of the Murfreesboro plant. He knows the staff, and the timing of the machine. The plant will not miss a single step with John at it’s helm and Stratos/Javelin is glad to have him back on board.
Their secret weapon however is; Mr. Alan Stinson. A veteran many times over, Alan was not only the founder of Nitro Boats, which he sold off to Bass Pro Shops, but he was the designer of the well known Skeeter Starfire, and the world record holding Stratos 201 hulls. He has designed every hull Javelin Boats currently have in their production line up. These are the same hulls they have been running under Javelins for some time now. He also designed the proven 19, 20, and 21 foot Stratos SS hulls fully tested, tried and scheduled for production on Monday 4/16/01. Alan Stinson has designed every hull that Larry Nixon has fished from since 1976!
The last four years Alan had been working with a specialized think tank group composed of 5 marine specialists and engineers called “Advanced Systems”. Their goal has been to design hull and motor efficiency systems. They do this through engineering, and in conjunction with advanced computersystems. From the brief description that I got from Alan, they have been designing on board computerized integration systems which take conditions into consideration and make the boats and motors as efficient as they can possibly be during operation. Designing the hulls and engines to be tuned perfectly together is part of the engineering feet. Partly driven by the need to be conservation conscious, there will be many benefits from these on board systems such as the most efficient and well integrated ride possible.
Stratos/Javelin will be implementing some of these systems into their line up over the next several years and everyone is very excited about Alan’s presence at the factory. They believe that his return will be key in a major success story. To quote Gary Clouse; “Our current 19’, 20’, and 21’ Stratos SS boats all have Alan Stinson hulls designed under them, they are proven and perform absolutely great.”
Denny Warren, Hank Baker and Stephanie Dinkins have remained on board at Stratos/Javelin throughout the entire transition. “Those Guys hung in there through thick and thin and are responsible for keeping thing going on in the tough times. I take it as an honor to have dedicated people like this on our team.” Said Gary Clouse. Of the 75 70 plus employees that manned the post Monday April 16th, 99% of them are seasoned veterans.
Jumping right back into full swing, Stratos/Javelin will produce start up at 4 boats a day. They as of April 10th, they had 77 over 150 boat orders in house for dealers that want them shipped out A.S.A.P.completed outbound boats on the lot. With 28 on the assembly lines right then and 83 more a backlog of orders to fill already, they are geared up to build at least 3500 what they had originally forecasted to build for the remaining 2001 and 2002 model year, including 1100 the number one selling 17 foot Venom series Javelin Boats. “They sold the heck out of those Venom series boats over the last couple of years”, mentioned Fred Santogrossi of “Fox Valley Marine” in Naperville, Illinois. “The public asked for them, they built them, and they sold like hot cakes. They were quality boats with great value and the customers knew they just couldn’t go wrong”.
Alan Stinson is also anxious to start applying the use of Genmar’s patented V.E.C. resin injection technology to the manufacturing process at Stratos/Javelin. Briefly described, V.E.C. is a hydraulic support procedure that is used via buoyancy, in the manufacturing process. It helps to support the molds and it makes the hulls more resilient. It allows for a greater uniformity during the fiberglass application, and it sounds top secret to me. They told me they would tell me more, but then I would have to be eliminated.
Stratos/Javelin will continue to make their own trailers at the plant. They intend to expand on that process. They are building 2001 model Stratos; SS 19’, 20’, & 21’s single and dual console and a 283 FS. Javelin; Venom 17’, & 18’ both single and dual console. A 17’ Venom Fish and Ski. Renegade18’, 19, & 20’ boats available in single or dual console. A 17’ Ski and Fish, a 19’ Ski and Fish, a 20’ Fish and Ski, and the hot new Renegade 21’ Multi Species boat in both dual and single console (what a sweet sled boat this thing is!!).
They have planned on expanding their Stratos line for 2002 which will be in production sometime in July or August to include a 17’ and 18’ boat, with a few other additions to make the Stratos line more rounded.
I talked to Buddy Roberts one of the veteran Stratos/Javelin sales reps on his cell phone the evening of Thursday 4/12/01. He was on his way home from a very important sales meeting at the factory. He was very excited about the prospect of being a “boat manufacturing company again” (Buddy doesn’t normally get real excited). When you are owned by an outboard motor company, it seems that there emphasis is on selling motors even more that than boats.
One reason Buddy was so excited aside from a brand new, and optimistic future with Genmar, was the fact that now he can package boats with Johnson, Evinrude, Mercury, or Yamaha Motors. It makes his job, and the job of the dealer network much easier to make the customers happy. “If they want a Mercury, now they can have a Mercury”. He is sure that sales will increase drastically now that he has that latitude.
On a side note: I have personally seen it on many occasions. Particularly when working the boat shows. A perspective customer comes and falls in love with a boat, and then when he finds out he can not have his motor brand, he is heart broken. It makes them feel as if they have settled when they finally make their decision which way to go. As do the Dealers. Terry Dalton of “The Boat Place” in Rockville, Indiana who is happy that he can be more diversified for his customers. Said “I think that being part of the Genmar Family will make a great boat companyeven better”. In New Richmond Wisconsin, Greg Warner of “Warners Dock, Inc.” is thrilled that a sales plan is completed and “anxious to see the production process in full swing again”.
Still on board as Pro Staff and promotions icon’s at Genmar’s Stratos/Javelin Boats; Mickey Bruce, Dan Moorhead, Mark Menendez, Jeff Snyder, Rich Tauber, Emily Schaefer Shaffer, Ron Shaw, Mark Zona, Chip Porter and of course Mr. Stratos himself the world famous, greatest basser of all times, Larry Nixon. I think a lot of us grew up on Mr. Nixon.
When I asked the new management team about the status of the “Stratos/Javelin World Championship” event, they told me that the issue wasnot a dead one yet. The possibility of some type of event still exists, andthey are actively discussing it with Genmar, and each other. “Promotional items are just now being addressed”, said Denny Warren. “It was our primarygoal to get this big machine up and running. It has been very difficult to get back to where we left off.” Now that they are there however, things of this nature will be looked at closely. He also mentioned to me that checks are sitting on his desk to go out to Stratos/Javelin owners who have alreadypaid for a regional event which was canceled, and therefore did not get to fish. I am sure that is good news for the teams who pre-paid for those events. Keep in mind that this is a measure of character on “Genmar’s” part.They never had that money, and will never see it. It was taken by O.M.C. andtheir bankruptcy. I think its just great that they stepped up for their angler owners on this issue.
Great things such as diversified apparel are also expected. Just look at the great line of clothing Ranger Boats has to offer their owners and you will see the light. Other promotional programs such a team programs and other benefits are currently being looked at and hammered out by the management teams. They are as anxious to get all of the ducks lined up, as anyone is.
Well, they have shaken off all of the dust. The machines are warmed up, greased down and ready to go in Murfreesboro, Tennesee. When the sun rose up and a new day dawned, early Monday morning April 16th, we can all remember that the main stream of American bass and fishing boat manufacturers had cranked up the heat once again. With their passion for building them, and our passion for fishing in them, these veteran boat builders are ready to set new records all over again. Grateful to Mr. Irwin Jacobs and Genmar Holdings, these are exciting times for Stratos/Javelin boat employees and owners. With the power of Operation Bass, The Walmart Tour, Everstart, The F.L.W. and all 17 of the Genmar Boat Companies behind them, the sky is the limit! How can Stratos/Javelin be anything but winners once again?!!
Respectfully Submitted.
Thomas A. Berthold, Independent Sports Writer
& President, Big Bucks Bass, Inc.
Woodstock, IL.
