Recreational boat builder expanding into rural Tennessee

RIDGELY, Tennessee (AP) — Officials say Excel Boat Company is investing $9 million in a manufacturing facility in Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Haslam said the boat builder plans to create nearly 200 jobs with the 100,000-square-foot (9,000-square-meter) facility in Ridgely, a town of about 1,800 people in rural Lake County. Construction will begin in July and the facility is expected to be working in 2019.

Headquartered in Mountain View, Arkansas, Excel makes high-end aluminum boats for recreation. Officials say the facility will produce an expanded line of hunting, fishing and recreational boats, as well as boat trailers, wiring harnesses, upholstery and other products.

In a statement, Haslam said the new facility and the jobs it brings with it “will be transformational for Lake County.”