A new brand of bass boats will be introduced Friday morning in Flippin, Ark., BassFan has learned.
“Fifty years in the making... Centuries of custom boat building experience... And an unparalleled commitment to excellence. It’s all part of our deep-rooted legacy as we launch an all-new fishing boat brand in Flippin, Ark,” reads an invitation to the company’s unveiling, which is slated for 11 a.m. Friday at the Forrest L. Wood Outdoor Sports Gallery.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place afterward at the nearby Flippin Industrial Park, where the company’s manufacturing facility is presently under construction and is slated to be completed during the first quarter of 2018.
The identity of the brand is being withheld until Friday's announcement, however, the leadership group behind the new company includes familiar names in the bass boat industry. Keith Daffron, the former vice president of sales at Ranger Boats and grandson of Ranger Boats founders Forrest and Nina Wood, will serve as president. Mendel Hughes, the former vice president of finance at Ranger, will be the chief financial officer.
Both Daffron and Hughes, along with Randy Hopper, resigned from their executive positions at Ranger in November 2015, less than a year after Bass Pro Shops acquired Ranger, Triton and Stratos from Fishing Holdings, LLC.
