BRP to Spend $15 Million Making Facility "Heart of Evinrude"

BRP will invest over $15 million in the next three years to transform its outboard engine facility in Sturtevant, Wisconsin and become the heart of the Evinrude brand.

Evinrude product development, marketing and sales functions as well as customer service will be consolidated under one roof. In so doing, all employees from the Waukegan, IL facility will be regrouped in the Sturtevant campus. There will be no job terminations resulting from this move. Employee relocations will begin in late spring and should be completed by the end of 2011.

"This additional investment further demonstrates BRP's commitment to the Evinrude brand," said José Boisjoli, president and CEO. "One site allows BRP to bring all Evinrude-related employees under one roof to better serve its network and its customers worldwide."

The decision was made to ensure maximum utilization of the facilities and to structure the BRP team in a way to encourage efficiency and community. BRP committed itself to the Evinrude brand when it acquired the assets of Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) in 2001. It has since invested millions of dollars in R&D for the E-TEC technology, which revolutionized the outboard engine industry. In 2005, BRP became the first marine engine manufacturer to receive a Clean Air Technology Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its environmentally friendly E-TEC engines. In 2009, E-TEC technology was adapted for snowmobile engines, producing some of the most fuel-efficient engines in the industry.

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 90 countries.