Washington NC
08-01-2006, 08:37 AM
#13
Registered
Re: Washington NC
Fountain team seeks more speed
Company continues to grow, increase sales
By PETER WILLIAMS, Editor
It already rules the seas.
Reggie Fountain thinks it can go even faster.
The Super Vee boat that has won three out of six races this year and leads in the points competition, has shed 400 pounds in preparation for Sunday’s fifth-annual Fountain Superboat International Grand Prix in Washington.
Fountain, chief executive officer of the company that built the craft, had more than 9 inches of the upper hull removed last week, lowering the deck. He’s also had the stern reconfigured. The result, he says, will make the boat lower to the water line, faster and more stable. If the boat performs like Fountain thinks it will, the modifications could show up in future boats made by the Washington-based company.
“Everything we do has to do with building even better boats in the future,” Fountain said last week from his office.
A Super Vee-class boat cannot weigh more than 4,000 pounds. At 4,400 pounds, the same boat won the world title last year sponsored by the Rodriguez Group. It also holds the record speed of 112 miles per hour with two 525-horsepower engines. The record was set with David Knight at the throttle and Roger Ausley at the wheel.
Knight was named president of Fountain last month. In his new role, Knight hopes to stay the course. The company posted $80 million in sales in the last fiscal year, a company record. It has a $44 million backlog of orders, and on some models customers will have to wait a year to get their boats.
That’s a good problem to have, Knight says, and there are no plans at this time to expand the workforce. With 400 employees, Fountain is Beaufort County’s second-largest private employer, and Knight hopes to keep things stable.
“Our goal this year is to keep things as they are, improve our efficiencies and repeat with $80 million in sales again next year,” Knight said.
The company has seen 52-percent growth over the past three years, and it had an 11-percent annual increase in the fiscal year that ended in June. It now has 50 dealers in the United States and 12 outside the country. This year’s international sales have jumped 275 percent over last year’s sales.
Knight has been a Fountain customer since 1990, and he started racing in 1999. He joined the company about two years ago as executive vice president of business development.
Knight has won the Super Vee national championship three times since 2002 and has 28 professional victories in just six seasons.
Knight will be racing this weekend in the Superboat Vee Unlimited category in the Rio Roses boat. He’s piled up 1,905 points in four races so far this year. The second-best boat, also a Fountain, has 502 points.
Sunday’s race is one of 13 on the American Powerboat Association schedule this year. Ten of the races are held in Florida and just two in North Carolina.
As for Fountain himself, he’ll be in a helicopter high overhead and watching the boats that bear his name.
“We do this for our employees and for the people of Washington,” Fountain said. “We want them to be able to see the boats that we build. We want people to know that Fountain Powerboats is a Washington, N.C., company, and we want to promote the area.”
The Pamlico River course extends from an area near Austin Point to River Acres.
Link to Article
Company continues to grow, increase sales
By PETER WILLIAMS, Editor
It already rules the seas.
Reggie Fountain thinks it can go even faster.
The Super Vee boat that has won three out of six races this year and leads in the points competition, has shed 400 pounds in preparation for Sunday’s fifth-annual Fountain Superboat International Grand Prix in Washington.
Fountain, chief executive officer of the company that built the craft, had more than 9 inches of the upper hull removed last week, lowering the deck. He’s also had the stern reconfigured. The result, he says, will make the boat lower to the water line, faster and more stable. If the boat performs like Fountain thinks it will, the modifications could show up in future boats made by the Washington-based company.
“Everything we do has to do with building even better boats in the future,” Fountain said last week from his office.
A Super Vee-class boat cannot weigh more than 4,000 pounds. At 4,400 pounds, the same boat won the world title last year sponsored by the Rodriguez Group. It also holds the record speed of 112 miles per hour with two 525-horsepower engines. The record was set with David Knight at the throttle and Roger Ausley at the wheel.
Knight was named president of Fountain last month. In his new role, Knight hopes to stay the course. The company posted $80 million in sales in the last fiscal year, a company record. It has a $44 million backlog of orders, and on some models customers will have to wait a year to get their boats.
That’s a good problem to have, Knight says, and there are no plans at this time to expand the workforce. With 400 employees, Fountain is Beaufort County’s second-largest private employer, and Knight hopes to keep things stable.
“Our goal this year is to keep things as they are, improve our efficiencies and repeat with $80 million in sales again next year,” Knight said.
The company has seen 52-percent growth over the past three years, and it had an 11-percent annual increase in the fiscal year that ended in June. It now has 50 dealers in the United States and 12 outside the country. This year’s international sales have jumped 275 percent over last year’s sales.
Knight has been a Fountain customer since 1990, and he started racing in 1999. He joined the company about two years ago as executive vice president of business development.
Knight has won the Super Vee national championship three times since 2002 and has 28 professional victories in just six seasons.
Knight will be racing this weekend in the Superboat Vee Unlimited category in the Rio Roses boat. He’s piled up 1,905 points in four races so far this year. The second-best boat, also a Fountain, has 502 points.
Sunday’s race is one of 13 on the American Powerboat Association schedule this year. Ten of the races are held in Florida and just two in North Carolina.
As for Fountain himself, he’ll be in a helicopter high overhead and watching the boats that bear his name.
“We do this for our employees and for the people of Washington,” Fountain said. “We want them to be able to see the boats that we build. We want people to know that Fountain Powerboats is a Washington, N.C., company, and we want to promote the area.”
The Pamlico River course extends from an area near Austin Point to River Acres.
Link to Article
