Mariah Boats goes under

Business Today

BENTON, Ill. -- Months of speculation turned into reality for 300 employees of Mariah Boats in Benton on May 23 when they were notified the company was closing. Owner Jimmy Fulks told employees that production would cease immediately.

Located two miles north of Illinois 14 near Benton Municipal Airport, Mariah Boats began manufacturing boats in 1989.

At the height of its operation, the company had more than 500 employees and produced more than 5,000 boats annually.

Nationwide the boat industry has declined in the past several months. Layoffs have been reported in major markets in several states; there has been a decrease of 30 to 35 percent of the workforce.

Talk of a total shutdown, or that Mariah Boats was for sale, has reeled around the plant since January.

According to reports, Mariah Boats entered into a tax abatement agreement in 1990 with the city of Benton. The 10-year agreement called for the city to abate 100 percent of the plant's real estate taxes. The Benton City Council recently authorized the final payment on the 10-year abatement, which totaled $68,000 for 2000 real estate taxes, payable in 2001.

Tom Broy, director of Benton-based Independent Boat Builders Inc., said the decline in the boat industry began last year. IBBI is a purchasing cooperative that is owned by 23 boat companies in several states.

Broy said the 23 companies, which produced 40,000 boats last year, have undergone decline and have layed-off employees in recent months. The big decrease in sales, Broy said, is equivalent to losing a whole selling season.