BATESVILLE — Bad Boy Mowers, a manufacturer of a variety of zero-turn mowers and multi-terrain vehicles, recently announced plans to expand its operations in Batesville, where the company is also headquartered.
Bad Boy will invest $7.4 million and add 150 positions, bringing Bad Boy’s total employment in Arkansas to more than 550 people.
Through this expansion, Bad Boy will add to its multi-terrain vehicle manufacturing capacity.
Bad Boy Mowers are now manufactured, assembled and stored in multiple facilities comprising over 650,000 square feet in Batesville and Melbourne.
“Bad Boy Mowers is a homegrown Arkansas company that continues to grow, thanks to an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong, committed workforce,” Gov. Mike Beebe said. “Bad Boy and Batesville have brought each other success in recent years, and I’m glad to see this relationship continue to strengthen.”
Bad Boy was established in 1998 in Diaz and began production at its current Batesville location in 2002.
The company has experienced several expansions in its short history.
Bad Boy co-owners Phil Pulley and Robert Foster attribute the company’s continued growth and success to the quality of the company’s products, and most importantly to the exceptional workforce responsible for designing and producing those products.
“We have a family atmosphere and a team spirit second to none, and a group of hard-working, talented and extremely dedicated employees that have made us what we are, allowing us to continue to grow and expand,” Pulley said.
“We like to say that our products are built Bad Boy tough and Batesville proud,” Foster added.
Bad Boy currently manufactures 33 versions of zero turn mowers. These include the AOS Diesel Series, the Outlaw and Outlaw Extreme, the MZ Series and ZT Series.
Bad Boy currently manufactures six versions of MTVs. As a result of this expansion, 10 new MTVs will be added, bringing the total models created by Bad Boy to 16.
These include a variety of gasoline, diesel and electric models with two- and four seat variations.
These are produced specifically for agricultural, industrial, recreational or high performance purposes.
“On behalf of Independence County, I can’t show enough appreciation to both the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Governor’s Office for their work in making this expansion happen,” Independence County Judge Robert Griffin said.
“In the spirit of partnership, we will work to contribute funding from the county level in order to enhance the project to allow the maximum number of jobs to be created locally.”
Three Rivers, Pages 127 on 03/11/2012