Boat builders in Northern Wisconsin said they will continue to ramp up production into the summer to meet higher demand. The presidents of Carver/Marquis and Cruisers both told the Green Bay Press Gazette that they have been re-hiring workers since the first of the year.

"Every week we've been growing a little bit," Bob VanGrunsven, president of Carver/Marquis told the paper. "Our 50-foot line has done very well for us, mostly overseas, and we have several orders we have started for the Southeastern (United States) market." VanGrunsven pointed to one yacht that will be exported to Slovenia, and another heading for Mexico.

Carver and Marquis, purchased in January by Irwin Jacobs and John Paul Dejoria at the Genmar bankruptcy sale, had been shut down for months. The workforce has grown from a few dozen in January to 235, said VanGrunsven. He expects that to rise to about 275 workers by the end of the summer. Marquis is building about a boat per week, which is a higher rate than the company initially planned.

Mark Pedersen, president of KCS International, which manufactures the Cruisers brand, said he remains "cautious" as the new boat market gathers momentum. "The activity with boat buyers has increased. It's still hard to find financing, but activity has picked up," Pedersen told the paper. "We've added employment and have geared up and are building boats for domestic and international customers right now, so things are moving in the right direction."

The Oconto, Wisconsin, builder recently told local media that it had added more workers to meet increased demand. Like other US builders, it had laid off workers during last year's recession. "Everybody has downsized and looks for better ways to be efficient and build more cost-effective boats," said Pedersen. "We're cautious as we go forward with adding overhead and we continue to build quality boats It's competitive out there."

Carver's VanGrunsven told the paper that the US market is still soft, but has improved somewhat. He says Marquis has done well in Asia and the Mediterranean. Marquis is now establishing an office in Monaco. "It feels like there is a new vibrancy and a new sense about it. This is moving in the right direction quickly for the right reasons," he said.

VanGrunsven added that it was a "relief" to have passed through the bankruptcy and see production on the upswing again. "There are cars in the parking lot and people working and enjoying building a boat," he said.