×

A Sinking Feeling: Pure Watercraft closes Brooke County factory

Officials celebrated in June 2023 plans by Pure Watercraft to locate an electric pontoon boat manufacturing facility in the Northern Panhandle, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstration of the company’s boats on the Ohio River. The Seattle-based company confirmed Thursday it has ceased operations at its facility in the Beech Bottom Industrial Park. (File Photo)

BEECH BOTTOM — An official with electric boat manufacturer Pure Watercraft confirmed Thursday that the Seattle-based company has ceased operations at its 80,000-square-foot production facility in the Beech Bottom Industrial Park.

“Pure Watercraft has, unfortunately, ceased operations in Brooke County, although we are not prepared at this time to give an explanation for this course of events,” stated Arne Landboe, customer relationship manager. “We do expect to speak on this matter shortly, but for the moment I cannot offer an official comment. We sincerely hope that the excellent space in Beech Bottom can be filled and effectively used by new tenants as soon as possible to the benefit (of) the community there.”

The news comes almost exactly two years after Pure Watercraft – which has another factory in Tukwila, Wash. – announced plans to occupy the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mill and produce electric outboard motors and pontoon boats with zero emissions.

Beech Bottom’s mill was selected based on its proximity to GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, electric battery plant, as well as a large portion of the pontoon market, according to President and CEO Andrew Rebele, who spoke at a ribbon-cutting on June 5, 2023.

The company originally expected to invest at least $5 million in the plant and create more than 100 full-time jobs by the end of 2025, an Aug. 31, 2022, press release from the West Virginia Governor’s Office states.

Mitch Carmichael, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, told MetroNews’ “Talkline” Thursday that Pure Watercraft failed to reach its private capital investment goal.

“They had some investors who were committed to a long-term strategy with the company and continue to invest until they got their production up and going, and then it took a side turn,” Carmichael said.

Pure Watercraft subsequently reached out to the state for assistance, Carmichael said, adding, “We’ll help private companies succeed, but we’re certainly not going to stand them up all on our own.”

The company had orders for more than 900 of its pontoons, a strategic partnership with GM to receive battery packs for the boats and some state financial incentives for employing 23 workers, Carmichael said. An open house was hosted in February to demonstrate boat construction from beginning to end. However, the company couldn’t meet customer demand before its private sector funds were exhausted.

“People had put down some money for it (boat orders.) I was very hopeful that they would make it, but unfortunately they didn’t,” Carmichael said.

The Beech Bottom Industrial Park facility was being leased to Pure Watercraft by the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, a nonprofit organization formed to promote economic development in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall counties. The industrial park is among a number of reclaimed brownfields the BDC purchased through remediation steps in order to create investment opportunities.

Acquired by the BDC around 2012 for $4.4 million, the site underwent a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region Targeted Brownfields Assessment and a subsequent $240,000 U.S. EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Cleanup Grant remediation.

In 2017, the site entered the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Voluntary Remediation Program, and a certificate of completion was received in 2020. 

“(The BDC) was notified recently that Pure Watercraft has ceased operations in Brooke County,” said Anthony Clements, the BDC’s co-executive director. “Obviously, we are saddened by this turn of events. We are confident that this newly renovated industrial space in Brooke County will lead to positive developments for our community and are eager to work with the state and new partners who share our vision for economic progress in West Virginia.”

Carmichael said the building is state-owned and there are already interested tenants and potential buyers.

Pure Watercraft’s investment announcement came amid a wave of new developments in West Virginia, including Form Energy’s plans to construct an iron-air battery systems manufacturing facility in Weirton. Full manufacturing there is expected to begin later this year.

State Revenue Secretary Larry Pack told MetroNews Thursday that the state did not waste money on Pure Watercraft.

“You’re never going to bat a thousand, but if we want to grow West Virginia and we want to grow jobs, we’ve got to get into the game, and we’re in the game,” Pack said.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today