Bad Boy Mowers is planning a $7.8 million expansion of its operations in Batesville that will add a 68,000-square-foot building to its campus and an additional 160 jobs over several years.
The company, which manufactures lawn mowers, said Monday that the expansion is the result of growing demand for products from Bad Boy Mowers and its sister company, Bad Boy Cutters.
The expansion of Bad Boy Mowers' operations also will add 10 acres to its campus, which already spans 29 acres and almost 1 million square feet, said Scott Lancaster, general counsel for the company.
Bad Boy Mowers began production in Batesville in 2002 and previously expanded its operations in 2012 and 2014, according to a news release.
Bad Boy Mowers is acquiring the building it is adding to its campus from a neighboring company. Bad Boy Mowers expects the new building to be fully operational by mid-2016, Lancaster said.
The new jobs, which will bring the company's workforce to about 750, will be added in the next three years "as we ramp up operations and continue to expand to meet our demand," he said.
All of the jobs will be full-time, hourly positions, he said, adding that while the wages haven't been determined yet, the company's average wage is $19 an hour.
"Bad Boy is excited about our continued growth and our ability to continue adding good-paying jobs to our area," said Phil Pulley, owner of Bad Boy Mowers, in a prepared statement.
"We are very proud of our partnership with the state of Arkansas, as well as our local community, and look forward to continued growth and success," he said.
Bad Boy Mowers will receive several incentives from the state, said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
The incentives include a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant and a rebate that equals 4.25 percent of payroll associated with the new jobs created.
Bad Boy Mowers also will qualify for InvestArk, a sales and use tax credit program, which offers a credit against a company's state direct-pay sales and use tax liability and is earned based on the "total eligible project cost," Hardin said in an email.
Business on 12/15/2015