After one trip to the Ranger Boat factory in the small, town of Flippin, Arkansas, in the heart of the Ozarks, it is easy to see why Ranger Boats are so sought after. Many of Ranger’s customers are second and third time buyers. They come back for what they know to be a quality product.
Offering 47 different models in four types, Ranger Boats are what boaters’ dreams are made of. Twelve models of Bass boats cater to the tournament fisherman and the leisurely angler alike. With the Fish-N-Play models, wider-bowed Multi-Species crafts, and Saltwater boats, Ranger has something for every boating enthusiast.
Ranger Boats are not just built; they are crafted. Made where they began more than 40 years ago, the Ranger Boat factory is the largest employer in northern Arkansas, employing 850 people. Customer satisfaction is key, as evidenced by the numerous awards the company has and continues to earn.
Ranger boats are sold worldwide. They are the largest manufacturer of bass boats in the U.S.
Personal pride and professional know-how are the mark of Ranger Boats. Every craft is built from the beginning, by hand, made to order, to each owner’s specifications. These boats are not pre-built.
Ranger’s employees are artisans and craftsmen who care about the products they produce. Boats use the same quality controls and techniques employed by the company’s founder Forrest Wood, who built his first six boats in 1968. Wood wouldn’t have it any other way.
Forrest Wood is a legend in the boat-building industry, often called the “Father of the modern bass boat.” Wood is a fisherman, a philanthropist, and conservationist, who started initially as a fishing guide on Bull Shoals Lake, just ten minutes from Flippin.
He began building wooden johnboats in his backyard and discovered how to cover them in fiberglass. He sold his first boat in 1968.
Ranger Boats go hand-in-hand with fishing
Fishing has been an enduring, leisurely pastime, once borne out of necessity. But in recent years it has also become fiercely competitive, as tournament fishing continues to gain in popularity. Either way, where there is a cool, clear body of water, there will likely be fishermen casting his line from a Ranger Boat.
Tournament fishing and Ranger Boats got their start at about the same time. When Forrest Wood started building boats, Ray Scott, a fisherman from Alabama created B.A.S.S. (Bass Sportsman Anglers Society). Scott was instrumental in turning fishing, a national pastime, into a competitive sport. The two men met at a fishing tournament at Greers Ferry Lake, in Arkansas. They struck up a friendship and began working together, naturally pairing their interests. One sold fishing; the other sold boats.
In 1971 Scott held the first Bassmaster Classic Tournament on Lake Mead, in Nevada. Wood signed up for it. Although he joined the competition, he was really there to sell boats. Ranger was named the official “Bassmaster Classic Boat,” a title that remained until 2000.
In May of that year, the Flippin factory was destroyed in a devastating fire. But Wood didn’t quit. He still had his customer orders. Although he had to borrow money to keep the operation going. But in a little over a month, a new Ranger Boat factory rose from the ashes. And, it was bigger and better than ever before.
Ranger Boats has recently undergone an $8 million expansion and added 100 acres to its 50-acre facility.
In 1987, Wood sold Wood Manufacturing to a company in Dallas. Wood said it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. In 1991, Ranger Boats was acquired by Genmar Holdings, a Minneapolis Corporation that owns 13 brands of boats.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, due to the economic conditions related to stalled bank lending. Workers were laid off during the summer and the industry has taken a hit of upwards of 30 percent in lost sales due to the economy.
Despite tough times, Ranger Boats remain among the best in their class. According to bassresource.com Trailer Boats magazine recently named Ranger’s new Z520 Comanche “one of the industry’s most exciting and innovative new crafts.” The boat is said to “epitomize state-of-the art.”
Ranger’s products consistently score well in the areas of performance, handling, design, versatility, and most important, customer satisfaction.
Ranger ranked in the Top 10 boats of 2009 by Boating Life Magazine
