KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- OK, be honest.
When you think of the manufacturing base of high-performance runabout boats, cruisers or yachts, you think of Florida, California or another coastal state.
You don't think of little Neodesha, Kan.
But Paxson St. Clair, CEO of Cobalt Boats, will tell you that southeastern Kansas town, pop. 2,848, is a perfect fit for his nationally known company.
"When we're at boat shows out east, we always get the same reaction when we tell them where our boats are manufactured," St. Clair said. "When we tell them Neodesha, Kan., they'll say, 'No really, where are they made?'
"People have a hard time believing that these boats are made in a small town in Kansas. But it's ideal for us.
"We could not build Cobalt Boats anywhere else."
Big-time boats in a small-town setting. That says a lot about Kansas and Missouri.
The old American work ethic that once was legend but has taken a beating as many companies have transferred work overseas is alive and well here.
Take a look:
--There are 24 boat manufacturing plants in Missouri and five in Kansas, according to the Web site BoatBuilders.us.
--Lebanon, Mo., an Ozarks town with a population of about 13,000, is recognized as the aluminum boat capital of the world." Five companies there put out everything from fishing boats to pontoons to canoes.
--Hill City, a dot on the map in western Kansas, is the unlikely home of Cougar Boats, high-end tunnel boats capable of going 70 to 120 mph.
--Missouri is home to three of the top five aluminum-boat manufacturers in the country. Tracker Marine is ranked first, Lowe Boats is third and G3 is fourth.
"I'm amazed at the boats that are made in this region," said Jess Bodelson, one of the coordinators of the Mid-America Boat Show. "Some of the most popular boats in the country are manufactured in Missouri or Kansas."
So why did they choose to base in small-town America? And why Missouri and Kansas?
Boat company representatives invariably credit a strong work ethic, tax incentives and the proximity of large water such as Lake of the Ozarks to test their products.
Paxson St. Clair's father, Pack, started Cobalt in the late 1960s in southeastern Kansas, his home.
It began as a modest venture in Chanute, Kan., but when Neodesha lost its major industry, Standard Oil, in 1970, the town offered attractive incentives to draw other businesses to town.
That started a long and profitable marriage between Cobalt Boats and Neodesha.
Today, Cobalt is an industry leader, having won the J.D. Power and Associates award for Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Large Runabouts eight consecutive years.
Even in tough economic times, when the boating industry is suffering, Cobalt employs almost 400 area residents and is a major part of the area's economy.
"We identify with Neodesha, and it identifies with us," St. Clair said. "We're so fortunate to have people who take so much pride in putting out a (high-) quality product.
"We have a lot of employees who have been here 30-plus years. We have a sign over the entrance to our facility that reads, 'Through these doors walk the best boat builders in the world.' And we believe that."
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