WaterMark Reorganizes Into Gear and Boat Divisions

With the recent acquisition of Yakima, WaterMark has now reorganized into two distinct divisions — WaterMark Gear and WaterMark Boats. The Harmony Accessories line joins Yakima in the Gear division, which will be run out of Arcata, Calif. Harmony Accessories will continue to be manufactured and serviced by Easley staff through the Fall 2001 with a complete transition to Arcata anticipated by Spring 2002. The WaterMark Boat division (Perception, Dagger, Islander, and Mainstream) will be run out of Easley, South Carolina.

“The driving force behind our new structure is to better service our dealer base,” said WaterMark CEO John Rukavina of the new corporate structure. “This move will allow each division to concentrate on what it does best. Yakima is known for its high level of customer service, QS9000 Certified Manufacturing and industry leading product design. Combining Harmony with Yakima will give dealers exceptional product design, better service, and manufacturing expertise for the brand. Further, it will enable the Boat Division to focus solely on designing innovative and high quality, performance-oriented, industry leading boats.

“The Harmony line is a great fit with the Yakima strategy of Destination Hardware,” said Duncan Robins, president of the new Gear Division. “WaterMark’s new structure represents an opportunity for the Gear Division to reinvent the paddle and boat hardware business and reaffirm Yakima’s heritage in paddlesports. We’ve always had a committed group of paddlers at Yakima, and having the Gear Division headquartered in Arcata involves us even more deeply.”

SNEWS® View: This seems like a no-brainer and certainly a major boost for Harmony Accessories which will now get far more exposure.