The founder of Sportech, ERX Motor Park and the Carlson Motorsports has found a new venture, this one in the rapidly expanding boating market.
Chris Carlson’s Envision Company announced recently that had acquired Premier Marine – a maker of luxury pontoon boats based in Wyoming, Minnesota. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Carlson is a true snowmobile industry insider, beginning with his founding of Sportech in 1993 – a company that started with headlight covers for Polaris wedge chassis snowmobiles. Carlson and his family grew Sportech into a monstrous powersports supplier that employed 350 people and had annual sales of $140 when they sold it late in 2019.
The ERX Motor Park, meanwhile, was an outgrowth of Carlson’s passion for snowmobile racing – he and business partner Todd Plaisted founded the facility in Elk River, Minnesota, in 2008.
When the Carlson family sold Sportech, Chris explained in an exclusive interview with Snow Goer that he was too young and too driven to retire, and was looking for his next business major venture – possibly in the hunting and fishing industry. He has now found it in Premier – a company well known for its popular boats but which folks who work there say could use some behind the scenes structure.
Below is the press release from Premier and Carlson’s Envision company. Knowing Chris Carlson as we do, we’re sure that he’s diving headlong into this new project!
ENVISION COMPANY ACQUIRES PONTOON MANUFACTURER PREMIER MARINE
Acquisition Will Infuse Passion, Innovation and State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Expertise into the Recognized Leader of the Luxury, High-Performance Pontoon
ELK RIVER, Minn. May 3, 2021 – Envision Company of Elk River, MN, announced today the acquisition of Premier Marine, a leader in the luxury pontoon market, based in Wyoming, MN.
The move represents the next chapter in an already successful manufacturing legacy established by Envision Company owner, Chris Carlson. Carlson has an extensive 25-plus year track-record of driving growth in manufacturing businesses, grounded in a commitment to quality and passion for the outdoors. This acquisition will allow Envision Company to leverage its manufacturing expertise and further build upon the world-class reputation of Premier Marine.
Founded in 1992, Premier Marine rapidly became known as a brand with fierce focus on customer satisfaction through its commitment to quality and innovation. Premier pioneered the modern, high-performance pontoon and remains a category leader with innovations like the PTX tri-toon hull, optimized designs for high-horsepower performance and elevated trim levels. With Envision Company’s experience with advanced quality-controlled manufacturing techniques, modernized assembly processes and a track-record for innovation, the future of Premier Marine has never looked brighter.
Premier Marine currently has over 90 dealers across the United States and Canada with over 200 employees, making it one of the largest family-owned pontoon manufacturers in the industry. This family-owned legacy will continue under Envision Company.
“This is really a perfect fit for us,” said Chris Carlson, Envision Company owner and CEO. “We’ve been looking for a company that would allow us to apply our extensive manufacturing experience and leverage our relationships within the industry. We also wanted to work in an industry where we had passion and experience, and we really feel like Premier Marine checks all the boxes. We look forward to meeting the entire Premier Team and to working with the amazing dealer network. We couldn’t be more excited.”
For additional information on Premier Marine visit www.Pontoons.com.
About Envision Company:
Envision Company is an Elk River, MN-based family office which was created after the sale of a highly successful family-owned manufacturing business.
Our focus is on direct investments in privately-held businesses where we can apply over 25-years of experience in driving business growth. We believe that great companies are built upon a foundation of core values and that corporate culture is the heart and soul of any healthy organization.
