Bad Boy Mowers in Melbourne introduces new MTV and dealer

It’s been a long time coming, but Bad Boy Mowers is up and running in Melbourne, and Wednesday the company introduced the all-electric Multi-Terrain Vehicle to its 2009 product line along with its first ever MTV Dealer, Independence County Off Road located in Batesville.

Independence County Off Road, which is owned and operated by 31 year-old Dustin Kramer, has only been in operation for five years and has been working for some time to become a dealer for Bad Boy. “I’m so excited to be a part of this and to have the first ones off the line,” stated Kramer. He added, “There’s just no comparison to this model and its competition. This one is far superior and offers me a product I can sell to a whole new clientele. He smiled and said, “Hunters are just going to love this thing.”

Adding to Kramer’s excitement was the fact that he made his first sale before he ever even left the property. Blaine Johnson of Melbourne made the purchase from Kramer and was proud to become the first owner of the MTV Pro Series. “I own two Bad Boy mowers and I’m thrilled to own the first Bad Boy MTV and excited to take this one home with me,” stated Johnson.

Several Bad Boy executives were on hand for the event including owner Robert Foster, Lennie Foree, Marketing and Special Projects, Randall Davis, Product Design, Ron Morris, Operations Manager and several other employees from both the Melbourne and Batesville facilities. Melbourne Mayor Mike Cone and MIDC President Karla Rush also attended.

After a brief welcome, Foster revealed the new Bad Boy MTV Pro Series, which is currently being manufactured at the Melbourne facility.  The MTV features a powerful electric traction motor with push button start and 4 Wheel Drive, a 600 lb. capacity bed, automatic hydraulic dump and 6 ply “go anywhere” tires and aluminum wheels. Other features include 130 programmable controls, automatic brakes, tilt steering, a fold down seat and pivoting rear suspension. The vehicle is extremely quite and runs approximately 22 mph. Foster stated that the new MTV line reaches more markets and more dealers and will be the biggest volume line.

Currently, the Melbourne facility is manufacturing only the single cab electric model in the MTV line, but according to Foster, by the end of the year, hopefully will be producing four. Of those four models, one will be a new gas model that will feature a lower price tag than the electric models and reach a wider clientele. Following the gas model will be a diesel model. Randall Davis and other Bad Boy employees are working on design of the gas prototype model at this time.

As each model is added, Foster stated that more employees will be needed. Right now, the Melbourne facility employs 25-30 people. Foster said that another line would be added in approximately three months.  “Potentially we need 25-30 employees per line, and hopefully in the next year and a half we will have about 100 employees here.”

The 120,000 square foot facility located on LaCrosse Road in Melbourne features state-of-the-art equipment that allows for precision in every stage of the manufacturing process. The process begins with raw steel materials that are laser cut and welded into frames. Once the frames are cleaned and painted, they move on to the parts and components stage. At the completion stage, the units are inspected and prepared and packed for shipping.

Foster stated that the Melbourne plant “is every bit as advanced as the Batesville facility. The Melbourne location was just an awesome facility for us to get.” He mentioned and thanked the Melbourne City Council, MIDC, Randy Zook, Bill Wright, Brad Wheelis, Karla Rush, David Miller, Eric Bray and Mayor Mike Cone for being instrumental in persuading Bad Boy to locate in Melbourne.

Mayor Cone stated that it was good to see the vision that Bad Boy had for Melbourne become a reality. “It’s good to look out in the parking lot and see jobs. I see nothing but big days ahead and we’re excited to have you here in Melbourne.”

Bad Boy Mowers are manufactured, assembled, and distributed in multiple facilities including the one at Melbourne are sold in over 1,000 retail outlets across the nation.

Click here to view video footage comliments of KAIT-8 News out of Jonesboro, AR.