Velocity Powerboats, founded by industry-veteran and former offshore world champion Steve Stepp has been sold to a private Florida-based company, and the sale was finalized on Wednesday the 31st. Under the new owners, Stepp will stay at Velocity as a Design Consultant, using his veteran skills to continue to push Velocity concepts to new levels. The new owners, Brad Resch and Scott Tubbs are putting forward an expanded vision for Velocity, intending to broaden the companies horizon.
“Our direction and game plan right now is to diversify with a new model line for 2014 with some traditional models Velocity is known for plus some new models to expand into other segments of the industry,” said Resch. “Velocity has a great history and we don’t want to change that. The reality is that if we offer a broader line of boats, it will be better for our customers and better for us to grow as a company.”
Velocity’s 2014 product line will remain under the 40 foot mark, however expanding to the increasingly popular center console market will become one of the companies main directions. Plans are to utilize and modify current designs to bring this new line into fruition.
“The center console market is going to be a big part of our plan for 2014,” said Resch. “We want to combine some of these proven race hulls with the modern demands of center consoles, formulate the two and come up with new offerings. That’s really going to be the resurgence and growth of the company going forward.”
As part of the deal velocity will be relocating to a much larger 20,000 square foot facility in Sanford, FL, which will allow much more space for manufacturing, inventory and room to grow. Nearby Lake Monroe is just minutes away for ample testing grounds. The move is expected to begin at the end of August.
New owners Resch and Tubbs are passionate Boaters as well as capable businessmen. Resch has owned a number of boats including a Formula, Cobalt and a Baja. Resch has 25 years experience in his family’s Roofing supply business of which he is currently President. Tubbs has run a Cigarette 38′ Top Gun and has extensive Sales experience working for a number of fortune 500 companies.
“As both of us are avid boaters and also clearly understand what the market is demanding, we can take our concepts to Steve as he is the mastermind that can make it happen. He is the engineer that will take the design on paper and make it into a product,” said Resch.
Velocity Powerboats was founded by Stepp in the 1970’s. Stepp developed a number of innovations such as the Stepp Transom and Pad Bottom. According to the Velocity, the bottom was responsible for 10 to 15 mph gains over its competitors and in the early 1980s, Stepp partnered with Gene Whipp and officially broke the 100 mph mark in the APBA-sanctioned Kilo Races. After these impressive accomplishments the company made recent headlines with several race-bred entries including the new 390 SS that’s capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph.
