Boat U.S. - May 2008 - (Page 40) All in the Family Special Formula With 9,500 residents, Decatur, IN, is so small you can hardly walk 50 feet without bumping into someone who is related to one of Formula boat factory’s 550 employees or at least knows one. “It’s a great area to be in because it has a rural culture, a strong work ethic and people really love what they do,” says Scott Porter, president of Thunderbird, maker of Formula boats, and a “G2” — a member of the Porter family’s second generation of boatbuilders. There was never a requirement that the second-generation Porter children work at Formula, but five of the six children hold management positions at the 573,500square-foot plant today. Besides Scott Porter, who was named president in 1988, there’s Grant Porter who is executive vice president, Wayne Porter is vice president of sales, Jean Porter Brune is vice president of marketing and Ted Porter is vice president of human resources. Their father, Victor, remains as chairman, and his wife Kristine works in marketing. Also, Scott’s wife Shelley works in information management and at least five 40 BoatU.S. Magazine May 2008 G3 — third-generation Porters — work at Formula full time, including Wayne’s son Adam who is a fulltime software applications developer. A fifth son, John Porter, is not at Formula — he’s a medical doctor. But while Formula’s roots have spread, they’re not as deep as you’d think – as Formula Boats haven’t always been manufactured in a landlocked part of the Midwest. A good portion of the company’s roots is actually in the Southeast. The company consolidated its Miami, FL, and Decatur plants 20 years ago this year. “We were frankly struggling in Miami and it’s been a real bonus for the company to be able to focus on the culture in one location,” says Scott Porter. The Formula product line dates back to 1956 when Thunderbird Boat founder Woody Woodson produced an 18-foot tri-hulled stern drive, a boat which in 1959 became the first stern drive to cross from Miami to Nassau. Five years later, a Thunderbird model called Iroquois starred Left to right, standing: Wayne, Scott, Ted, John, Jean, Grant. Seated: Kristine and Victor Porter. in the TV series “Flipper.” Meanwhile, “Formula” was originally founded by Don Aronow in Miami in 1962, and his boats quickly gained notoriety in the offshore racing circuit. Thunderbird and Formula came together under one roof when Thunderbird’s post-Woodson-owner Alliance Machine and Foundry bought Formula in 1964 and began building both boats at its North Miami location. During this same time, Victor Porter was using early marine fiberglass technology to produce small runabouts which were sold under the name Duo, Inc. Less than a decade later, Duo was snatched up by Starcraft and Victor stayed on as Duo president. Then in 1970, Victor, with five business associates, founded another boatbuilding business called Signa Corporation, which produced a line of tri-hull boats and was later purchased
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