Yamaha Marine marks milestone for Greenfield expansion
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Indianapolis-based Yamaha Marine Precision Propellers (YPPI) held a “topping out” ceremony Tuesday to place the final beam on a 110,000-square-foot expansion of its facility in Greenfield.
When the $20 million project is complete, the company plans to relocate its team in Indy to the expanded facility, which will house all of its propeller finishing operations and employ about 200 people.
The company said the expansion will help to meet increasing demand around the globe.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, YPPI General Manager Batuhan Ak said moving operations to Greenfield was always in the company’s plans.
“We left our partner facility out there over in Indianapolis, where we originated from, to build the investment casting portion, so the first half of the manufacturing process…which is the more complex, difficult process,” Ak said. “We wanted to make sure we’ve vetted that out, showed some proven competency and our capability to build an advanced automated modern investment casting facility, [and] get established here in Greenfield.”
YPPI, a division of Yamaha Marine Systems Co. Inc., makes 100% of the stainless steel boat propellers for Yamaha’s outboard engines.
Ak said the expansion will streamline the company’s operations in central Indiana.
“Daily, we ship typically over 400 pieces a day from Greenfield to Indianapolis,” he said. “There’s that added time delay of unpacking the parts, sorting through them, getting them into the production process over in that facility. So, there’s a lot of logistics inefficiencies that we created as a part of splitting the two operations.”
Additionally, he said the expansion will help the company make improvements or address any issues with the investment casting portion of the operations, which have been impacted with the delay of sending products to the Indianapolis facility.
“With that operation being located at the back of the plant here, it’s going to be immediate. So we’ll be able to act much faster, improve quality faster, and address any efficiency or throughput issues right away with minimal delay, like we’re experiencing today.”
YPPI plans to move its entire Indianapolis workforce to Greenfield when the project is complete. He said the company will seek to fill any employment gaps with individuals locally.
“As we venture into this new phase, we anticipate tremendous growth,” Bill Boehman, vice president of Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, said in written remarks. “This expansion will not only enhance our business, but the community as well. These employment opportunities will empower individuals within our community and foster economic vitality.”
Construction on the expansion is expected to be complete in the spring of 2024 with some final interior touches taking place over the summer. The company plans to begin the transition from Indy to Greenfield in that fall with full production volume expected to commence in January 2025.