FORT DODGE –When John Jergens went to work for Misty Harbor Pontoons in 2011, it was not only an opportunity to learn the business, it was also a chance to assert himself as a future leader of the company that Dave Wilson and Lisa Wilson built.

Behind the scenes at that time, Dave Wilson and Lisa Wilson were planning their eventual exit, according to Jergens.

“They said they were interested in doing that in a couple of years,” Jergens said. “That was part of the reason why I was interested and why I was here.”

Six months after being hired, Jergens brought Tom Christy aboard.

Jergens, formerly of Humboldt, and Christy worked together for about 15 years at Electrolux, a washer-drier factory in Webster City.

“Professionally, I grew up at Electrolux,” Christy said. “That was really my first career opportunity. I spent 15 years there and Tom and I worked together most of that time in one capacity or another.”

When the plant closed in the spring of 2011, Christy, a Dayton native, was looking for a new direction.

“Once the plant had closed, I was part of the team that continued the shutdown procedure and then John called me about this opportunity,” Christy said. “The timing couldn’t have been better.”

Jergens, Webster City, said meeting Christy at Electrolux was one of the most important events in working there.

“I spent 18-and-a-half years there in a number of different positions,” Jergens said. “One of the most important things was meeting Tom and working together.”

In the years following, Jergens and Christy contributed to increasing production by nearly 70 percent and adding a second site for manufacturing.

On Jan. 27, the hope of purchasing Misty Harbor became a reality for Jergens and Christy, who have more than 40 years of combined experience in sales and manufacturing.

At that time it was announced that Dave Wilson and Lisa Wilson, of Kevcon Corp., parent company of Misty Harbor Pontoons, sold the company to the Marine Group LLC and its corporate leaders Jergens, Christy and George Thomas, of Indiana.

“The good news for us is Dave and Lisa have a built a business here,” Jergens said. “It’s a family business. They are very well liked in the industry. They are trusted in the industry.”

Jergens is now the president of Misty Harbor Pontoons. Christy is the vice president.

“We started with a fantastic foundation, so they deserve a ton of credit for that and allowing a couple of guys like us to come in here and work out a strategy like this and supporting us in getting to this point,” Jergens said.

Misty Harbor was founded in 1988 in Humboldt. Misty began its journey with the exclusive production of a very well-known regional performance pontoon known as the SkiToon.

In 1990, Dave and Lisa Wilson, of Kevcon Corp., purchased Misty Harbor and had a vision for the future.

The conversion to the popular cylinder tubes began in 1992 and with a need for a larger facility moved production to the west side of Fort Dodge in 1993 where it has been since.

Aside from the ownership change, Jergens said customers can expect the same products and service.

“We really don’t see any changes,” Jergens said. “Since Tom and I have been here we established a growth strategy and that’s a plan we have put together for the indefinite future. As far as our facilities, the people, customers and dealers, we are not planning anything significantly different from what we are doing.”

Misty Harbor’s dealer network has grown from a handful of regional boat dealers into world-wide distribution, according to Christy.

“Today we distribute within the continental U.S., all the way from Maine to Florida and all the way to Texas,” Christy said. “We have been expanding to pacific northwest territories. Internationally we distribute to Australia and China and some in Canada.”

In terms of growth, the company has doubled its production and employee base since 2012.

In 2012, Misty Harbor produced close to 1,000 boats, Christy reported.

He estimated the company would produce about 2,000 in 2017.

In 2012, the company employed about 55 people.

Today it employs more than 120 and is still hiring, according to Christy.

“That’s something that has been really exciting,” Christy said.

Christy said the pontoons themselves have also improved in recent years.

“Pontoons are not the pontoons you would think of from your grandparents days where they are often known as small motors on small bodies of water puttin’ around,” Christy said. “Pontoons have become a versatile replacement for several types of boats, whether that’s fishing boats or fiber glass style boats.”

Pontoons have also increased in power, he said.

“The overall average horsepower on a pontoon boat is probably three times what it was six years ago,” Christy said. “Most people were doing 40 to 60 horsepower engines in 2012 and now we are seeing 150 is very common.”

Misty Harbor offers four different series of pontoons — the Explore, Adventure, Biscayne Bay and Skye.

Christy said the Biscayne Bay is the most popular.

The Explore are smaller boats, while the Skye series is considered the luxury series, Christy said.

The quality of the product is what the company takes pride in.

“We feel like our craftsmanship is top of the line and overall design of rail finishes and furniture is what sets us apart,” Christy said.

The next year pontoon models are released in the middle of summer, according to Jergens.

“We used to have a busy time of year,” Jergens said. “I mean the busy time of year is summer as far as people that want to buy and use these boats, but as you get to the end of the season our next year models come out as early as July, so July of 2017 we will begin producing the 2018 models.”

“The winter used to be a quiet time for us, but with the sheer volume that people are buying, it’s year-round,” Jergens said. “We don’t have a quiet period. We produce as much as we can throughout 12 months of the year as we go from one model change to another model change.”

Christy said it’s a question he gets a lot.

“People will ask what are you doing this time of year,” Christy said. “We build a lot of boats and get them out there.”

Christy said he just wants to company to continue down the path its on.

“I am looking forward to more of the same,” he said. “We have done a nice job of growing this for our dealer base. We have a growth strategy in place that we feel confident in and we are looking forward to being able to hit those next milestones with the help of the team here and the community continuing to get our product out there and grow with our dealer base and see the success in the market that we have been.”