Lake Assault Boats Opens New Headquarters

Lake Assault

Lake Assault Boats, an award-winning manufacturer of mission-specific boats for fire protection, law enforcement, public safety and research agencies, as well as commercial marine industries, has expanded to a new headquarters on the grounds of a legendary Great Lakes shipyard. 

Lake Assault’s management, marketing, customer service and marine engineering functions are based at Fraser Shipyards, established in 1890 at the westernmost tip of Lake Superior’s Twin Ports of Superior and Duluth, Minn. 

The new three-story, 15,000-square foot, pre-cast concrete building has state-of-the-art communications and computer systems to support the fast-growing company as it serves customers nationwide who have purchased, ordered or are in the process of investing in Lake Assault boats for specialized missions. 

“We needed these new facilities to capitalize on the rapid growth that Lake Assault experienced in recent years and because, in 2015, our manufacturing capacity will increase by 60 percent and our staff by 30 percent to meet the demand for our custom vessels,” said Lake Assault President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Bakke. 

Bakke added: “2014 has been an important year for Lake Assault. We delivered larger boats, more capable boats and new kinds of vessels to customers across the United States. Lake Assault is proud to have earned the trust and business from some our country’s top public safety and law enforcement experts, as well as customers conducting scientific research, protecting the environment and operating marine businesses–all specialized job applications for which our custom boats are ideally suited.” 

Lake Assault occupies space on the top floor of the new building, overlooking Fraser Shipyards, its sister company with which it shares select equipment, operations and facilities. Fraser, a Great Lakes shipbuilding icon, will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2015. 

Extensive fabrication and boat assembly operations are on the shipyard grounds steps from the new headquarters. Lake Assault designs and builds all of its boats at the Superior location from welded commercial-grade aluminum, adding components from the world’s top manufacturers including: Hale and Darley pumps, General Motors pump engines, Whelen light packages and Lowrance radar, sonar and GPS systems. 

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