Unified Marine Restructures; Strengthens SeaSense Brand

Unified Marine Announces Restructuring of Operations, Including Major Staff Appointments; Moves Designed to Strengthen Leadership of the Company’s SeaSense Brand.

 

Leading marine accessories manufacturer Unified Marine, maker of the renowned SeaSense® brand, has announced a major restructuring of its operations. The moves are designed to reduce operating costs, and improve product quality and customer service to its distributor, retailer and end-user customers. As part of the restructuring, Unified Marine will relocate its distribution center from Newport, Tenn., to a new location in Florida’s Naples-Fort Myers area.

“We want to bring our warehousing and distribution operations back to Florida in closer proximity to our research and development facility in Bonita Springs,” said Unified Marine President and CEO, David Nirenberg. “This not only will help us improve service to our customers, but it also will allow us to more quickly introduce additional innovative new products to the marketplace in support of the leadership position we hold in the marine accessories market.”

 

Unified Marine also announces the following major staff appointments:

 

Merle Bright, Chief Financial Officer: Merle joins Unified Marine after running a corporate financial consultancy business for several years. A graduate of Ball State University, with a B.S. in accounting, Merle’s career includes eight years at KPMG, four years as CFO at Design & Manufacturing Corp., the world’s largest dishwasher manufacturer, and 16 years as CFO for various companies in the trucking, concrete and masonry industries. He also has owned an accounting practice and a payroll processing firm that specialized in small to medium-sized businesses.

 

James Anderson, Outside Sales Coordinator: James comes to Unified Marine from Priority One Real Estate where he worked as a residential and commercial real estate sales associate.  He brings to the company a strong background in sales and marketing, as well as a deep love of boating. Raised in the Gulf waters of Florida, he raced sailboats at an early age, graduating to powerboats at the age of 12 after completing a boating safety class. He earned a Captain’s License at the age of 18. James holds a business degree in marketing with a minor in management from Florida Gulf Coast University. “I never thought my enthusiasm for boating and professional career would ever coexist so well,” James said. “Unified Marine has given me the opportunity to use my education to sell my passion.”
 
 

Joe Johnson, Operations Manager: Joe comes to the company from Yowza Fitness where he was Warehouse Manager. He has a strong background in operations management having served as Sales and Service Manager for Harley Davidson. Joe also served for eight years in the United States Army and is still a volunteer in the U.S. Army Reserves. 
 
 

Nathan Nicholson, Purchasing Manager: Nathan comes to Unified Marine from Unifirst First Aid Corporation where he was Operations Manager. He received his MBA in 2005 from MBU Missouri Baptist University. 

 

Jennifer Brackett, Creative Services Manager: Jennifer comes to Unified Marine from Susan G. Komen, where she worked as a graphic designer. She also has worked at the Animation Archive at Dreamworks Studios and at Loaded Skateboards, where she designed artwork for skate decks. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.