Golf cart maker to add 200 jobs in Johnson City

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A year after a flooring manufacturer shut down and left about 90 people out of work , a local entrepreneur is expanding a golf cart manufacturing business in the same building with a plan to grow from 50 current jobs to 200 by late 2025.

Tuesday, state and local officials visited MD Carts on Eddie Williams Road to celebrate that turnaround. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) is providing unspecified incentives for what is estimated to be a $10 million-plus project that’s expected to bring 200 new jobs within five years for total employment of 250.

News Channel 11 visited the site late Monday and talked with the person largely responsible for the project — David Hatley, who also owns Johnson City-based hot tub manufacturer LPI.

“We’ve got a brand new production line that’s being installed that is just phenomenal,” Hatley said. “It’ll be the most automated manufacturing line in the golf industry that’s ever happened.”

MD Carts was a small outfit that made outdoor hunting carts when Hatley bought it in 2021. Hatley said he added residential golf carts to his line of leisure products and looked toward the same direct-to-consumer sales model it uses for LPI’s hot tubs and spas.

Hatley said MD Carts has invested about $10 million so far in the 294,000-square-foot building and the production line.

“This is wonderful news for our community,” Johnson City Mayor Todd Fowler said in a Tuesday news release. “For years, LPI has manufactured quality spas and shipped them from Johnson City to commercial partners across the United States. We are excited to see their new company expand their production of world-class products here in Johnson City.”

“Tennessee is defined by the brands that call our state home, and we are grateful that MD Carts has chosen to expand in Northeast Tennessee with its largest expansion to date,” ECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter said in a companion release.

The Tennessee Valley Authority also offered its congratulations to MD Carts.

“This project furthers TVA’s mission of service to help improve the quality of life for the people of the Valley,” said John Bradley, Senior Vice President of TVA Economic Development.

While he expects to employ a couple hundred people, Hatley said automation is one key to being able to produce a leisure product in the U.S. and still compete with lower labor costs overseas.

“In any business in the USA, you have to be forward-thinking and think of a way to compete with the Chinese, because the labor is where their large advantage is.”

MD Carts currently produces about 60 electric carts each week, of various styles and sizes, without the automated line.

“It’s everything from the axle up to the to the windshield, to the motors, to the bodies,” Hatley said. “We’re making a lot of the parts internally ourself, just like we do on the hot tub side.”

He said the other key to market share is the direct-to-consumer model that LPI uses.

“We skip that channel, that middleman, and it allows us to still compete heavy with the Chinese.”

LPI has a network of stores across the country. Hatley said initially LPI leased stores in industrial parks, but has begun building stores along four-lane highways that fit their layout needs. Many of them will also offer golf carts as production scales up this fall.

“As we get capacity, we open a new location with a golf cart dealership,” Hatley said. “We’re not even halfway through our stores right now.”

He said even with manual production, things have ramped up slightly faster than he thought they would.

“Overall, the demand is still really strong and there’s a lot of excitement around a golf cart,” Hatley said. “It’s a real fun product to own.”

“You can take it home immediately, it’s fairly maintenance-free with the new lithium batteries that we install in there and it’s just a fun way to get around the neighborhood and enjoy time with your family.”

Hatley said the company plans to branch out into “fleet” carts, selling to golf courses and the like, after the automated line is up and running smoothly. They’re also introducing a new “Whisper” line of higher-end carts.

MD may also begin producing gas engine carts sometime in the next 12 to 18 months, he said.

Hatley said he expects to bring on about seven to 10 employees a month through the end of 2025 as production increases.

“I appreciate the leadership at MD Carts for their commitment to creating an additional 200 high-quality new jobs for the families across this region and look forward to the success that follows this project,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a release from ECD.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.