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Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) today announced it will soon open the Brunswick Innovation Laboratory in the Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Innovation Lab will augment the considerable research and development activity the Company currently conducts across all of its primary lines of business, including marine engine, pleasure boats and fitness equipment.  Brunswick spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on research and development in a continuous effort to drive innovation into its new products, to enhance existing products and to improve its manufacturing processes.  These efforts have been solidly productive as the Company continues to outpace its competition in the introduction of new products to market as well as securing patents on its technologies and features.  In 2016, Brunswick ranked among the top 25 Illinois-based companies in securing patents. This newly established research arm for Brunswick will be under the direction of Troy Kollmann, who was formerly manager, innovation processes and emerging technologies, at Brunswick’s Mercury Marine division. “The Research Park’s intimate connection with the University of Illinois, with its resources and talented students and faculty, is particularly enticing for Brunswick as well as other firms seeking to expand their understanding and deployment of technologies to advance their products and open new avenues to grow their businesses,” explained David Foulkes, Brunswick’s vice president and chief technology officer.  “The technical resources at the University of Illinois are among the most highly regarded in the nation, as are its engineering programs.  These strengths, along with other companies within the park, offer an atmosphere conducive to collaboration and learning,” Foulkes concluded. More than 100 companies, including industry leaders such as Abbott, John Deere and Yahoo, have facilities within the 200-acre research park, which is adjacent to the university’s campus. Research Park Director, Laura Frerichs, expressed the University of Illinois’ support for welcoming Brunswick: “We are pleased to begin this partnership in innovation with Brunswick, which will both engage students in building new technology as well as provide opportunities to collaborate with University of Illinois researchers.” The Brunswick Innovation Lab will work closely with Brunswick corporate and divisional resources to further accelerate Brunswick’s progress in its areas of high interest, including the Internet of Things, advanced analytics, and a range of human-machine interaction and enhanced user-experience technologies. The Innovation Lab will initially occupy a temporary location beginning in April before moving into its permanent location in what will be the Research Park’s newest building, currently under construction and expected to be completed and ready for occupancy at the end of 2017. About BrunswickHeadquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Brunswick Corporation’s  leading consumer brands include Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; MotorGuide trolling motors; Attwood, Garelick and Whale marine parts and accessories; Land ‘N’ Sea, Kellogg Marine, Payne’s Marine and BLA parts and accessories distributors; Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Brunswick Commercial and Government Products, Crestliner, Cypress Cay, Harris, Lowe, Lund, Meridian, Princecraft, Quicksilver, Rayglass, Sea Ray, Thunder Jet and Uttern; Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex, Indoor Cycling Group  and SCIFIT fitness equipment; InMovement products and services for productive well-being; and Brunswick billiards tables, accessories and game room furniture. For more information, visit http://www.brunswick.com. Read more on Brunswick’s website, The Daily Illini, and GlobeNewsWire.

The Fourth Street Extension road project opened to traffic on Thursday, Aug. 22, just in time for move-in day at the University of Illinois, extending Fourth Street from St. Mary’s Road to Windsor Road. A traffic light at Windsor and Fourth is now operational. From the News-Gazette article: “Research Park Director Laura Frerichs said the new roads will provide access to 30 to 40 years’ worth of developable land. The park has had about one new building per year since it opened in 2001. ‘We want to continue that progress,’ Frerichs said. The project includes the extension of Hazelwood and Gerty drives to the east to meet the new Fourth Street. Everything should be open by Sept. 6, according to the city of Champaign.

One of the key factors in the expansion of the University of Illinois Research Park is the extension of Fourth Street to connect St. Mary’s and Windsor Roads. The concrete for this road was poured on Thursday, Sept. 13. From the News-Gazette: “For 12 hours on Thursday, workers poured, smoothed and worked the concrete that will become a 4,100-foot segment of a street that officials hope will spur the continued development of the University of Illinois Research Park.”