NATCHEZ — Bad Boy Buggies was sold to Augusta, Ga.-based company E-Z-Go last Friday, but the Bad Boy brand isn’t going anywhere.

And the facility on U.S. 61 South and its 60 full-time employees will continue to operate in Natchez — at least for now.

Brandon Haddock, E-Z-Go’s marketing and communications manager, said the buying company has not yet decided whether the Natchez facility will remain open.

“We do understand it’s an important decision that affects our employees in Natchez and its only fair to make decision in reasonable manner,” Haddock said.

Haddock said E-Z-Go officials want to do a thorough analysis before deciding the fate of the Natchez facility.

E-Z-Go is a manufacturer in light transportation vehicles with a focus on electric vehicles, and Haddock said Bad Boy Buggies will add an element the company it was missing.

Haddock said acquiring Bad Boy Buggies pushes E-Z-Go into the off-road market, which is a growing segment.

“We manufacture a broad product, and one we did not have until a week ago was 4-by-4 electric vehicle,” Haddock said.

Bad Boy Buggies CEO John Skrabo said capacity issues quickly arose after he became CEO of Bad Boy Buggies in April 2009, and the company expanded in Natchez six months after he came on board. During that time, Skrabo said he began discussing joint ventures with E-Z-Go officials, a company he was familiar with from his past job with Realtree.

“Over time it became clear that (the sale) was the most viable and appropriate course of action,” Skrabo said.

Skrabo said the Augusta company has top-notch facilities and engineering, which are weaker areas in the Natchez facility.

As for the brand name, Haddock said changing “Bad Boy Buggies” was never an option.

“(Skrabo) and the Bad Boy team have done a tremendous job of building a brand and product that is bar-none recognized as the leader in 4X4 electric vehicles,” Haddock said

“Given the tremendous value inherent in the Bad Boy brand, we had no intention of changing the name.”

Haddock said he would not disclose the selling price of Bad Boy Buggies.

Skrabo said in 2009 he expected Bad Boy Buggies to earn $17 million in revenue. During the company’s peak in 2007, sales reached well above $20 million.

In 2009 Bad Boys Buggies might have been the fastest growing business in Mississippi, Skrabo has said. The company’s principal owners were Dale and Pat Burns, both Miss-Lou businessmen. The buggies sell for between $7,000 and $13,000 and are sold through approximately 250 dealers.

The company was formed in 2003.